[Winona Online Democracy] Insurance companies are not the problem. The only facilitate the payments that are too high because of tort liability, and non involvement of the patient.
Insurance companies simply pay for us and are going to always cost money because we are hiring them to write the checks for us. They can be most effective in helping us with reducing the cost on the larger claims. Tom Severson Box 736 Winona, Mn. 55987 507 452 3402 ext 214 -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Wednesday, December 01, 2004 9:37 AM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: [Winona] Health Care Happenings: Houston and the Governor [Winona Online Democracy] Because we have always been self-employed we have had to pay our own health insurance so the deductable is outrageous just to get the monthly premium to a point where we can at least pay it. I do not see any type of insurance in this country changing much because the insurance companies are too powerful politicly. In my opinion the cost of health care is not the major problem. When I go to the dr for a check up I am also billed for all the equipment available to her if* I would need it. I understand this. I think insurance companies are the problem. It has all gotten out of control and I do not see any answers until the insurance companies are out of the picture. Just open the yellow pages, in our small area of LaCrosse/Winona there are pages of insurance agents and companies. It is unreal. Linda Fort ------ Novemeber 30, 2004 Major health care proposal launched Governor announces 'Smart Buy' alliance to slash costs, improve care BY TOM MAJESKI Pioneer Press ------ Gov. Tim Pawlenty on Monday announced a major health care initiative that combines the clout of the state and private industry in a first-of-its-kind purchasing alliance designed to hold down soaring costs and improve quality of care. The proposal, which was developed by the governor's "Health Cabinet," calls for improving administrative technology and streamlining paperwork and regulations. It also supports tax incentives for health savings accounts and targets fraud and kickback schemes. Pawlenty said the "Smart Buy" purchasing alliance was formed as a response to health care cost increases that are "unsustainable." In Minnesota, he added, those costs are increasing at the rate of $300,000 an hour, or $80 a second. Health care now costs the average family about $14,000 a year. "It will devour the budgets of individuals, families and the state in the future. It needs to be addressed significantly, boldly and promptly," said Pawlenty, who estimated the alliance plan could generate savings approaching $12 billion, or 43 percent of the $27.5 billion Minnesotans will spend on health care this year. Peter Benner, special assistant to the director of AFSCME Council 5, said parts of the governor's initiative are extremely important, but he warned that it doesn't go far enough. "We want to buy for quality, we want to buy for good price," said Benner, whose group represents some 40,000 public employees, one of the state's largest unions. "Messages like that need to be sent by everybody, whether they are private employees or public employees," he added. "It's an OK place to start, but we are not going to transform health care in Minnesota with general statements, like we want to buy on quality," Benner said. "This is not a tight-knit group, to put it mildly. We have a long, long way to go here. While it's an important step, it won't mean a hill of beans in 2005 and 2006 unless more is done. It's simply not enough." Pawlenty said the "Smart Buy" alliance represents three-fifths of the state's population, or about 3 million Minnesotans, making it a force health plans cannot ignore when negotiating contracts. "This brings the thundering three-fifths of the marketplace to bear," he said. Besides the state, other participants in the alliance include the Buyers Health Care Action Group, Minnesota Business Partnership, Minnesota Chamber of Commerce, Labor/Management Health Care Coalition of the Upper Midwest, Minnesota Association of Professional Employees, Employers Association and the Advocates for Market Place Options for Mainstreet. "It's not a government bureaucracy, it's an alliance," Pawlenty explained. "It's not an attempt to nickel-and-dime health care providers, it's an attempt to get better value. We have one simple goal: to buy health care better. It preserves the marketplace but says we're going to stop buying stupid." Carolyn Pare, CEO of the Buyers Health Care Action Group, a coalition of employers, said negotiators will be using a common purchase order patterned after the one developed decades ago by General Motors. Under the GM system, the company asks health plans to document their best care for patients with diabetes, heart disease and other conditions and then rates each plan before presenting all the data to employees. Employees then select plans according to their health needs. To encourage efficiency and quality, the company pays more for employees who go to better plans. "This isn't about benefit design," Pare said. "It's not about moving the money around, it's about digging into what's being provided. "This isn't about a pool that is going to improve cost by squeezing discounts out of providers. This is about improving care for everybody," he said. Karl Oestreich, a spokesman for Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota, said the state's largest health insurer supports the governor's plan. "It's a good cross section of health care buyers in the state," he said. "If they can come together and speak as one voice and move some of these things forward, it's a positive." Carolyn Jones, director of health care policy for the Minnesota Chamber, said the governor's initiative is not a drive for collective purchasing of health care but rather a drive to bring buyers together to create a market where customers are in charge and providers are rewarded for providing the best care at the lowest price. "Individually, we will not be able to change the system," Jones said. "But if we start to send the same message at the same time and use our combined purchasing power to reward those responding to the message, the marketplace will change." GLANCE: THE ALLIANCE Among its ideas, the "Smart Buy" alliance calls for: . Using "best in class" certification programs as one measure of health care quality and then using it to chose providers and encouraging patients to select the best providers. . Requiring health care providers to adopt the latest administrative technology, thereby reducing waste and duplication, particularly in claims processing. . Timely submission of claims and eliminating the requirement that "zero balance" bills be mailed to consumers. . Enhancing anti-fraud and anti-kickback enforcement, which could save up to 3 percent in health care costs annually. ------------ Dwayne Voegeli Winona County Commissioner (507) 453-9012 [EMAIL PROTECTED] 359 Pleasant Hill Dr. Winona, MN 55987 ------------ _______________________________________________ This message was posted to Winona Online Democracy All messages must be signed by the senders actual name. No commercial solicitations are allowed on this list. 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No commercial solicitations are allowed on this list. To manage your subscription or view the message archives, please visit http://mapnp.mnforum.org/mailman/listinfo/winona Any problems or suggestions can be directed to mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] If you want help on how to contact elected officials, go to the Contact page at http://www.winonaonlinedemocracy.org
