True North

My ‘adopted’ state representative Steve Gottwalt talked about CentraCare’s opinion on HF 3391 Thursday night. Here’s CentraCare’s letter:

“We are writing to…ask you not to support the bill when it is considered later this week. We do not make this request lightly…We do understand that significant effort has gone into crafting this legislation, but it is our belief that the underlying process was flawed because it specifically failed to include individuals with actual experience in health care from Greater Minnesota. In addition, it has been moved through the legislative process without adequate time to fully study the implications of many of the initiatives included in the bill. There are parts of the bill that do have merit…There are, however, many parts of the bill that are problematic, and we fear will destabilize health care delivery in rural Minnesota. We urge you to work to eliminate the potentially harmful aspects of the bill or, failing that, oppose adoption of the entire bill until such time as these issues can be addressed. HF 3391 includes many initiatives which we believe have been poorly designed. Many of these issues could have been addressed if health care providers, especially those from Greater Minnesota, had been allowed to participate in the design of meaningful health care reform legislation.

After careful analysis of HF 3391, we have identified the following concerns:

• Budget neutrality, which is simply not reasonable when attempting to increase the number of persons covered under MinnesotaCare.
• Creation of numerous new state commissions to collect data, design benefits sets, monitor quality and restrict access to new technologies.

These commissions (and the staff that will serve them in the legislature) will add additional cost/administrative burdens to the health care system as well as the state.
Implementation timelines that are far too short to allow thoughtful design and implementation of initiatives.

• This bill fails to address the rising cost of health care insurance in Minnesota.
• The bill requires transparency of health care providers but fails to require similar transparency from medical device manufacturers, pharmaceutical companies, medical equipment manufacturers and suppliers or insurance companies. All of these are major cost drivers for providers.

Most importantly, this bill fails to address the importance of the ever increasing consumer demand for health care services as a driver of escalating health care costs. In fact, the increasing utilization of medical services is, along with cost shifting due to inadequate compensation for Medicare and Medicaid services, among the most significant drivers of increasing health care costs for government, businesses and consumers…The cost of providing Medicaid services does not go away. When the state cuts reimbursement, those costs must simply be shifted.

Minnesotans are already served by some of the most innovative, lowest cost and highest quality health care providers in the nation. Minnesota providers are recognized collectively and individually across the nation for the value they provide for Minnesotans in health care. We must not jeopardize those successes.”
-[signed by the presidents of CentraCare Health System]

While CentraCare’s statement had a serious tone to it, the Taxpayers League’s statement had a more sarcastic tone to it:

Last night the House passed their version of the health care reform bill. While less bad than the Senate’s version (which carries with it a $40 million tax increase to pay for all kinds of programs designed to save us from ourselves), the House bill doesn’t bring us any closer to the kinds of free market reforms our health care system needs. Aside from the tax increase, the other reason why the House bill could be considered an improvement over the Senate’s version is the Senate’s creation of a politburo-style Health Care Transformation Commission. In the Senate’s bill, the HCTC would be responsible for passing judgment on and implementing new rules and regulations for hospitals and health care plans. At least the House decided not to abrogate their oversight responsibility and require that all new rules must get legislative approval. But what the hey, right? Why not give a small, unelected body control over 1/6 of our state’s economy? What could possibly go wrong with that? So it’s off to the conference committee for the two bills.

And what comes out nobody knows.

Cross-posted and comments welcome at Let Freedom Ring.