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GOVERNOR'S REACTION Governor Douglas Promotes Health Care Reform Compromise at Chronic Care Conference Monday, May 09, 2005 | Contact: Jason Gibbs (802) 828-3333
South
Burlington, Vt. – At a day-long conference focusing on the
priorities and progress of Vermont's Chronic Care Initiative,
Governor Jim Douglas today praised participants and promoted a
compromise health care reform proposal that would fundamentally
transform Vermont's health care delivery system, lower costs and
achieve universal access to affordable insurance.
Governor offers compromise on universal care May 7, 2005 | By John Zicconi, Vermont Press Bureau | Rutland Herald
MONTPELIER — Proclaiming he has moved "outside his comfort zone" in the name of compromise, Republican Gov. James Douglas on Friday unveiled a new health care reform proposal he hopes Democrats can support.
Legislative leaders in both the House and Senate said they appreciate the governor's efforts, but indicated he is going to have to get little more uncomfortable before they can strike a deal.
"Our differences are spectacular," said Senate President Peter Welch, D-Windsor. "But there is a lot of common ground. We are all talking about cost control, universal access and ending the cost shift. Those are three major points of agreement that give us a lot of room to work together."
Senate Democrats, who are developing a health care reform bill that is much more modest than a highly partisan House plan, said the most troubling aspect of the governor's proposal was its tax package.
Douglas wants to raise $20 million by taxing health care premiums 3 percent. The levy would be used to leverage an additional $27 million in Medicaid funds from the federal government.
For-profit insurance companies like MVP Health Care and CIGNA already pay a 2 percent premium tax, so they would see a 50 percent increase. Nonprofit groups like Blue Cross, which covers about 170,000 Vermonters, are currently not taxed at all.
The money — $47 million — would be used to subsidize private insurance programs for the working poor, increase Medicaid reimbursement to doctors, expand primary care coverage to underserved areas, and create programs that lower the cost of treating expensive chronic diseases like diabetes and hypertension.
Douglas' plan would also allow private insurance companies to offer "affordable" primary and catastrophic coverage to the uninsured. Plans would cost $1,500 per person for either primary or catastrophic coverage, or $3,000 for both.
That may sound expensive, Douglas said. "But the individual insurance market right now is much more expensive than that," he said.
Senators have proposed a 3 percent payroll tax on businesses that don't offer health insurance and on employees that don't have coverage as a way to pay for a $40 million, bare-bones insurance plan that provides primary and preventative care to the uninsured at government expense.
Hospital and prescription drug coverage, as well as access to medical specialists, would be developed at a future time after a series of cost-containment strategies are put into place.
Senate leaders said it is vital to make sure that every worker who is uninsured, and every business that does not offer insurance, pay a tax that helps cover the uninsured — something the governor's proposal does not do.
Douglas' plan, Democrats said, offers low-cost coverage to the uninsured at the expense of those who already have comprehensive coverage.
"That doesn't work," said Sen. Ann Cummings, D-Washington, chairwoman of the Senate Finance Committee. "It perpetuates the cost shift, which is one of the primary forces that raises the cost of insurance beyond what most people can afford."
Douglas defended his revenue scheme, calling it better for the economy than a payroll tax on small businesses that already have trouble making ends meet.
A payroll tax is "is economically bad for the state," Douglas said. "We have a tax burden in Vermont that is already quite high."
He added, "We cannot impose another tax that puts us at a competitive disadvantage" when the state tries to attract and maintain businesses.
Douglas downplayed criticisms of his plan. What is important is that he and Democrats are attempting to develop a reform plan on which they can agree, he said.
"We are having fruitful meetings … to find common ground," Douglas said.
Details of the governor's plan include:
Governor says he doesn't support payroll tax for health care By Ross Sneyd, Associated Press Writer | April 28, 2005 MONTPELIER, Vt. -- Democratic senators and the Republican governor are trumpeting their cooperative efforts to craft a compromise health reform initiative even as they ignore a significant disagreement that forms a cornerstone of the plan: a 6 percent payroll tax that would raise $40 million to pay for it. Gov. James Douglas made clear at his weekly news conference Thursday that, although he's encouraged by his administration's talks with the senators, he's loathe to their funding plans. "I haven't said I support new taxes," Douglas said. "I've said they've offered ideas that are far more constructive" than what House Democrats passed last week. "I'm not a fan of a payroll tax," he said. Senate Democrats have proposed establishing a requirement that every resident of the state have health insurance. They want to create programs that will make sure that the estimated 62,000 uninsured Vermonters have coverage. About 27,000 of them are eligible for the existing Vermont Health Access Plan, a program funded and administered by the state with the help of the federal government. Those people would be guided to VHAP. The remaining 35,000 would get access to a new, barebones insurance plan providing primary and preventive care. It would be paid for by imposing a 3 percent payroll tax on companies that don't offer insurance to their employees and a 3 percent payroll tax on the workers themselves. Some Senate leaders appeared to be surprised that the governor had come out strongly against their funding source, although they refused to be pulled into a public dispute with him now. "It's a major issue. We need his active indication for how we're going to pay for this," said Senate President Pro Tempore Peter Welch, D-Windsor. "It's really about fairness. We're only talking about those individuals and employers who access health care and don't contribute." Douglas rejects that argument and points out that even those who don't have insurance and those employers who don't provide it pay income and other taxes, which help to pay for a variety of health insurance schemes within state government. Nonetheless, he sought to emphasize how different the Senate approach is from the House's. The House bill would set up the foundations for a system in which state government would be responsible for paying for all of health care with taxes. It would be similar to single payer plans that exist in Canada and across Europe. "Philosophically, Senate Democrats along with Senate Republicans have a different view of what we can accomplish," he said, insisting that his top aides would continue trying to work out a compromise, but one that wouldn't rely on a payroll tax. Welch said that would be the key challenge because senators believe they have the outlines of a compromise. "We've got ours on the table," Welch said of a funding source. "It's his move." Official Statement of Governor James H. Douglas On the House Democrats’ Single Payer, Government Run, Taxpayer Financed Health Care Plan Today, House Democrats proposed a single payer, government run, taxpayer financed health care plan that goes against all my efforts to lower costs and increase accessibility. Vermonters are demanding health care reform that doesn't increase taxes on working families. They are also demanding reform that puts decisions in the hands of patients and their doctors, not politicians and government bureaucrats. The House Democrat plan focuses more on raising income and payroll taxes—among others—than it does on lowering health care costs. The more they talk about taxes, the less they are talking about lowering costs. And Vermonters know that proposing to replace high premiums with high taxes is not saving money or lowering costs. It seems to me that they are asking Vermonters to pay more income taxes, but get less health care. No Vermonter should have to take a number and wait in line for a medical procedure, but this is exactly the kind of rationing system proposed by House Democrats. In addition, their plan proposes to create four new expensive government bureaucracies. The Legislature must remind itself that affordable health insurance options fled Vermont, and we arrived in the current situation, because of those who believe health care should be another big government program like Medicaid. We need true and responsible reforms—like those I’ve proposed—that tackle the root causes of rising health care costs, increase low cost health insurance options, encourage healthy decisions and preventative care, and attack health concerns at their inception before they develop into more serious and costly ailments. Vermonters want common sense, not politicians and bureaucrats, to govern how they interact with their doctors and hospitals. All Vermonters must have the right to choose the health care plan that works best for them, and not be forced into paying for a single, government run plan, funded by dramatically higher taxes. Jason Gibbs Governor’s Press Secretary Vermont Initiative for Universal Health Access EMAIL: wsavt@wsavt.com All rights reserved |
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