Letter to the Editor, Submitted 5/28/10 – Des Moines Register declined to publish
Two recent events leave me wondering if there is any accountability left in government. However, those same events leave me with no doubt about how a monstrosity of a health care bill that does more harm than good has become law.
Event one: In March, Governor Culver delayed the Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield rate increase to allow an outside actuarial firm can review those rates (This, after his own insurance commissioner had already completed such a review). When the outside actuarial firm confirmed the rate increases were necessary, Governor Culver announced he was “disappointed” that Wellmark’s rate increases were justified.
Hmm.
I’d like to ask the Governor just what disappointed him the most? That Wellmark wasn’t trying to cheat customers and actually knows how to price health insurance? Or the fact that Wellmark needing an 18 percent increase runs counter to the only narrative he and other politicians subscribe to – that the health care problems in this country are due to greedy insurance companies, not to rising costs of health care itself.
Governor Culver took the easy way out by creating a scapegoat out of an insurance carrier. But by focusing only on the insurance industry – instead of the primary drivers of health care costs – he has contributed to the illogical political environment that resulted in 2,500 pages of national insurance reform, which will do virtually nothing to lower health care costs.
It is absolutely true that some health insurance reform was needed. But what was needed could have been written in two pages instead of 2,500 (e.g., no more underwriting, pre-existing conditions, or insurance rescissions). The remaining 2,498 pages could have been devoted to reforms that would actually lower costs – things like tort reform, real wellness subsidies (50 percent of health care costs are attributable to preventable behaviors), and outcome-based reimbursement strategies.
Event two occurred Wednesday morning (May 26) when Senator Harkin sent an email to those who have contacted him regarding health reform. The email extolled the virtues of the new health care reform law and included one important quote:
The PPACA also establishes a process to annually review premium increases before they go into effect, as well as to require public disclosure of how the premium rates were determined. Just recently we saw the benefits of rate review in Iowa, when Wellmark Blue Cross Blue Shield attempted to raise premium rates by 30 percent. A review of these rates by the Iowa Insurance Commissioner found the hike unreasonable; as a result, the proposed increase was cut by one third, and implementation of the increase was delayed by 30 days, the longest delay available under state law.
Perhaps Senator Harkin’s staff wrote this email on “opposite day.” What the Senator sent to thousands of Iowans was an intentional deception and a thinly-veiled attempt to curry favor for a disastrous piece of federal legislation that will place extraordinary burdens on individuals and small businesses. Most important, it was a fabrication that ignores the real cost drivers behind health care.
It is unfortunate that Wellmark needed an 18 percent increase on their individual business in Iowa. And today’s high health insurance premiums create real hardships for individuals and businesses alike. No one understands that better than I do. But if we are ever going to find real solutions – solutions that would lower costs and improve quality – we need to focus on the real issues and stop with the political nonsense.
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