As a small business owner, and a physician, in am personally interested in expanding coverage for the lower wage employees, who's yearly health insurance premiums currently cost businesses more than 25% of the yearly salaries. For example an employee earning $25,000 per year would cost the business an additional $6,000-$12,000 in health insurance premium. That's roughly 25-50% of added wage cost to a business.
I have learned in my profession to look for the unintended consequences in all actions. So what are the unintended consequences of this well intended legislation?
1. Out of state insurance would not have to adhere to state laws governing insurance practices such as exclusions of patients with pre-existing conditions, or other state checks and balances, put in place to protect the insured.
The new legislation could be considered as a way to bypass these existing state laws without having to change the laws.
2. As poorer patients will likely buy insurance primarily based on cost and not the generous or expansive health coverage, out-of-state insurance providers will have an advantage over in-state insurance providers, as they will be able to freely decrease coverage to make up for offering lower monthly premiums. In doing so, they would put in-state insurance providers out of business, or force them to move out of state to compete on equal footing and be out of reach of Maine laws.
So what's the solution?
I wish Maine law makers would sit down and review the existing Maine laws, with an open mind, and see if there are potentials for reform that would allow for more competition within the state to reduce premiums, and at the same time preserve basic safeguards for the insured.
Easier said than done, perhaps that's why we went through with this back door legislation we have now!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Jabbar Fazeli, MD
Location:Maine
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