Opinion - Top opinion

POSTED: Thursday, Aug. 06, 2009

Health care reform must be done right

For employers, few other issues generate as passionate a discussion as health-care reform.

In this economy, where every last penny matters, employers are scrambling to find ways to meet the needs of their employees while also keeping their doors open. Businesses in our state provide about 56 percent of all health-care insurance, and the average premiums for employer-sponsored health care coverage for families have risen 119 percent since 1999. These skyrocketing costs affect the ability of employers to compensate employees, hire more workers and continue to offer health-care benefits.

And yet, our members, who predominantly represent small- to medium-sized businesses, are the first to tell you taking care of their employees - and their families - is a top priority. That's why our members are pushing strongly for Congress to take the time to do things right when it comes to health-care reform. It is critical that Congress protect health-care coverage for those who are satisfied with their current plan, resolve the financial problems in our health-care system and put patients and doctors first. Unfortunately, some of the proposals currently before Congress would threaten all three of these principles.

For instance, some in Washington, D.C., are pushing for government-run health insurance or a "public plan." No matter how it is initially structured, a government-run plan would, over time, dismantle employer-based coverage. By setting artificially low prices, a government-run plan would significantly increase costs for those who remain in private coverage, and would add additional liabilities to the federal budget.

We already have a government-run plan in Medicare that currently underpays doctors and hospitals - shifting the cost of health care to those with private health plans. While Medicare provides important coverage for seniors, a recent study by the Lewin Group showed Medicare pays hospitals only 70 percent, and doctors 80 percent of what private health plans pay for the same services. A separate 2008 study found that same cost shifting means about $1,800 a year in higher health-care costs for a family of four - a hidden tax on families as government passes the buck on health care.

That same Lewin Group report showed that a Medicare-like, government-run plan would force hospitals and doctors to see more patients for less money. The problem would be even worse here in Washington state where Medicare rates have long been well below those in other parts of the country. Our local doctors and hospitals would be confronted with the terrible choice of losing money or turning patients away.

Another proposal Congress is considering is an "employer mandate" that would force businesses to buy health-care coverage for employees, or pay steep fines. Rather than getting more people covered, this could cost millions of Americans their jobs and hurt the economy. A better approach would be to pursue common-sense reforms to make coverage more affordable and more available to all workers and their families.

Perhaps the biggest challenge facing health care reform is its cost. Unsustainable health care cost increases are affecting all of us and need to be addressed. Research has shown as much as 30 percent of health-care spending is wasted and isn't doing anything to improve patient health. Before we overhaul the country's health-care system, we must first do something to address the costs associated with it.

We also need to focus more on preventative wellness measures. There is a reason top business leaders, including Microsoft and REI, were the White House earlier this year for a meeting with President Obama, emphasizing the critical importance of healthier lifestyles in controlling healthcare costs. About 25 percent of health-care costs today are associated with illness and conditions that are preventable by improvements in such things as diet and exercise. That's a key reason why employers are increasingly providing wellness programs to support employees in these choices.

Creating health-care reform that works is essential to our country's well-being. Congress needs to focus on improving health care, not rushing through new experiments filled with unintended consequences which will harm patient access and drive up costs for everyone.

Employers in Washington state know we need health-care reform right now, but they also know we must take the time to do it right.

Don Brunell is president of the Association of Washington Business. Renee Radcliff Sinclair is executive director of congressional and public affairs for the northwest region of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.