Hulshof unveils health care plan based on expanding risk pool
Congressman Kenny Hulshof unveiled his health care plan for Missouri today, drawing on many of the same market-based approaches that were the basis for Gov. Matt Blunt’s failed Insure Missouri proposal.
The Republican candidate for governor made it clear he believes that his plan, called HealthMAX, was not Insure Missouri, but something completely different. He called it “bold, very bold.”
The plan would subsidize health savings accounts for working poor and create a statewide health care plan that any Missourian could buy into, Hulshof said. He and state Rep. Ed Robb, R-Columbia, estimated the costs of the plan at a “ballpark” of $50 million.
The key to the plan is the concept of expanding the state’s risk pool by allowing all state and other public employees to choose HealthMAX as their plan. However, Hulshof stressed that the plan was voluntary, so there is no way to estimate how much the state’s risk pool will expand. The expanded risk pool is necessary to entice insurance companies to bid to provide HealthMAX services at a cost low enough for consumers who already have insurance to choose the new state-sponsored program.
“I really believe this competition model is going to keep costs down,” Hulshof said. “I think this is fairly unique.”
Hulshof said he developed the program in consultation with health professionals and House and Senate Republicans. The Republican candidate for governor had been criticized by Democrats for promising a health care plan early in his primary race against Sarah Steelman but not coming up with one until today.
Hulshof called his proposal a “legal framework” that creates market incentives for insurance companies and medical providers to become involved in the HealthMAX program. He said his plan would not create a new bureacracy, one of the most frequent criticisms of the Insure Missouri plan.
On a day in which Census Bureau numbers show no major changes to Missouri’s uninsured population, Hulshof said his proposal is about improving the health care system for all Missourians.
“This goes way beyond the uninsured population that everybody seems to be focused on,” Hulshof said.
I’ll update later with Democratic response and more details of the proposal.
“Market based”
Sounds GREAT to me!
Democratic response from Nixon’s staff…..
“Hulshof’s plan does nothing to restore the cuts of the despicable Matt Blunt to the 100,000 mostly starving, children of single mothers, who work minimum wage jobs that evil Republicans wouldn’t even vote a raise in while Kenny was in Congress. There is only one way to insure all Missourians and that is Jay Nixon’s plan of the government providing care with little or no responsibility on the part of the recipient.”
Of course, Amazed, we’ll continue to be amazed by how many people (one in six) in Missouri were collecting some form of welfare prior to Blunt becoming governor.
I will continue to be amazed at why exactly the dems want to restore cuts to people who didn’t meet the eligibility requirements to be on welfare in the first place.
When they had a chance to “restore the Medicaid cuts” this year, not a single dem voted for it.
Based on this, it is clear there is no real change in Republican governance.
HULSH = NO CHANGE, DO NOTHING, BIG BUSINESS, FOR THE WEALTHY ONLY
HealthMAX = Maximizing profits to Healthcare industry at the cost of patients. It has nothing to do with helping to provide more affordable insurance to individuals.
A true look at health systems indicate that single payer systems such as in Japan are the most successful at providing care and controlling costs.
The healthcare industry and doctors as a whole don’t support this because the single payer (you and I) dictate within reason, what is charged and will be paid.
The current open system is managed primarily by businesses for businesses interesets. The patient does not come into play in this system except to squeeze every last dime possible from us.
Based on lack of substantiative plans from this candidate, I clearly know who I WILL NOT GIVE MY VOTE!
“Amazedbythelunacy” - Why would you post Nixon’s response? The Post-Dispatch does that every day (it’s called their “reporting”). I’m not sure about what “starving” children you’re referring to either. That seems a little dramatic.
The governors race in Missouri has already been decided. Unless something really major comes up, Nixon will win by a landslide. He has a history of doing the right thing and fighting for the people of Missouri. Hulshof has a history of siding with big business, Bush and giving to the rich whenever possible.
We learned our lesson with Blunt, we are not going to repeat that lesson again.
G4,
it is clear you don’t understand the economics of medicine. The gov’t already tells us what we will be reimbursed through medicare and medicaid usually 26 cents and 18 cents on the dollar respectively. Just because you increase medicaid roles doesn’t mean a provider has to see them at such a cut rate. the provider will lose money. That is the reality! Try to find a dermatologist is STL county who will see a medcaid patient or a plumber for that reason who will work for 26 cents on the dollar. Oh just so you know good insurance pays about 40 cents on the dollar!! sounds like a great deal when it currently cost 300,000 plus dollars to train a physician. Just so you also know the goverment was going to cut reimbursement for medicare by 10% in July but congress restore that graet rate to 26 cents. How much longer do you think docs will see medicare patients. So please when you ask for a single payor system think about waiting months for surgery, limits in end of life care/ beginning of life care the government or saying no to joint replacement because you smoke or fifty pounds over weight or older than 70 …… sounds like the VA system to me Try to find another buisness that is price fixed like that in the US.
Wow g4 I’m surprised you even try to think for yourself anymore. I would have thought you would have turned that function over to Nixon already. I mean you seem to want the state to do everything else for you. Those of us that still think for ourselves know that single payer equals increased wait times and decreased options, that fact has been proven many times over, including in Japan.
But to the underlying point, after running for governor for 4 years now Nixon’s grand scheme is, “the government will pay for it.” That’s not governance, that’s my eight-year-old’s way of thinking, “mommy and daddy will pay.” Please, I want a real plan something that actually considers costs to the tax payers and decreases the health insurance for those of us that aren’t Medicaid eligible.
All of you that have supported this plan, bashed Nixon’s plan- read Tony’s last post and fill us with your wisdom now that Hulshof’s plan has gone from 50 million to 590 million in less than one day. Please explain to me that if we can get 60 cents for every dollar spent from the federal government why we leave that on the table? Granted, the remeinder of the funds have to come from Missouri’s budget and that may require reestablishing priorities, where is the money going to come from to fund Hulshof’s plan if he is not tapping into the federal money? Please enlighten me…
Tony - I know you aren’t a math major and play a pollitical scientist in the blogs and paper but Hulshof is right. The $50 million number is state money compared to $1 billion in state money for Nixon’s plan. The later story mentions the tax incentives which any junior reporter in the capitol knows won’t be reflected in future budgets - only the original bill with the tax incentive.
Legislators will like Hulshof plan better than Nixon’s and better than Blunt’s. Nixon’s is unafforadable and doesn’t address the real problem of cost versus service. Blunt’s Insure Missouri Plan wasn’t as free market as you try to make it out to be.
Love the “consistency” of the demorats - bash Republicans for not using the federal money while bashing them when they propose to use it. That’s why Missouri will be Red again in November.