Health Exchanges?
Among the many confusing items being put through the legislature this month, is a bill that you may not have heard much about – the health care exchange bill. Bills, actually, as there are a few versions floating around.
In theory, a health exchange would allow individuals and small businesses to band together and get better prices and more variety in health insurance options – the kinds of breaks that big corporations can negotiate for their employees today. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (otherwise known as “Obamacare” , the ACA, or “the health care overhaul”, depending to whom you are speaking), made health insurance exchanges the centerpiece of the private health insurance reforms. If they function as planned, these exchanges will expand health insurance coverage, improve the quality of such coverage and perhaps of health care itself, and reduce costs. Notice the “if” – the problem is that if these exchanges are not correctly set up, the largest insurance companies will be able to control them, and consumers will have no cost benefit because the insurers will not have any actual competition.
Since the ACA requires each state to have an exchange by 2014, it is necessary for states to act now to set them up or risk having the federal government come in and set it up for them. Therefore, North Carolina has taken the prudent step to being laying the groundwork.
This brings us to the current conundrum in the GA. There are three bills, H115, H126 and S418. One is bad, one is good, and the other is less-bad, but not great. The real problem with the whole process is that consumer-friendly organizations have been completely shut of the the entire process for both H115 and S418, the only ones with a real shot of actually being passed. While we support the better governance positions taken in S418, there is still much to be desired in this bill – such as all of the provision in H126. It is our fear that without a seat at the table during the negotiations, consumers will be shorted and will forever be denied a real and robust health exchange system in North Carolina.
NCSJP has joined a coalition of groups concerned about this issue. You are find out more at Citizens for Responsible Health Care, and this website will be updated with the latest on this developing issue. You will be hearing more from us in the coming weeks on this issue and we will be asking for your help to contact your representatives – this is far too important an issue to ignore.
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