Legislative activity on health care reform has clearly been the major attention-grabber this past year and continues to capture headlines.  Although much of the activity is taking place at the federal level, whatever Congress does will most certainly affect all Ohioans and will add to the state's budget problems.
 
For much of last year and continuing into 2010, the Marietta Area Chamber has been working with other local chambers and the Ohio Chamber to share business concerns about healthcare with members of Congress.  Our message is simple: pass meaningful health care reform - not a proposal that increases costs, adds bureaucratic red tape and saddles states with billions more in expanded entitlement programs.

Members of the U.S. House and U.S. Senate are working to combine the health care bills each chamber has passed in recent months. A few of the major issues still needing resolution are: the public option, funding for the bill (i.e. tax increases, fines and penalties), Medicaid expansion, Medicare cuts and the overall cost of reform.

If you’re an employer, the House bill requires employers to provide health insurance or pay a sizable penalty.  The Senate version does not directly mandate employers provide health insurance to employees. However, employers would pay a penalty if any of their employees needed assistance from the government to purchase health insurance.

Last week the election of Scott Brown drastically changed the health care debate. Until his election, it appeared that the Senate and House democrats would resolve the differences in the two proposals and pass a health care bill within a few weeks.  Now with the election of Brown, a republican and holding the 41st vote for a filibuster, the healthcare game rules have changed.  No one yet knows the course that will be taken.

Some possibilities are:  passage of the Senate version by the House; breaking the massive reform bill into smaller pieces and acting on each individually; or passing only the current reform proposals which all already have consensus.  There is also the option to give up and forget about healthcare reform.  We’ll be watching to see how this unfolds.

Healthcare legislation is also a state issue. As we were busy talking to the folks on Capitol Hill, members of the Ohio House passed two new health insurance mandates. HB 8 would require insurance coverage for autism treatments and HB 81 would mandate coverage for diabetes supplies and equipment. The Ohio Senate will now be reviewing these proposals.  A quick check of the healthcare bills under consideration in Columbus shows that there are at least a dozen which mandate coverage of specific illnesses, medical devices, and treatments.  There are several dozen other bills related to healthcare.  Mandated coverage helps those with the specified coverage, but each new mandate adds to the cost of insurance, not just for employers, but also for employees.  It also eliminates choice; it forces a one-size fits all plan.  Individually these may not add much to your insurance cost, but over time the cost will pile up.  And we all will have less choice in deciding what insurance coverage best meets our family’s needs.

 Too often our elected officials only hear from lobbyists and a small number of their constituents.   The Chamber is a business association formed to act in the interest of commerce and free enterprise, and to speak out for our nearly 600 members.  We recognize that there are other perspectives, and that there is no one solution that will please everyone.  What is important is that our elected officials hear different viewpoints, hear the pros and the cons, from all of the constituents.

Healthcare reform impacts all of us, as individuals, as employers, and as healthcare providers. Healthcare reform, whether at the federal or state level is important and we strongly urge you to contact your members of Congress and share your thoughts.