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Monday, July 27, 2009
Don't Rush Health Reform; N.M. System Works
By Sue Wilson Beffort
Republican State Senator
I am relieved that Congress has postponed the health care vote. The preponderance of those who have insurance report they are happy with their health care and fear the potential loss of quality as well as an increase in their taxes to pay for such an omnibus reform.
Yet there are approximately 46 million people who are uninsured. If we examine the demographics of those broad groups, we could tweak programs already in place without major disruption and inconceivable costs. Reportedly 10 million are young adults, 10 million-plus are undocumented and the remainder are lower-income individuals who chose not to take up insurance or whose employers do not offer paid coverage.
Since I am very familiar with what is available in our state, I think it is appropriate to dispel several myths.
Most importantly, all children in New Mexico whose families earn under 235 percent of the federal poverty level, ($52,000 for a family of 4) have access to free health insurance through traditional Medicaid or the Children's Health Insurance Program. Additionally, School-based health centers are in 84 schools in low-income neighborhoods.
No people with pre-existing health conditions are denied insurance. We have the "high risk pool" New Mexico Health Insurance Alliance (NMHIA), which was the brainchild of Sen. Tim Jennings' late wife, Patty. Premiums are comparable to commercial insurance, and low-income individuals have financial assistance.
It is almost a non-issue that prescription drugs are unaffordable to the elderly and the low-income. Medicaid Part D and $4 generics have just about solved that problem.
Additionally, there are other worthy concepts to note which dispel the statement that uninsured get their health care in the emergency room.
College students and now even non-college students in New Mexico can be covered under their parents' insurance up to the age of 25. Many colleges in other states require students to have health insurance, which is specialized and very inexpensive. There are programs like New Mexico's College Affordability Endowment Fund that could augment low-income students.
Federally (and state) funded primary health care facilities accept everyone, no matter their ability to pay. There are over 100 throughout our state and 300,000 people visited them last year. In addition to the uninsured, people in the country illegally have open access to the facilities. The federal stimulus package contains funds earmarked to enhance these facilities, and we should keenly concentrate on added services in this already established infrastructure. Affordable, catastrophic-type policies are all that is then needed.
We lead the country in telehealth and telemedicine. The ECHO program, operated out of the University of New Mexico Health Science Center, provides specialty doctor consultation to health-care providers statewide over these networks. This offers sophisticated management of complex diseases in rural areas, where neurologists, psychiatrists, etc., may not be available.
The UNM CARES program diverts people from the emergency room into HMO-like programs. The voters chose to subsidize this and it is operated by tax-supported medical personnel.
Finally, I disagree with President Obama's refusal to put tort reform on the table.
Unnecessary procedures drive up the cost of premiums. Hospitals and doctors must protect themselves against malpractice lawsuits, and it is only fair that cost savings that could be achieved through meaningful tort reform be considered.
Congress should examine these and other worthy programs before moving this country into what could ultimately become socialized medicine, exacerbating our deficit and risking the ruin of the best health care system in the world.
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