I spent an hour talking about health care reform with Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels today. Governor Daniels -- who won his second term as the Hoosier State's CEO in 2008 with over 60 percent of the vote even as Barack Obama was carring the state -- has taken an approach to providing health care coverage that is distinctly at odds with what is being proposed in Congress in three important ways:
1. It is not an entitlement.
2. It provides people with control over health care spending by funding health savings accounts
3. It both encourages and rewards healthy behavior and preventive care.
The program is modest in scope, limited now byt the fact that the federal government will allow Medicaid funds to be used only for less than ten percent of the chronically uninsured in the state. Part of the spending (the money put inton health savings accounts) comes from an increasein the tobacco tax.
But it is paired with the Daniels decision to add an HSA plan for all state employees and a program to encouage Hoosiers to improve their physicial condition through better diets, more exercise, etc.
Preliminary data shows that the state is spending less on healthcare and premiums are rising more slowly.
More important, before reforming or thinking about reforming an entire system, Daniels focused on:
1. the chronically uninsured who have the hardest time paying for coverage
2. changing the way health care isi paid for by focusing on rewarding health and giving consumers choice
In Washington just the oppostie is true. Healthcare reform is all encompassing and is an entitlement focusing on
1. the people who already have coverage
2. rewarding people for not getting insurance and postponing care
3. restricting choice
Also, Daniels has lowered the tax rate on biomedical innovation and created incentives for patent holders.
In Washington, taxes on innovators are going up and patent protection on innovative products will be cut in half.
1. It is not an entitlement.
2. It provides people with control over health care spending by funding health savings accounts
3. It both encourages and rewards healthy behavior and preventive care.
The program is modest in scope, limited now byt the fact that the federal government will allow Medicaid funds to be used only for less than ten percent of the chronically uninsured in the state. Part of the spending (the money put inton health savings accounts) comes from an increasein the tobacco tax.
But it is paired with the Daniels decision to add an HSA plan for all state employees and a program to encouage Hoosiers to improve their physicial condition through better diets, more exercise, etc.
Preliminary data shows that the state is spending less on healthcare and premiums are rising more slowly.
More important, before reforming or thinking about reforming an entire system, Daniels focused on:
1. the chronically uninsured who have the hardest time paying for coverage
2. changing the way health care isi paid for by focusing on rewarding health and giving consumers choice
In Washington just the oppostie is true. Healthcare reform is all encompassing and is an entitlement focusing on
1. the people who already have coverage
2. rewarding people for not getting insurance and postponing care
3. restricting choice
Also, Daniels has lowered the tax rate on biomedical innovation and created incentives for patent holders.
In Washington, taxes on innovators are going up and patent protection on innovative products will be cut in half.
