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EMPLOYER
BASED HEALTH CARE:
THE CASE AGAINST MANDATES - LOOK BEFORE YOU LEAP
The Ohio General
Assembly continues to revisit the issue of legally mandating that certain
health benefits be included in all insurance programs. During the last
two sessions, the General Assembly has considered legislation mandating
specific insurance benefits for: diabetes; maternity hospital length
of stay; osteoporosis; and mental health "parity." Ohio law
now mandates that health insurance plans include benefits for more than
twenty specific health problems.
Although each "mandate" may be an attractive, and expedient,
solution for a particular health problem considered by the General Assembly,
the cumulative economic and non-economic cost of these mandates is staggering.
Moreover, the "mandates" have not been tested to determine
whether they actually improve patient health.
In short, the "mandates" are simply political solutions that
have been enacted without determining whether the cost of the mandates
is matched by their benefits. Before the General Assembly enacts more
mandates, please consider the following information relating to the
actual impact of mandates upon insured Ohioans.Mandates will raise costs
without providing real health care quality:
Real health care quality is about improving medical outcomes - not legislating
how to deliver care.
The policy question to be considered should be: How can the quality
of care be improved? The answer lies with less government interference
and more incentives to hold providers and insurance companies accountable
for the quality of care provided and the level of service provided to
those covered under health care benefits plans.
With better information on provider and insurance company performance,
the health care market will remain highly competitive, innovative, and
focused on providing the highest quality of care for the best price.
Mandates drive up the cost of health care for families and businesses
Health care mandates passed at the state level cost the average family
from $525 to $1,050 a year. The cost the typical small business employing
25 people roughly an additional $20,000 a year. (National Center for
Policy Analysis).
Employers provide health care benefits voluntarily as part of an overall
employee incentive package. If health care costs continue to increase
due to increased government regulation, real wages will decline which
will only hurt the people employers want covered most - their employees
and their employees' families.
Mandates drive
up the number of uninsured Ohioans
It is estimated that approximately 11 percent of all Ohioans currently
have no health insurance. Every time a mandate is passed it raises the
cost of insurance by one percent, and some 200,000 Americans lose their
coverage. (Congressional Budget Office Mental Health Parity estimates).
There is no doubt about it - mandates reduce coverage.
Think About It!
As major providers of jobs in Ohio, employers ask that legislators please
"look before you leap" when considering legislation that requires
mandated health care benefits. In today's global marketplace, the cost
of labor is a key component in determining a company's profitability.
Increased health care costs with no increases in quality of care or
increased access do not make sense.
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