Tuesday, August 31, 2004
Sebelius confused about who pays for health insurance
[Scott Rothschild, "Sebelius promises increased health insurance," The Lawrence Journal-World, 28 August 2004.]
It's good to see that Governor Sebelius is showing a commitment to tackling the issue of the uninsured in Kansas, but she could use a brushing-up on her understanding of basic economics.
Gov. Kathleen Sebelius on Friday promised a major initiative to increase the availability of health insurance and a proposal to link the award of state contracts to companies that offer workers' benefits.
Sebelius, the state's former insurance commissioner, said one way to ensure workers have health insurance and other benefits was for the state to consider those issues when awarding contracts.
When companies don't provide insurance or other benefits, she said, costs for health care usually fall back on taxpayers and private insurance policyholders.
"We want to be sensitive to not only the bottom line, but what is not on the bottom line," she said, adding that her administration soon would establish new bidding rules to take into account the benefits offered by companies seeking state business.
The reality is that employees are paying for their health insurance whether the company has a plan or not. If the Governor is serious about increasing insurance accessibility, she will need to focus less on the small pool of employees awarded state contracts and instead reduce the number of insurance mandates in the state, encourage the use of health savings accounts, and consider a program of tax credits to purchase health insurance.
[Scott Rothschild, "Sebelius promises increased health insurance," The Lawrence Journal-World, 28 August 2004.]
It's good to see that Governor Sebelius is showing a commitment to tackling the issue of the uninsured in Kansas, but she could use a brushing-up on her understanding of basic economics.
Gov. Kathleen Sebelius on Friday promised a major initiative to increase the availability of health insurance and a proposal to link the award of state contracts to companies that offer workers' benefits.
Sebelius, the state's former insurance commissioner, said one way to ensure workers have health insurance and other benefits was for the state to consider those issues when awarding contracts.
When companies don't provide insurance or other benefits, she said, costs for health care usually fall back on taxpayers and private insurance policyholders.
"We want to be sensitive to not only the bottom line, but what is not on the bottom line," she said, adding that her administration soon would establish new bidding rules to take into account the benefits offered by companies seeking state business.
The reality is that employees are paying for their health insurance whether the company has a plan or not. If the Governor is serious about increasing insurance accessibility, she will need to focus less on the small pool of employees awarded state contracts and instead reduce the number of insurance mandates in the state, encourage the use of health savings accounts, and consider a program of tax credits to purchase health insurance.
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