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By Michael Sluss
RICHMOND
Gov. Bob McDonnell, an outspoken critic of the federal health care overhaul passed by Congress, has appointed an advisory council to develop strategies for implementing it.
McDonnell on Monday named the 24 members of his Virginia Health Reform Initiative Advisory Council, assembling a group that includes hospital and insurance executives, business leaders, state officials and legislators from both parties. The group will help chart a plan for implementing the complex federal health care overhaul even as Virginia wages a court battle to overturn a key provision of the new law.
The panel will hold its first meetings this weekend in Roanoke.
Virginia has filed a federal lawsuit challenging a provision of the health care act that will require individuals to buy health insurance or pay a penalty to the government. But the court fight could drag on for years. In the meantime, McDonnell said, the health care bill "is the law of the land."
U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius announced Monday that Virginia will get a $1 million federal grant to improve its process for reviewing health insurance premium filings. The state's Bureau of Insurance will conduct targeted audits of insurers with the largest market share or those requesting the largest premium increases to determine whether changes are needed in the existing rate review process. The grant also will pay for technology upgrades.
McDonnell called the federal law "dizzying" and said the state has work to do to prepare for its full implementation in 2014. But the governor also wants the panel to look beyond the federal law and devise state approaches to improving health care services, reducing costs and addressing work force shortage issues.
"I'm hoping that this can be a model that other states can use..." McDonnell said.
One of the council's major tasks will be developing recommendations to contain the rapidly escalating costs of Medicaid, the state and federal program that serves the poor, elderly and disabled. McDonnell said the program has become the second-fastest growing expenditure in the Virginia budget, and spending likely will increase because of new eligibility standards in the federal law.
The group is expected to deliver initial recommendations to McDonnell by December. Secretary of Health and Human Resources Bill Hazel will chair the council.
Other members include Del. Chris Jones, R-Suffolk, a pharmacist and senior member of the House Appropriations Committee; Jim Carlson, the chairman and chief executive officer of Amerigroup, the Virginia Beach-based managed care company; and Chuck Hall, the executive director of the Hampton-Newport News Community Services Board.
Sen. Edd Houck, D-Spotsylvania County, also a council member, said he hopes the group can craft consensus solutions and "rise above the partisan fray" that clouded debate over the federal health care law.
"This gives us an opportunity in Virginia to take all that partisanship and put it in the closet, lay it aside and come together and work on a common issue that affects all Virginians," Houck said.
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Va is only above Costa Rica w/ assistance to the less fortunatet
Having been an employee representative, union officer, civic league president (community organizer), officer in various other civic organizations, and coming here from one of those "liberal" northern states, I can tell you from first hand experience that Virginia is hardly compassionate towards it's workers and residents who need assistance. Workers Compensation, Unemployment Comp. and Medicaid benefits not only are very difficult to acquire, but pay amongst the lowest rates in the country. We are often compared to only being more generous than Costa Rica, not a compliment. Often employees and residents who qualify for these benefits are denied and strung along until they either give up in frustration, or are forced to pay an attorney to get them their legally authorized benefit. I know because I have assisted members of my Civic League and work over the years for assistance and seen how the state deals with these unfortunate folks. So the Federal Healthcare initiative is definitely a step in the right direction, at least in Va.
The Socialized Health Care Bill
Two Words To Describe The Socialized Health Care Bill. "IT STINKS"!
Robin Hood approach to health care.
The Obama/Pelosi/Reid plan is nothing more than a Robin Hood approach to health care.
Hero
Yes, and Robin Hood was a hero to all but the rich.
Didn't robin hood steal from
Didn't robin hood steal from the evil sheriff of nottingham (the government) and give to the peasants (the working taxpayers)
Robin Hood
Only in the Disney version. The real story of Robin Hood shows that he was a true villan and a crook to all. He may have given some of the riches away, but collected much more than he gave away.
New Panel
Virginia governor Ronald McDonnell has announced plans to form a panel to study if he needs more panels. Attorney General Ken Kookanelly plans to sue the panels.
Heath Care reform for Virginia
There are many things Virginia can do to improve access and affordability of health care whether Obamacare survives in court or not. Gov. McDonnell would be well advised to enact some of them here preemptively.
From the TLP Health Care Alternative http://wp.me/paM4C-dx
Eliminate anti-competitive Certificates of need(or simply grant them to anyone who asks.)
Eliminate regulatory barriers to formation of association health care plans, allowing small businesses to group together to form buying groups.
Eliminate mandated coverage of specific conditions, let consumers decide which risks to take.
Enable whole life model health care plans.
When government gets out of the way, the marketplace will provide what we need and want.
Don, a question of unintended consequences
If hospital beds become too numerous, isn't there a push to fill them for income rather than a downward push on fees? It seems that doctors groups attached to hospitals would want to generate fees and tests to pay for all that extra space and equipment.
There is not much pressure to prevent that in the health care world.
We have a lot of MRI machines, so there is little wait, but it also seems to add to the health care costs by unnecessary testing to pay for those investments.
Yes, that can happen
But trying to control overuse by artificially limiting supply can only drive prices up while bringing service down.
Ask yourself why this is a problem for hospital beds, but not oil change bays?
The answer is that YOU pay for your oil changes, but if you are in the majority who's health care insurance is provided by an employer, you have no incentive to not overuse health care because to you, it is "free." If your employer provided your oil changes, you would get your oil changed as often as he allowed too.
The state cannot fix that, only the Feds can change the tax laws which overwhelmingly favor employer plans. But both are interferences in the working of the market. Trying to control one market interference with another is like driving your car by flooring both the brake and accelerator and then trying to control your speed with the brake.