August 19, 2009.
From the desk of SHARE Director Lynn Blewett:
Yesterday I had the opportunity to testify before the Senate Finance Committee's Health and Human Services Budget Division at the State Capitol. Senator Linda Berglin, who chairs the committee, invited me and my colleague, Jean Abraham, to present information on both the current status of federal health reform efforts and the potential impact of federal reform on the states, focusing on Minnesota in particular.
My message to the committee was that the state role in reform will be substantial, involving the oversight and funding of Medicaid/SCHIP expansions, the administration of premium subsidies, the creation of an infrastructure for (potential) state-level insurance exchanges, and the implementation of new insurance regulations. However, this state burden comes with little, if any, federal funding, at the same time that state budgets are facing significant revenue declines and record budget shortfalls.
On the plus side, Minnesota will be better situated to implement federal reform than many other states, given our relatively low rate of uninsurance and our progressive insurance regulation. Additionally, Minnesota's recent payment reform legislation makes the state well-positioned to inform Congress when it considers payment reforms and cost-containment measures down the road-although we will need to really push to be present when payment reforms are discussed.
Click here to view the slides from my presentation, "Update on National Reform: A Moving Target."
Jean Abraham is a health economist and a professor of public health at the University of Minnesota, and she recently spent a year as a senior staff economist on the President's Council of Economic Advisors.
Jean provided the committee with unique insight into the economics of federal health reform based on her CEA experience. She discussed the details of the three major components of the reform discussion-the public option, employer pay-or-play, and reform funding-and how these components might play out under the various congressional proposals. Jean emphasized that the economic case for health care reform depends on slowing the growth of health care costs through "bold delivery system reforms."
Click here to view the slides from Jean's presentation, "Tackling the Tough Topics: The public plan option, employer pay or play, and paying for health care reform."
Click here to access the June 2009 CEA report, "The Economic Case for Health Care Reform," on which Jean worked during her tenure with the CEA.