Date: 06/05/2015
Final
Presentation - Independence Institute about Connect for Health CO
HEALTH CARE EXCHANGE
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10:12 AM -- Presentation by the Independence Institute about Connect for Health Colorado
Linda Gorman, Health Care Policy Center Director, Independence Institute, discussed the status of the healthcare insurance system prior to the implementation of the ACA. She stated that the insured population fluctuated around 85 percent. She told the committee that a certain percentage of low-income individuals did not seek to be insured because they knew that they could be covered by government programs if they became sick enough. She discussed charity programs that provided access to free health care. She stated that prior to the mandated coverages of the ACA, a much wider variety of insurance plans were offered due to the ability of insurers to limit the services covered by a plan. She discussed the difference between cost and coverages of corporate insurance plans and individual insurance plans, and the difference in paying for a health plan with pre-tax dollars and post-tax dollars. Ms. Gorman stated that the majority of health needs can be covered by a plan that covers up to $50,000 per year, and discussed the idea of allowing for the same tax benefits for those who purchase insurance through employer and those who purchase individual plans. She stated that the exchange exists as a monopoly to determine who is exempt from being required to have health insurance, to distribute subsidies for expensive health plans, and to make sure the subsidies are distributed to the correct insurance company. She told the committee that there is discussion at the federal level to allow for a flat tax credit for those who purchase health insurance. She discussed her views of the short comings of the exchange, including: poor financial controls, high administrative costs, the advertising budget, expenditures exceeding income, and the desire to receive payment for Medicaid enrollment services. She further discussed using general tax revenues to increase the number of insured. Ms. Gorman discussed eliminating the requirement that employers offer insurance to low wage workers, the idea of offering noncompliant policies, and the King v. Burwell case pending before the U.S. Supreme Court.
10:28 AM
Ms. Gorman responded to a variety of questions from the committee about the flat tax rate she referenced in her testimony, removing the mandate that employers offer health insurance, clarifying her statement about how individuals procured health insurance prior to the ACA, the elimination of non-ACA compliant policies, enrolling in an insurance plan outside of the open enrollment period, whether expanding Medicaid has reduces costs for hospitals, and the sustainability of the Colorado HealthOP which is a member-governed nonprofit health insurance company.