Page 31 - Flathead Beacon // 1.28.15

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JANUARY 28, 2015 | 31 Joe Russell also said expanding cov-
erage like that in HB 249 would ben- efit the community, especially the cli- entele at the Flathead City-County Health Department.
About 60 percent of the people who visit the department’s health clinic are uninsured, Russell said, and they pay out of pocket for treatments on a slid- ing scale based on income. If they had insurance coverage, they could go to the local hospitals or local health care pro- viders, and preventative care could be- come a mainstay.
“There’s a lot of good benefits to that, especially that class of working people that might end up with more compre- hensive medical insurance,” Russell said. “From a public health perspective, the more people that seek care early, get into a preventative health realm, they’re going to be healthier.”
If an expansion package is approved at the Legislature, many clients may choose to stay with the health clinic, Russell said, because its services, such as dental care, fit well with Medicaid- type coverage.
On his end, Sales said he under- stands that people need health insur- ance but doesn’t believe expanding the health care system in its current form is the answer.
“It’s a broken system,” Sales said. “But we need to reform it. We don’t need to expand.”
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Any Montanan making 138 per- cent or less of the federal poverty level would qualify for health care coverage under the Healthy Montana Plan, which is modeled after the Healthy Mon- tana Kids Program.
“The Healthy Montana Plan is a made-in-Montana way to utilize fed- eral funds to expand health coverage to 70,000 Montanans, including 9,500 vet- erans and their family members,” Bull- ock said in a prepared statement. “An overwhelming majority of Montanans – including a majority in the Legislature – support this effort to use our tax dollars to extend coverage to our neighbors in- stead of providing coverage to uninsured in other states. It’s time that the Legisla- ture allows a full debate, and an up-or- down vote on this important issue.”
Federal funding for the plan would be available to pay 100 percent of the cost for the first three years, and this funding sits at the heart of the debate around expanding such coverage.
Montana Sen. Scott Sales, R-Boze- man, said in an interview last week that he and a cohort of conservatives in the Legislature would continue to fight the expansion and HB 249.
“I don’t think it’s a good idea,” Sales said. “The country’s $18 trillion in debt. I have three grown kids. I have enjoyed the prosperity of America, and in good con-
science I can’t sell their liberty and their treasure down the road any further.”
So far, HB 249 has been referred to the House Human Services Committee.
Of those who support expanding Medicaid coverage, the argument falls on the line that Montanans are paying federal taxes, and that money should come back to the state.
Jason Spring, CEO of North Val- ley Hospital in Whitefish, said even if Montana doesn’t expand the coverage range, taxpayers would end up footing the bill anyway.
If someone can’t afford insurance, he said, they wait until they are very sick and come to the emergency room, where they will receive treatment regardless of being able to pay.
It ends up costing more, he said, and health insurance premiums increase and health care costs increase as a result.
“We pay more. It is a hidden tax on health insurance premiums, to pay for those who aren’t insured,” Spring said. “Now we’re actually paying taxes as part of the Affordable Care Act to the federal government that aren’t being returned to us because the Legislature isn’t expanding it.”
North Valley writes off $2.5 million annually for charity care. Bad debt ac- counts for about $3 million annually, meaning the care costs that the hospital believes the clients should be able to pay but they don’t.
If Medicaid coverage was expand- ed or a compromise was reached at the Legislature about widening the range of those who qualify, the higher costs of insurance and health care could de- crease, he said.
“We’re talking about people that would benefit, and at the local level would help us cover those costs that we’re paying now, and hopefully over time reduce that hidden tax in insur- ance,” Spring said.
The Flathead would see a healthier community overall, he added, because preventative care would increase. It would also relieve some burden off the businesses, because employees would be sick and miss work less often.
“Frankly, (it’s) the humane thing to do, to make sure people get health care early and don’t end up sick and dy- ing because they couldn’t afford health care,” Spring said.
Flathead County Health Officer
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PROFESSIONAL Daniel 8ROUND
“WE’RE TALKING ABOUT PEOPLE THAT WOULD BENEFIT, AND AT THE LOCAL LEVEL WOULD HELP US COVER THOSE COSTS THAT WE’RE PAYING NOW, AND HOPEFULLY OVER TIME REDUCE THAT HIDDEN TAX IN INSURANCE.” Jason Spring
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