|
|
Press Release July 24, 1998 |
Contact: 202/462-6262 |
|
|
|
WASHINGTON – Legislation promoted as a fix for the managed care industry’s failures, which passed the U.S. House of Representatives Friday by a vote of 216 to 210, contains so many flaws that it actually does more harm than no legislation at all, according to Consumers Union, publisher of Consumer Reports magazine.
"This is a sad day for the 161 million consumers in managed care plans who now have fresh evidence that Congress is unwilling to put patients first," said Adrienne Mitchem, legislative counsel at the DC office of Consumers Union. "By passing the flawed Gingrich proposal instead of the Patients’ Bill of Rights Act, which represents real reform, the House of Representatives leaves consumers worse off than they would be with no legislation at all."
"Gingrich’s flawed legislation is no tonic for the problems that plague today’s managed care industry. In fact, it reeks havoc with the principle: first, do no harm," Mitchem added. "By offering America’s consumers flawed health schemes that are certain to drive up costs and make health care more expensive for working families, it leaves consumers worse off. Then lawmakers compound their error by immunizing the managed care industry from responsibility for medical mistakes that exacerbate consumers’ illnesses, resulting in injury or even death."
CU predicts that the GOP’s tax break to expand the Medical Savings Account (MSA) experiment will benefit the healthiest and wealthiest and drive up premiums. Working families, especially those with new kids could see their traditional $250 deductibles replaced by the $2-4,000 deductibles favored by MSA insurance coverage, according to CU’s analysis. If one in four healthy Americans enroll, research has shown that health care costs could explode by 60 percent.
CU considers this insurance product a "flop" and warns that the Gingrich proposal to expand their use, by removing all limits on the number that can be sold and permitting every employer to offer them, will backfire. Expanding MSA’s this way will cost taxpayers $4 billion over ten years, and CU urges that scarce health care dollars be spent more wisely. According to the consumer group, far more uninsured Americans could obtain coverage if Congress chose to increase the number of children eligible for Medicaid instead.
Other parts of the Gingrich bill, medical malpractice caps, HealthMarts and Association Health Plans (AHPs) have also been criticized as "anti-consumer." For example, HealthMarts and AHPs allow small employers to switch their employees into insurance plans that are exempt from either patient protections or coverage of maternity services and well-child care.
