Delaware Health Security Act Information....Finally a plan to address FRAUD

Single Payer Delaware Health Security Act Informationby Floyd McDowell
INTRODUCTION
In the 2008 state legislative session, our Act will be re-introduced as Senate Bill 177 with an initial co-sponsorship of 18 state legislators. After its re-introduction, citizens may obtain a copy of this important Act, free of charge, by requesting it be mailed by the Legislative Council (phone toll-free at 800-282-8545) or by accessing the Act on our state's web site, legis.delaware.gov and using the Bill Search section on the left side of your computer screen. This Act will provide every Delaware citizen comprehensive health care coverage from conception until ones last breath is taken without a cent from out-of-pocket expense for extra health insurance, co-payments or deductibles. It will tremendously enhance future economic/job development as our businesses compete in the global economy and will have funds to both strengthen and expand health care facilities and services throughout Delaware. At the end of this article, a specific list of benefits provided by our Act will be given that every citizen should understand and share with family members, friends and fellow Delaware citizens.
Our nonprofit, nonpartisan Delaware Unified Civic/Political Association requests that every Delaware citizen put priority on accomplishing the following: Study for a more complete understanding of our Act by accessing the Health Care page on our Association's web site (deinformedvoters.org); Inform and strongly request and invite your family members and friends to become fully informed on this Act's direct importance to their future quality of life; Ask leaders of all organizations in which you have membership to help inform all members about this Act (see list of Delaware/national organizations on our Health Care web site page who have studied, understand and have endorsed single payer reform); Thank each state level elected state official who has co-sponsored this Act; and help our Association identify, enlist and support future candidates' for these state level decision-making elective offices who will sign off on helping enact this valuable legislative Act.
The best informative resource on state/national single payer and other health care reform plans and movements is the Physicians for a National Health Program. Their web site is pnhp.org. They are the fastest growing physician's organization in our nation and their only goal is to help bring single payer health care reform to our states and nation. Their leadership critiqued and praised our Act before it was completed in final form. Of special importance is to access pnhp.org and type in the search window, "How Much Will a Single Payer System Cost?". Then scroll down or download the summaries of 6 national and 13 statewide research study findings documenting the program and cost effectiveness of single payer systems. The 8th study from the top is the comprehensive study accomplished in Delaware by the nationally acclaimed, prestigious research organization Solutions for Progress. Their study and research report is entitled, "Single Payer Financing for Universal Health Care in Delaware: Costs and Savings." Their pnhp.org website very competently critiques the health care plans of our presidential candidates, and the single payer acts passed by state legislators in Maine and California. Massachusetts placed their excellent single payer act on the state ballot and although outspent 60-1 by dishonest special interest fear mongers, it was only defeated 51-49. In the near future, a number of states will enact single payer reform acts that will not be vetoed by Brinks deliveries to their Governors. Citizen coalition movements, like our Delaware Association, are ever-growing in informed, supportive voters and will soon cause passage of these sensible substance single payer reform acts. Worthy of note here is that many state and national poll results show an average of 70% of citizens polled vote for single payer reform. We haven't had a poll in Delaware but at the well-attended legislative committee's official hearing on our Act, approximately 75% of the individuals and organization representatives who spoke gave support for our Act.
Any citizen, political candidate, elected incumbent or organization representative who has questions or needs additional information about our single payer De Health Security Act can obtain same by contacting our Act's contact resource Issue Area Facilitator, Dr. Floyd E. McDowell, Sr., 11 Dover Court, Bear, DE 19701; phone (302) 832-2799; and email address, flydmcdwll@comcast.net. We invite and urge every organization that conducts meetings for members on various topics to schedule at least one membership meeting on our single payer Delaware Health Security Act. Free of any charge, we will provide a Speaker/Discussant and we enthusiastically always desire a debate format with a spokesperson representing our special interest controlled status quo ongoing nonsystem.
ELEMENTS OF THE PLAN
Our single payer Delaware Health Security Act will be administered by a Delaware Health Security Authority. The Authority will be placed within the Delaware Department of Health and Human Services but will operate as an independent body and program. The State Authority's 15-member ruling board will be selected from the following sources: five from elected state officials via two from the House committee concerned with health care, two from the Senate committee concerned with health care and the Secretary of Health and Human Services representing the Governor's office; five representatives from different Delaware organizations representing health care professionals; and five members from Delaware consumer organizations that have endorsed single payer health care system reform at least five years prior to passage of our Act. A list of eligible consumer organizations is given on the Health Care page of our Association's web site. The Delaware Health Security Authority will hire an Executive Director who will work with and through the Authority and the following interactive Divisions: Administration; Planning; Benefits; and Quality Assurance. The responsibilities of the Authority, Executive Director and the four Divisions are explained in the body of the Act.
Our Act includes the creation of County Advisory Councils in each of our three counties. Council membership will be from the same three sources and in the same number of members as membership on the ruling state Authority. These County Councils will be grass roots individual and organization interactive operations involved in all aspects of county/state planning, implementation and evaluation in carrying out the requirements of our Delaware Health Security Act. State and national single payer leaders who critiqued our Act before its final composition highly praised the provision of these grass roots involved County Advisory Councils.
Our single payer Delaware Health Security Act is structured and will operate like our single payer Medicare/Medicaid Act and program. There will be a single form for health care providers to use as they both provide and bill for services rendered Delaware citizens and eligible Delaware workers who live out of state. Hospitals will receive a block grant allotment under a capitation arrangement. Each year the Act's Health Security Authority will negotiate with organizations representing all health care providers to set prices for every health care service. Then one form is submitted for payment as done in the single payer Medicare/Medicaid program. The overhead/administrative cost in the Medicare program is 1.5% compared to 33% wasted by controlling insurance company brokers our Act will eliminate. An important difference in our state's single payer program is that we will save more than enough funds to properly compensate health care providers whereas Medicare/Medicaid funds are not adequate. Our Act will eliminate the tons of unnecessary paperwork continually flowing into providers' offices. This flood of paperwork from totally unnecessary health insurance company controlling brokers with all of their fine print protection of bottom line profits will be eliminated from providers' lives. This will also eliminate the many costly hours that physicians and other health care professionals have to continuously waste helping office staff try to interpret the small print billing requirements of insurance companies. Simply ask one profound, revealing question. What does a health insurance company contribute to a physician's office, hospital, long-term care facility or any part of our health care system? Absolutely nothing. Not even a band-aid!
There is only one downside to implementing our Act and that is a temporary one. Many office workers handling paperwork will not be needed. Based on the Canadian Provinces' experience in implementing their single payer systems, there was a 5% increase in utilization of health care services. This was primarily caused by thoroughly covered citizens going in for preventive and interventive services. Our Act and every other state's single payer Act sets aside funds to offer training and economic support to these displaced office workers if they choose to remain in the field and become qualified to fill these additional needed health care positions.
HOW THE PLAN WILL BE FUNDED
Important information to know is how our Act will be funded. The first understanding is that by eliminating the totally unnecessary health insurance industry (as Michael Moore explains in his excellent documentary film "Sicko"), we will save at least 30% of our Delaware health care funds. At least another 10% will be saved by implementing the 7-step proven plan to stop fraud explained in our nation's recognized authority (Dr. Malcolm Sparrow of the Harvard University School of Government) on health care fraud's must read publication "License to Steal." This will reduce the huge loss of funds from our taxes, citizen out of pocket expenses and private businesses.
Our Act will establish a Health Security Authority fund into which Delaware health care funds from all sources will be deposited. These sources include the following:
All monies the state currently appropriates to pay for health care services or health insurance premiums for state, counties, cities, towns and other government subdivisions;
All monies the state receives from the federal government to pay for health care services or health insurance premiums. Waivers will be obtained as our Health Security Authority can prove our Act will not only cover all benefits and services these federal funds cover but will add more for comprehensive health care coverage;
Private individual and employer health insurance payments and out of pocket health care expenses will be replaced as follows: A payroll tax on private business (as required to overcome the 1974 federal ERISA federal act single payer barrier) as follows:
All self-employed (single employer) businesses are exempt from this tax:
4 percent for employers with from 2 to 9 employees;
5 percent for employers with 10 to 24 employees;
7 percent for employers with 25 to 49 employees; and
9 percent for employers with 50 or more employees.
The payroll tax may be shared by employers and employees.
Every cent an employer spends for employee health care coverage, plus the administrative/overhead cost of providing coverage, is tax deductible.
The Act's savings will enable those businesses now providing coverage to pay less for comprehensive coverage our Act will provide.
All head of households and persons subject to Delaware's income tax shall pay a Health Security income tax of 2.5 percent of net (after all deductions) taxable income;
Persons filing a Delaware income tax return shall pay an additional income surtax of 2.5 percent on net taxable income in excess of $250,000. Married couples filing a Delaware joint income tax return shall pay an additional income surtax of 2.5 percent on net taxable income in excess of $500,000;
At a number of meetings discussing our Act, those in attendance were asked to list and total their annual personal/family out of pocket expenses for all health care costs and compare that total annual cost against the total of 2.5 percent of their net taxable state income tax. Everyone reported savings under our single payer Act.
WHO AND WHAT WILL BE COVERED
Under our single payer Delaware Health Security Act, the jobs, careers and even some life or death medical care decisions of physicians will not be controlled by private health insurance companies, aided and abetted by other corporate special health care interests. Every human being covered under our Act will receive a Health Security Card which enables access to all health care services in our state, nation and other countries that accept this assured coverage. No extra health care insurance or out of pocket expenses for health care services and neither co-payments nor deductibles will ever be encountered. Our Act's array of comprehensive health care coverage benefits are presented for three important areas of Delaware life: individual citizens covered, contributions to our state's future economic/job development and to the strengthening and expansion of our state's future health care system.
Under our Act, every citizen covered will receive comprehensive health care coverage which includes the following:
All services of physicians, including specialists; dental care; hospital services; all types of long-term care; laboratory services; all pharmaceutical drugs, all mental health services; professional services of psychologists, social workers, nurses and all therapy specialists, treatment of AIDS patients, treatment of all addictions, including nicotine, alcohol, controlled substances, eating disorders and gambling: all special health care equipment and aids such as wheel chairs, special beds, hearing aids and eye glasses, comprehensive services for disabled citizens, special services such as ambulance services, equal quality services for citizens in special facilities such as special health needs hospitals/facilities, and juvenile and adult correctional facilities, and promoting preventive health programs such as nutrition, exercise and weight reduction;
Provide every citizen early prevention and intervention services which will give our state a healthier citizenry while reducing health care costs;
Will eliminate the Medicare requirement that one must give up all savings and property before the program will pay for long-term health care services. Added to lifting this burden on our senior citizens will be eliminating the stressful cost for Medi-gap insurance, long-term care insurance and the cost of prescription drugs;
Will prevent all future health care debt, which causes over half the personal bankruptcies and is a major reason many citizens can't buy homes, automobiles or other needed property;
Based on research findings from the comprehensive Delaware study on single payer effectiveness accomplished by the prestigious research organization Solutions for Progress, Delaware citizens would personally save approximately $1 Billion dollars annually which they could spend in our state's economy to improve the quality of life for themselves and family members
Will allow emergency rooms to be used strictly for emergency health care needs;
Will enable one's health care records to be assembled in one file and quickly transmitted electronically to health care providers in our state, other states and other nations; and
ADVANTAGES OF THE PLAN
Our single payer Act will eliminate or greatly reduce the debilitating effects of chronic anxiety and stress that weighs heavily on our over 100,000 uninsured and even more citizens who are underinsured. Chronic stress causes some illnesses and lowers one's immune systems' ability to fight other illnesses.
Our Association's program and cost effective single payer Delaware Health Security Act will make the following important contributions to our state's future economic/job development:
Help Delaware businesses be more competitive in the global economy. For example, Canada and the other 28 industrialized, developed nations with single payer or modified single payer health care systems can build a motor vehicle for from $1,600 to $3,000 less PER VEHICLE than we can build one in Delaware. We will not only lose Chrysler and General Motors manufacturers but with continuing annual health care costs spiraling, we will lose more companies and attract less in the future.
One of the fastest rising costs to both private and public employers is Workers Compensation insurance rates. Our Act will reduce those rates by approximately 40 percent:
Will lower insurance coverage costs for automobile and other vehicles used by Delaware businesses and citizens and for business facilities and citizens' homes as our Act will eliminate the medical liability costs for these insurance coverage policies;
Our Act will stop the double digit annual health care cost increases as only the lower rate of inflation will apply;
Under our Act, all payments to health care providers shall be made within 10-14 days, whereas now some providers have to wait months for payments;
Our state's smaller businesses will have less employee turnover caused by employees leaving for jobs that provide health care coverage. These employees will be more productive as they'll be healthier and not stressed out when facing a personal health problem or one in her/his family;
Will eliminate all collective bargaining over health care coverage benefits between employees/retirees and both private and public employers;
Our Act will cover all health care needs of retired workers from both private and public employers. This will free large amounts of funds these employers have to now provide that can be used for other purposes; and
Will simply solve the medical liability insurance problem for physicians and other health care professionals by self-insuring through our Act's Health Security Fund at a fraction of the rates now charged by insurance companies.
Our Act will save and provide funds needed to strengthen and expand health care facilities and services throughout our state. Funds saved will help provide health care clinics and other facilities to provide quick, easy access to services in every part of our state. Funds will be available to train nurses and other qualified staff our future health care programs will need. But one of the most important contributions our Act will make is to return health care decision-making to health care professionals and eliminate special interest corporate controlling business from health care programs.
Our current Delaware special health care interest driven nonsystem is one of the biggest cash cow rip-offs in our state's history and the take increases on an annual basis. Keep deeply in mind that approximately 90% of this cash flow comes from the pockets of hard-working Delaware citizens. The key dishonest, deceptive way these special profit-driven interests want to keep milking this ever-growing cash cow is by obsessively trying to wash and dry citizens' brains and belief systems by saturating us with claims our single payer Act and similar Acts in Canada and other nations are government run and controlled "socialized medicine and health care." These claims are total lies of the lowest possible order. Passage of this important Act by our state's 68 elected decision-making in our Executive and Legislative branches of OUR state government will ENABLE our Act to begin its value-laden reform of health care desperately needed in our state. Just as these elected decision-makers have ENABLED private businesses to be licensed and operate without being controlled by government bureaucrats. Same ENABLING laws apply to the licensing and practices of physicians, nurses, teachers and other professionals who render professional services in our state. The core motive of these dishonest special interest propagandists, their hordes of lobbyists, aligned political allies and other "go-along-to-get" parasites is to scare the bejabbers out of us into believing some government bureaucrat will dictate how you or a family member will receive health care services. Factual reality is that our Act will totally free physicians and all health care providers to make all health care decisions now sometimes superimposed on providers by bottom line protecting insurance company broker staff. Our Act will also free covered citizens to make all decisions related to choosing their health care providers. Of even greater future advantage to our state's health care system is terminating the control of physicians' and other health care providers' jobs, careers, health care decisions and economic future by totally unnecessary health insurance industry brokers. These aforementioned dishonest special interest touts also keep a steady stream of misleading propaganda filling our ears by depicting our current debacle as "the market place at work." Tell even a college Freshman course in Economics 101 that a totally unnecessary broker industry contributes nothing to a huge statewide enterprise, controls the jobs, careers and key decisions of staff involved in the enterprise and wastes/steals approximately 40% of the enterprises' income while proclaiming this scam is the "market place at work" and most would be helped off the floor with their laughter heard outside the classroom.
A final bit of information should help each informed citizen have added motivation to join our Association's efforts to have our 68 elected decision-makers in our state's executive and legislative branches of government understand and support our single payer act. First read the Oath of Office each swears to that is given on our web site's Oath of Office page. Then seriously ponder this final information which directly relates to every citizen. Using findings from the comprehensive Delaware study on single payer program and cost effectiveness in our state accomplished by the Solutions for Progress research organization, approximately 90% of our DE health care funds are provided by hard-working citizens. This includes approximately 70% from taxes and 20% from out of pocket expenses. In 2007, we lost a minimum of 40% of our DE health care funds to insurance company brokers and health care fraud. This loss figures out to $8 million per day with approximately $7 million per day of these wasted/stolen funds coming from citizens' pockets. While our 68 state elected decision makers have only 18 state legislators supporting our Act as we enter 2008, citizens' tax funds provides and offers each of these 68 and their immediate family members a comprehensive health care coverage benefit package. For our 62 state legislators, this coverage offered is for part-time work.