State Mandates & Health Care
I just received an interesting e-mail from BreakTheMatrix that had some information I thought I would share with you.
Find Out What You Are Paying For (And Don’t Need)
State mandates for health insurance are a major factor in the high cost of coverage. I did some research to find out what exactly I’m paying for in my state. You won’t believe some of the things I found… find out the mandates for YOUR state here.
There are 2133 state mandates (Minnesota has 68 mandates) that are responsible for 20-50% of health insurance premium costs. Please help spread the word that reducing these mandates is a valid way to “reform” healthcare and make it more affordable for millions… instead of spending TRILLIONS of dollars on a bloated, bureaucracy-laden, anti-freedom plan that WON’T WORK. There ARE alternatives… we just need to force Congress to consider them!
The most common state mandates:
Alcoholism/substance abuse treatment
Breast reconstruction
Diabetic supplies
Emergency services
Mammography
Maternity minimum stay
Mental health parity
Source: Council for Affordable Health Insurance
Unusual mandates:
Athletic trainer
Circumcision
Hair prosthesis
Midwife
Naturopath
Oriental medicine
Pastoral counseling
Port wine stain elimination (birthmark removal)
Residential crisis service
Source: Council for Affordable Health Insurance
So… maybe there’s a good reason for these mandates?
Nope!
J.P. Wieske, director of state affairs for the Council for Affordable Health Insurance (CAHI), says “For state legislators, [mandates are] used as a special interest tool to reward lobbyists with a specific mandate and let someone else pay for it”
So, I have a question for Congress and President Obama: Can any of you tell me why this isn’t being discussed as part of your health care reform plan?
It seems pretty logical to me: Don’t make people pay for coverage they don’t need, then when premiums are significantly lower, won’t millions more Americans be able to afford healthcare?
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