FAQ About Health Care Policy

Why does the Minnesota Chamber care about health care reform?
The Minnesota Chamber is involved in reforming health care for two primary reasons:

1. It is a serious concern for Minnesota businesses. According to our 2007 membership poll, nearly 90 percent of our members provide some kind of health benefit to their employees. They understand the need for a system that delivers quality care to their employees, but the increasing cost of providing that benefit has become a large burden.
2. The Minnesota Chamber is specially positioned to lead on health care reform. Our members include the major hospitals and insurance providers as well as businesses from small to large that pay for health benefits to their employees. Each of these groups has a stake in creating a health care system that provides quality service at a reasonable price. Collectively, our members and their employees are a huge purchaser of health care services.

What exactly is the problem with our health care system?
At the root of our problems lies a fundamental flaw in the way we administer health care: the system encourages inefficiency and unhealthy lifestyles.

Think about it - your insurance company will only pay for medical care provided within their network of hospitals and clinics, regardless of cost or quality. Hospitals are rewarded based on the quantity of care given, not the quality of care. The more time you spend at a hospital, the more money they get paid. Perhaps worst of all, patients have no idea about the true cost of their health care. This has two effects: We become less conscious of the quality of our 'free' care, and it does nothing to discourage unhealthy lifestyles.

Need proof? Preventable illness makes up approximately 80 percent of all illnesses and 90 percent of all health care costs.

What do you mean by poor quality health care?
We like to think that America's medical system is the best in the world. In many cases, it is. However, we can improve in many areas, too. Take these examples:

• According to the Institute of Medicine, between 17 percent and 32 percent of surgeries performed on Medicare patients are unnecessary.
• A study of 11 hospitals by the Veterans Health Administration found that three common antibiotics used in patients with kidney failure or urinary-tract infections were overused or unnecessarily used, based on clinical guidelines. Using lower doses or less expensive drugs would translate into $1 billion in savings nationwide.
• Failure to treat asthma, depression, diabetes, heart disease and high blood pressure with the best available care is estimated to be responsible for nearly 41 million sick days, according to the National Committee for Quality Assurance. (That is an annual cost to American companies of more than $11.5 billion.)

Poor quality care represents 20 percent to 30 percent of all health care spending, according to the Institute of Medicine.

It seems like Minnesota's medical care is good. How can it be improved?
Minnesota does have good health care relative to the rest of the country, but that only means that we're leading in a system that rewards inefficiency and unhealthiness. It does not mean we should accept our current status. Here is a good example: St. Mary's Hospital in Duluth, Minn., implemented a program aimed at improving treatment of patients suffering from heart failure. The program had remarkable success.

• Hospitalizations decreased by 82 percent.
• Patient stays were cut by 81 percent.
• Emergency room visits dropped by 88 percent.

What was the result of this more efficient and effective treatment? St. Mary's Hospital lost money.

There is no incentive for hospitals to update technology or increase efficiency in the current system. The Minnesota Chamber's goal is to change that equation so that Minnesotans have access to better health care at a lower cost.

How can I find the best value in health care?
Minnesotans with chronic or non emergency medical needs have increasing opportunities to compare quality and cost of services. (If you have an immediate health care need such as a heart attack or bleeding, you should be taken to the nearest hospital.) One of the tools available for patients looking for quality care is the MN Community Measurement Web site. The Web site is designed to provide patients with information on the quality of health care in Minnesota clinics and hospitals. It is a nonprofit collaborative effort of health insurance plans, medical groups, doctors, patients and employers. To visit its Web site, click on www.mnhealthcare.org.

What can I do if my employer does not offer health care insurance?
If you are young and healthy, you can usually purchase individual health plans. If you are considered a high-risk patient you usually have few options. Workers without employer-sponsored coverage usually have no choice but to buy coverage through the Minnesota Comprehensive Health Association, the state's pool for high-risk individuals. This coverage is very expensive and is funded through insurance premiums which further drives up the cost for employers who offer health insurance.

Why does the Minnesota Chamber oppose single-payer health insurance?
In a single-payer health system, the government - or an entity within the government - pays everyone's health care costs by taxing individuals and employers. Proponents argue that having a single payer system would eliminate administrative bureaucracy, thereby reducing costs. If that is the case, it would likely be the first government program to ever reduce bureaucracy. The Minnesota Chamber is skeptical of single-payer insurance because it fails to address the fundamental problems within the system. By eliminating competition, there would be no incentive to improve quality or cost - the two underlying problems - and patients would only be further insulated from knowing the actual costs of their care. The actual cost of 'free' health care in terms of dollars and quality of care is an unacceptable alternative.

Why does the Minnesota Chamber oppose a constitutional amendment to require affordable health care for all Minnesotans?
Constitutional amendments that ensure access to affordable health care might make for good sound bites, but the reality is that Minnesota already leads the nation in insured citizens; only 7 percent of Minnesotans are uninsured. In addition to being unnecessary, the proposal is silent on two very important questions: Who will define 'affordable'? Who will pay for this universal coverage? The Minnesota Chamber supports real reforms instead of smoke-and-mirror proposals.

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