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Legislative Priorities-Health Care
ISSUE:
Access to Quality Health Care and the Availability and Affordability of Private
Health Insurance
CHAMBER MEMBERS ADVOCATE:
- Supporting state and federal efforts to hold down employer-provided health
care cost increases and expand flexibility, competition and choice in the marketplace
while developing alternatives for individually-owned and consumer-driven health
coverage.
- Opposing the implementation of any new health care mandates and supporting
the implementation of a cost/benefit review process for existing and proposed
health care mandates and/or the establishment of a moratorium on any new mandates.
- Opposing health care reforms that ignore the important role or the free
market and/or are largely focus on taxpayer financing or penalties.
- Promoting wellness programs and meaningful efforts to make health care consumers
more knowledgeable about the cost of treatment options and the performance of
health care providers in order to make well-informed health care decisions.
- Reducing health care cost subsidization by improving provider reimbursement
from government entities and programs.
- Supporting the Certification of Need (CON) program and Commission only to
the extent that it benefits consumers, providers and purchasers of health services
through affordability, accessibility and quality.
WHY?
The Michigan Chamber believes true health care cost containment cannot be achieved
if the focus is on price controls and government interference in employers’ health
care decisions. Rules and regulations already on the books have driven up costs
and reduced choices; more of the same kind of regulation will only produce more
of the same result. The Michigan Chamber believes legislators should focus their
time and energy on implementing market-friendly and consumer-driven reforms that
eliminate regulations that increase business costs, drain employees' wallets, and
add to the number of uninsured individuals statewide.
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