Today, the board of the Georgia Department of Community Health will consider a proposal to consolidate its health insurance options
Today, the board of the Georgia Department of Community Health will consider a proposal to consolidate its health insurance options and contract with just one insurance carrier. We believe the board should be deliberate in its decision due to the large impact the state health plan has on Georgia’s health care market.
The savings by such a move have been reported to be as much as $500 million. That would be good news to state taxpayers. Yet, the board must also consider the long-term impact of this decision as well as the impact on the state’s health care market.
Choosing a single provider, as capable as that carrier may be, must be weighed against other concerns. Even though the state is self-insured and the carrier is essentially a third-party administrator for the state, these concerns are still relevant.
First, a single carrier selection complicates negotiations over renewal charges because of the inability to compare and contrast results from different carriers. It also makes it difficult to compare and contrast new programs, such as wellness, health literacy or rewards and incentives.
Second, different carriers offer different delivery models. Kaiser, for example, offers a very different model than traditional health insurance. The Kaiser network is not available statewide, but where it is available, the state employees who like this popular model should have the opportunity to select it.
Even traditional carriers offer different products and services, ranging from consumer-driven options, decision support tools, cost and quality comparisons, etc.
With an annual budget of nearly $3 billion and more than 650,000 members from every corner of the state, the State Health Benefit Plan has an enormous impact on the Georgia health care market. Being excluded from the state health plan is not a viable economic option for many providers because it represents so many individuals.
All public school employees, for example, are covered by the state plan. This puts providers in a very difficult “take it or leave it” negotiating position.
All of these concerns underscore the importance of this decision. We hope all the questions are asked in a transparent process and the result is positive for taxpayers, state employees and Georgia’s health care market.
Today, the board of the Georgia Department of Community Health will consider a proposal to consolidate its health insurance options and contract with just one insurance carrier. We believe the board should be deliberate in its decision due to the large impact the state health plan has on Georgia’s health care market.
The savings by such a move have been reported to be as much as $500 million. That would be good news to state taxpayers. Yet, the board must also consider the long-term impact of this decision as well as the impact on the state’s health care market.
Choosing a single provider, as capable as that carrier may be, must be weighed against other concerns. Even though the state is self-insured and the carrier is essentially a third-party administrator for the state, these concerns are still relevant.
First, a single carrier selection complicates negotiations over renewal charges because of the inability to compare and contrast results from different carriers. It also makes it difficult to compare and contrast new programs, such as wellness, health literacy or rewards and incentives.
Second, different carriers offer different delivery models. Kaiser, for example, offers a very different model than traditional health insurance. The Kaiser network is not available statewide, but where it is available, the state employees who like this popular model should have the opportunity to select it.
Even traditional carriers offer different products and services, ranging from consumer-driven options, decision support tools, cost and quality comparisons, etc.
With an annual budget of nearly $3 billion and more than 650,000 members from every corner of the state, the State Health Benefit Plan has an enormous impact on the Georgia health care market. Being excluded from the state health plan is not a viable economic option for many providers because it represents so many individuals.
All public school employees, for example, are covered by the state plan. This puts providers in a very difficult “take it or leave it” negotiating position.
All of these concerns underscore the importance of this decision. We hope all the questions are asked in a transparent process and the result is positive for taxpayers, state employees and Georgia’s health care market.
