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Show The Salt Lake Tribune Sunday, May 30, 1999 OPI NION Limiting Payments Could Provide Necessary Health Care for All BY JOSEPH Q. JARVIS People are denied access iteration of the only health-care policy discussioncurrently being held in Utah, or anywhere in the to manymedically neces- United States; A large coalition of concerned citizens is demanding that the legislature mandate that health insurance businesses guarantee certain health services. In Utah, the perennial subject of these conflicts is mental health parity, Otherlegislative bodi the UnitedStates have c saryservices under managed care. Do you think that legislation should coverevery unfair benefit denial? Whydon’t you simplyarguefor a system The arguments back andforth on these issues are always the their losses. Why should they be forced by legislation to accept morelosses if health-carefinanc ing indeed is best done as afor. profit enterprise? Furthermore, why do you only care whether those with some kindofstate-regulated healthin. of social responsibility from surance Their eive your favored mandated benefit? What about constituents havereal health problems for which effective treatments are available; why should managed-careinstitutions the nearly 300.000 citizens of Utah without any health insurance or the nearly 1 million Utahns with health-care benefits regulated by ematically over: strated need for health-care benefits? Employers argue that their dollars are at e and they want the freedomto arrange employee benefit packages that fit their the federal government under budgets, evenif those benefits are minimal. Andthe health insur ustry argues that the ould decide what product lines are offered by their businesses; legislation, they say is a poor waytoset specific health policy In Utah, as in mostcaseselse. where in the United States, the outcome is predictable: business interests have the political muscle to defeat their opponents. Does anyone really think that the cur. rent reneweddiscussionof mental health parity in Utahwillend with a newhealth-care mandate in statute? It is timeto get past meaning. lesslegislative power plays. Let's talk about health-carepolicy questions that might get us be yondthis stalemate. To the advocates for mandates: Your attempts at incremental change in our health-care financ- ing systemimply that you accept in principle the current rketoriented, for-profit” policies. In this system, health care is a com. modity available to those whocan ERISA? Don’t they deserve parity in their mental health benefits? Why only talk about mental health parity? People are denied access to many medically neces sary services under managed care. Do youthink that legislation should coverevery unfair benefit denial? Why don’t you simplyar gue for a systemthat covers ev eryoneforall medically necessary services? sts ith financing systemin thein rialized world case that you oppose an tionwide, 300.000 Americar or droptheir cov true, how many care mandatebecau: be unfettered in your pur profit (or revenue)? We would do well to ability (or your revenuestreamif profit something more thanthe sam stale power plays inevita! ing to more of the As Americans put more lion (mostofit ou into taxes, premiums or copayments) into health care while traditional fee-for-service Medicarehas an overh of less Yet we have more thar Americans without ns should fit to you in than2 percent andno profit. How can you argue th ndated ben: efits are unnecessa when Americans receive fewer benefits per capita than citiz of other countries while spending 50-100 percent percapita more onhealth s that the health-policy debate be the amount of 16-26 percent of the health insur premiumdollar. pay overheadand{ Meanwhile re up. CEO aged-c: less efficient than any other 1 pe family member become: How muchof our current record level of persona ruptey is dueto the financial break the meaningless trivial healt Are and foremost a people to make money, or do they exist pri ly to make essential ervices available to the If the former, the of these businesses 1 constantly for the health benefits for wh es for all medi if we lin who serves his dinner Joseph Q. Jart City physic wh iar must pay, because the PIANO DEALs**YEAR! one-fifth of the total health-care budget to this discussion, while individual out-of-pocket health care expenses account for onefourth and government pays for morethanoneof our nation’s health-care dollars. Your contri bution is lessened even morebecause you write much of your em- PDKBY ployee health benefits off your taxes, relief not available to most individuals Why should s iety give you contro! of the health-care debate whenyou investso little? For that matter. why should you receive tax benefits for arranging health plans that are virtually valueless to those most in need of health care? Why aren't you outraged by the fact that thesoi health care “market” charges 40 percent more per employeehealth benefit to small companies than is charged to large companies? Ex. They know that persons with makes that happen. What are you doin; chronic health problems (such as The simple To employers: You bring only affordit Those whoareselling the com modity do so to makeaprofit those with mental health prob lems) account forthe majority of increase in insurance you are a so-called entity)? Explain why Am aright to demand a certaindegree same. Advocates for mandates {nsist that their constituents have been said that for every in order to improveyour profit breast reconstructionafter bres care? fed States i bureaucratic, mi To the all medically necessary health-care mandates, such a hospital stays, or a patient's bill of tights. how healt delivered. icans have lost their t se YOU age be Services? cancer surgery, 48-hour maternity tients (the re that covers everyone for and sometimes p: health-care businesses. t the pa s) decide your businesses and Weare witnessing yet another plain how AdamSmith’s invisible hand (known as competition) the mid dle of this complex social-serv policy debate anyway? Go Saturday, June NEW. SUMMER == 5 thru Sunday, DAIES, Er Ware BoCeST eeeeos ] eT DIGITAL ermal Mult CEO nf obsessive-compulsive Celso) ae tard + Repetitive behaviors like hand washing Ce meiae Rle Kt checking things A lla worries or impulses that occur over and CeRly the day Pharmacology Research conducting a research stu investigational medicat dren with obse: fn ve disorder, If y 4 between the ages of a a a ea e s esearch Study and how your ch may q ality for ev CLE LY 261-8930 he Salt Lake Tribune http://www.sitrib.com PDKBY PIAN0 by "| Baldwin PER MO. 4 Weighted Hammer Action 4 Dual Headphone Jacks ¢ Authentic Piano Sound # Studio Quality Effects 4 Built in Speakers ¢ Matching Stand ¢ Matching Bench * Full 88 Notes AYS ONLY! Friday, Saturday, Monday SAT 10 to 6 M465 W. Hain ~ SUNSET 4 1968 §. 32 §, Highland Drive - $.L¢. 2987 W. 3500 §, ~ HY. M-F 10 to 7 E-REVERTON MUSIC 4 May 28, 29, 31 ’ |