CHAMBERS, HOSPITALS PROMOTE HEALTH PLAN

Proponents of a health care package that will be introduced in the Missouri General Assembly today claim it will deal with the problems of both access and affordability of health care by enhancing the present system.

Charles Bowman, president of the Missouri Hospital Association, pointed out that 600,000 people in the state do not have health insurance. Because of that, 30 percent of the medical bill for people who have insurance is to pay for those who can't afford the costs.

Bowman and Jo Frappier, president of the Missouri Chamber of Commerce, stressed the plan includes both public and private initiatives designed to deal with the increasing problems of health care.

"The good part about this proposal is that it enhances our present health care system - it does not try to re-build it," declared Bowman.

The package was formulated by a group known as the Missouri Health Care Forum, which is a coalition of representatives from business, labor, insurance companies, and health care providers.

Bowman and Frappier are co-chairmen of the forum and held one in a series of press conferences to outline the plan at the Chamber of Commerce office in Cape Girardeau Tuesday afternoon.

Also attending were Sen. Steve Danner, D-Kirksville, and Rep. Katie Steele, D-Kirksville, who will sponsor the legislative portion of the package this year.

All four agreed that the forum's plan was only a blueprint, and that changes would be made along the way to address health care needs and issues that had not been considered.

"This is not a final solution," said Frappier, "it is a beginning ... a positive approach."

He pointed out that it might take several years to make the kinds of changes that are needed to improve the present system.

Frappier explained the chamber initiated the study last year after conducting a survey of businesses in the state about critical issues. "Far and away the most important issue was health care," he said, adding that it defeated taxes as a concern by 20 percent.

"The bottom line is that business is very concerned about the cost of health care for its employees."

Sen. Danner noted that his district in north Missouri includes 12 rural counties and people there are very concerned about the availability of health care and the cost of it.

Danner said this package provides a framework for Missouri to work under until the federal government addresses the overall picture with a comprehensive plan.

"I think it is clear that we don't need an overhaul of the entire system, we just need to refine it," declared Danner. "This provides a good framework for us to begin."

One bill considered last year and that will be introduced again this year, sponsored by Rep. Gail Chatfield, D-St. Louis, provides for universal health care in Missouri.

But members of the forum contend that such an approach involves throwing out the present system, which is not practical or necessary. They say universal health care also has a huge price tag that the state cannot afford.

"The key word in all this is caution," observed Rep. Steele. "We have to know the system we are developing is better than what we have now."

Steele added that the present system "needs our direct attention."

Steele said she was confident a large part of the legislative package would win approval in the General Assembly this year. She noted that Gov. John Ashcroft, Senate President James Mathewson, and House Speaker Bob Griffin had reviewed the plan and were making health care a priority issue for the 1992.

Another factor, she said, is that some of the ideas in the package are not new and have been considered previously by legislators.

"It will be up to the General Assembly to set the pace for health care reform in this state," said Steele.

She and Danner agreed that health care is a pressing issue for most Missourians and that all members of the legislature will have to treat it as a high priority.

"Health care is a burning issue with the people this year and I believe some kind of health care legislation will pass this year," said Danner.

"For many, access and affordability are at crisis levels, especially in outstate Missouri," Steele added. "There is a crisis upon us and we just can't wait for federal action."

The cost of the Missouri Health Care Forum's package would be $42.5 million, which Danner said could be phased in over several years. He noted that some of the reforms are revenue neutral or involve private sector initiative.

Frappier pointed out that some of the private sector initiatives include a practice variation study to determine what the norm is for various types of medical treatment, and the publishing of a book by the Missouri Hospital Association listing prices charged by various hospital for the 25 most frequent medical procedures.

The legislation would provide for increased Medicaid coverage for pre-natal care, tax incentives for businesses that provide health insurance to employees, provide for insurance pooling by companies, changing the method by which health insurance premiums are determined, trying to reduce health insurance mandates, and establishing pilot projects around the state.