The following is a letter I just sent to Senator Snowe's office. It will be going to every other Senator as well. All of it is true.
Dear Senator Snowe,
I would like you to strongly consider a "Public Health" option when health care reform discussions occur this year. Yesterday I received my renewal information for my Anthem/Blue Cross Health Insurance. The policy covers my wife, my two daughters (ages 6 and 3), and myself. The total cost for this insurance for one year will be over $18,000. As a person who does medical billing, and deals with private insurance on a daily basis, this amount does not come as a surprise. It does, however, hurt.
My wife and I own a small physical therapy practice. Last year, we had a couple of employees and we were able to purchase health insurance as a small group through the Maine Chamber of Commerce plan. Because of business and family situations, we reduced our business to just myself and my wife. This took us out of the small group pool and into the individual pool. Our premium will go from $1050 per month to over $1500 per month. Dirigo Health Insurance is virtually unfunded and not accepting new clients, so we have few alternatives. My family will need to choose between a high deductible plan with a monthly payment under $1000 per month, or our current insurance at the higher fee. Unfortunately, in Maine that is our only choice. We will be paying Maine’s insurance company roughly 25% of our income next year. That, of course, does not count co-pays, out of pocket expenses and deductibles.
Over the past few years, we have seen our insurance premiums rise dramatically, while the insurance companies reduce payments to our physical therapy practice. Over the last two years, Anthem has raised our average payments by a little over 1% a year. Unfortunately, in 2006 Anthem cut physical therapy payments by over 20% in a "cost-cutting move". Anthem has a virtual monopoly in Maine (over 80% of our clients have it) and so their "cost-cutting" move had a profound effect on our practice, as well as the other PT practices in the state. (A class action lawsuit has between the physical therapists in the state and Anthem is set to settle at the end of this month, but any payment we might receive will not cover the 20% of income we lost because of their cost cutting measures.)
The lack of competition for health insurance in Maine, coupled with the private insurance companies quest for profits have left both consumers and providers without recourse. The health insurance companies need competition now, and the public option will provide that competition. It is my understanding that the insurance companies have promised to cap costs wherever possible. However, as you can see by the dramatic increase in my family’s premium for this year, reclassifying policyholders will be just one way to evade such promises. We have been reclassified to a monthly premium equal to a mortgage payment, and with no guarantees of service or coverage of specific medical issues.
I am writing this letter to you, Senator, because you are 1 of 100 people who can do something about this problem. When you get into floor debates on Health Care reform, you will hear a lot of rhetoric about cost of business, and an inability to compete with a government entity. I would like you and or/your staffers to look beyond the theory and to the reality. One family in Maine may pay $18,000 a year for health insurance. They may choose to pay less, but they do so at the risk of less than adequate coverage. I will not hesitate to make sure that my children get all of their medical needs met. As for myself, my health may have to go on the back burner until I can find a way to meet these costs. Can you please help us, the People of Maine, get good, affordable insurance now? We need a public option, and not in seven years. We need it in August, when my premium skyrockets, and my health insurance company reaches into my family’s pocket, and takes as much as it can.
I appreciate your time and attention, and look forward to hearing your solutions for the current health care crisis.