HMSA on Health Care Reform
From President and Chief Executive Officer Robert P. Hiam
Time for solutions
We are approaching a crisis point. Unsustainable increases in health care costs
threaten the financial security of families and hinder the economic recovery of
our nation.
Where we stand
The sheer number and complexity of interacting parts of health care reform make
it challenging to answer the question, “Where does the Hawaii Medical Service Association
stand in all of this”?
We stand on the fundamentals
HMSA supports access to quality, affordable health care. We support an active and
innovative private sector role in health care. We support choice in physicians and
health plans. We support government programs that provide access to health care
for the most vulnerable in our society. We support accountability and transparency
in all sectors of the health care industry. We support outcome-based medicine and
best practices in health care. We support consumer empowerment and individual responsibility
for health behaviors. And, we support an economically sustainable health care system.
We are all responsible
As Hawaii’s largest provider of health care coverage, HMSA supports effective
and affordable reform. Controlling costs and providing access to quality care have
always been our goals, so today’s discussions about health care reform are
in line with our philosophy and efforts throughout the 70+ years we’ve served
the people of Hawaii. True reform will only happen with the involvement of everyone
in the health care system.
As individuals, we need to take responsibility for our health – eating well, exercising,
and avoiding risky behaviors.
Health care providers need to make sure they’re offering the right care at
the right time. That doesn’t mean more procedures or tests that simply drive
up costs. It means influencing patients to take an active role in managing their
health and the delivery of care with measurable results demonstrating that patients
are healthier.
The government needs to ensure that it pays its fair share. On average, a family
of four with a private health plan pays an additional $1,800 a year to subsidize
what Medicare and Medicaid pay physicians and hospitals. These government programs
need to pay for the true cost of care.
Re-tooling to meet the challenge
As a health plan, there is much we can and are doing.
At HMSA, we’re re-shaping ourselves to support strong relationships between
physicians and their patients. This means staying in front of advances in technology,
finding ways to encourage and support innovation, and designing payment schedules
that recognize and reward positive outcomes.
We need to help people work toward wellness and manage chronic disease by providing
relevant, timely health information and then making it easy for our members and
their doctors to act on that information.
We also need to help people become better health care consumers, improving health
care literacy and providing access to information that doctors and facilities can
use to provide the best care.
Improve the health care delivery system
Whether it’s helping physicians succeed in rural communities or through new
and innovative programs such as HMSA’s Online Care, which enables patients
to speak with doctors online or by phone, we need to continually improve the way
health care is delivered
HMSA’s operations need to be transparent and collaborative, and must maximize
value to our members while offering Hawaii’s businesses the best possible
pricing for quality health care coverage.
Collective action
We need to stay involved as an active participant in the push for positive reform
and as a resource for our community as we all try to understand how health care
reform will impact us. HMSA will continue to provide perspective as health care
reform moves forward in our collective search for solutions that work.
I invite you to join our efforts. Our community and our nation need concerned citizens
to help shape health care reform. Together, there is much we can do to learn about
the reform proposals, speak with our elected leaders, and work together to improve
our health care system.
We’d also like to hear from you. Please send your thoughts, concerns and suggestions
to us on Twitter @LetsTalkReform.
This information is based on HMSA’s review of the national health care reform
legislation. This overview is intended for educational purposes and should not be
used as tax, legal or compliance advice. Interpretations of the legislation vary
and some reform regulations differ for particular members enrolled in certain groups.
HMSA will continue to present and update information related to national health
care reform as additional guidance becomes available.
