The following is a letter to the editor from Ira Stamm, a Topeka psychologist and reform advocate.
By Ira Stamm
Oct. 9, 2007
At its two-day monthly meeting starting Oct. 15, the Kansas Health Policy Authority board will vote on which of five health care reform plans for KHPA to recommend to the Legislature for consideration during the 2008 session. At its Sept. 25 meeting, KHPA reviewed cost estimates for each of the plans prepared by actuarial consultants from Arizona.
One of the five plans, referred to as “The Mountain,” will cost Kansans $800 million less for their health care than under the other plans. Curiously, this plan received little support from the KHPA. “The Mountain” involves the state collecting premiums from individuals and employers, combining this with state and federal dollars and contracting directly with doctors and hospitals for the health care of all Kansans. The fact that this single-payer plan results in such significant cost savings for all Kansans should catch the attentive eyes of the Legislature.
Presidential candidates John Edwards and Hillary Clinton have offered a common sense proposal for health care reform. They both suggest that every American should be able to enroll in either a single payer plan modeled after Medicare and run by the government or a private, for-profit insurance plan.
It makes sense that Kansans should have a similar choice. I encourage all Kansans to learn as much as possible about the plans under consideration and to express their preference to the KHPA and to the Legislature.