Enter the "Mississippi Health Insurance Exchange," which Barbour is asking the Legislature to create this year.
It isn't complex. The state would serve as a clearinghouse for employees of small businesses to pool with employees of other small businesses in purchasing group policies. No state funds would be involved other than start-up costs. Once the consortium is established, operating overhead would be derived from plan participants.
Charlie Mitchell calls it "Haleycare." I wouldn't since it's not his idea and has been pushed for years in other places.
He states that it will cut costs for 500,000 of our state's citizens by half. I'm sure it will cut costs, but half would be amazing. I'd like to see his reasoning there.
Buying things in groups almost always lowers the cost of goods so this appears to be a good step in addressing the lack of care provided for many of our fellow citizens.
Any reason not to?
Group health insurance can cost half as much, or even less, as individual health insurance. It's also available to people with preexisting conditions. This sounds like a small business version of the Mississippi Comprehensive Risk Pool plan, and something that's sorely needed.
ReplyDelete