Tenth Amendment Center: Pennsylvania House Unanimously Passes Bill to Expand Healthcare Freedom

From Tenth Amendment Center

...from Tenth Amendment Center

HARRISBURG, Pa. (Oct. 3, 2017) – Last week, the Pennsylvania House unanimously passed bill to help facilitate healthcare freedom outside of government regulatory schemes.

Rep. Matthew Baker (R-Wellsboro) introduced House Bill 1739 (HB1739) along with 12 co-sponsors on Aug. 24. The legislation specifies that direct primary care agreements (sometimes called medical retainer agreements) do not constitute insurance, thereby freeing doctors and patients from the onerous requirements and regulations under the state insurance code. The bill also stipulates that a primary care provider or an agent of a primary care provider is not required to obtain a certificate of authority or license under the Pennsylvania Insurance Code to market, sell, or offer to sell a direct primary care agreement.

HB1739 also includes provisions defining direct primary care agreements and establishing modest requirements. Similar pieces of legislation are being passed rapidly throughout the country as states look for solutions to rising costs and other problems related to Obamacare.

HB1739 passed the House by a 189-0 vote on Sept. 27.

Direct primary care offers an easy, market-based solution to federally-driven health care woes. According to Michigan Capitol Confidential, by removing a third party payer from the equation, medical retainer agreements help both physicians and patients minimize costs. Jack Spencer writes:

“Under medical retainer agreements, patients make monthly payments to a physician who in return agrees to provide a menu of routine services at no extra charge. Because no insurance company stands between patient and doctor, the hassles and expense of bureaucratic red tape are eliminated, which have resulted in dramatic cost reductions. Routine primary care services (and the bureaucracy required to reimburse them) are estimated to consume 40 cents out of every dollar spent on insurance policies, so lower premiums for a given amount of coverage are another potential benefit.”

This represents the kind of cost control Obamacare promised, but failed to deliver. Last fall, Tom Woods interviewed a Kansas doctor who utilizes the direct primary care model. Dr. Josh Umbehr’s practice demonstrates the cost savings possible when doctor’s are unfettered from the bureaucratic health insurance system.

Under Obamacare, regulations define such programs as a primary care service and not a health insurance plan, and current IRS policy treats these monthly fee arrangements just like another health plan.

A FIRST STEP TOWARD NULLIFYING

With Obamacare repeal 3.0 going down in flames (and don’t let the terminology fool you – it wasn’t a repeal), it doesn’t look like Republicans will ever repeal or even reform Obamacare, and the changes to the ACA proposed by the the GOP would have arguably made things worse. Regardless, state actions can help completely bring down the Affordable Care Act, or any national healthcare plan Congress comes up with in the future.

Oftentimes, supporters of Obamacare criticize opponents for not having any alternative. Direct primary care offers one.

These direct patient/doctor agreements allow a system uncontrolled by government regulations to develop. It makes doctors responsive to patients, not insurance company bureaucrats or government rule-makers. Allowing patients to contract directly with doctors via medical retainer agreements opens the market. Under such agreements, market forces will set price for services based on both demand instead of relying on central planners with a political agenda. The end-result will be better care delivered at a lower cost.

By incentivizing creative healthcare solutions, the market will naturally provide better options, such as the Surgery Center of Oklahoma. This facility operates completely outside of the insurance system, providing a low-cost alternative for many surgical procedures.

A more open healthcare marketplace within a state will help spur de facto nullification the federal program by providing an affordable alternative. As patients flock to these arrangements and others spurred by ingenuity and market forces, the old system will begin to crumble.

Passage of this legislation would take a first step toward healthcare freedom in Pennsylvania, and would create a stepping stone to further action to nullify the onerous Affordable Care act. Once in place, Pennsylvanians could take further steps to fully extricate themselves from Obamacare for good.

For more information on a plan to nullify the PPACA, click HERE.

NEXT STEPS

HB1739 now moves to the Senate for further consideration. The bill was referred to the Senate Banking and Insurance Committee where it will need to pass by a majority vote before moving forward in the legislative process.

Mike Maharrey
October 03, 2017 at 04:02PM