Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce Health Care Reform Statement

The Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce understands the need to improve health care in the United States. Health care concerns are centered on two primary issues – the high and rapidly-rising cost of health care, and the millions of uninsured Americans, including those temporarily uninsured due to changes in employment. The following are the Las Vegas Chamber’s principles for health care reform:

COST: Lowering the cost of health care must remain a top priority of any reform package including:

Transparency: Full transparency relating to the cost and quality of care is necessary to improve cost consciousness. Connecting health care consumers to the actual cost of care is an integral component to cost control.

Tort Reform: Medical malpractice reform would reduce health care costs by helping to eliminate unnecessary testing and treatment that is done defensively to avoid risk of litigation.

Efficiency: Ineffective or redundant care accounts for a large portion of health care costs. Changes that incent quality care and cost reduction rather than quantity of care would help reduce costs.

Mandates: Elimination of insurance mandates would allow less expensive and, therefore, greater access to, coverage. A minimum standard essential benefit package, pegged to a Health Savings Account-compatible high deductible health plan, should be established to allow individuals and businesses to select coverage appropriate for their needs.

Bureaucracy: Streamline and simplify health care administration, including claims management. Wellness: Emphasize preventative care, wellness and chronic disease management.

COVERAGE: Appropriate coverage for all Americans, with a focus on an improved private insurance market is also a high priority.

Competition: Private delivery of health care must be retained and improved, and competition must be enhanced. Creating a new government run system or a public option is not supported.

Choice: Business owners and consumers need more choice of insurance plans and options. Interstate restrictions and benefit mandates hamper choice.

Play or Pay: Requiring employers to offer insurance they can’t afford will kill job growth, stifle entrepreneurship and do nothing to address the real issue of skyrocketing health care costs. A payroll levy on firms who can’t afford the benefit is an ill-conceived way to fund health care reform and will likely result in fewer jobs and reduced wages and benefits.

Financing: Health care reform should not be financed on the backs of businesses or individuals who already have coverage.

Portability: Employees should be able to change jobs without losing their health insurance.

Tax Reform: Providing tax credits or deductions for individuals without access to health insurance from an employer, or for the self-employed, would expand the number of individuals covered when not employed. Cost-sharing, including vouchers, should also be provided for those truly unable to afford basic coverage. Provide tax incentives for long-term medical care coverage including tax deductibility of long-term care premiums and inclusion of long-term care insurance in Section 125 cafeteria plans.

Individual Responsibility: Once unnecessary insurance mandates are eliminated and equitable tax treatment of individuals is put in place, require those who can afford to purchase basic health insurance to do so. Subsidize those who cannot afford to purchase basic insurance on their own with cost-sharing limits that take ability to pay into consideration.

Pre-existing Conditions: Provide an affordable option for those with pre-existing conditions who do not have access to coverage through their employer.