Senate endorses 'any willing provider'

Weighing patient access against possible higher costs, the Utah Senate endorsed a legislative proposal that would allow Utah residents to select health-care services even if they are not part of their insurance plan.

The vote of 19-8 in support of the proposed "Any Willing Provider" law touted by Sen. Chris Buttars, R-West Jordan, came Friday after another lively debate on the Senate floor extolling the virtues of the measure and its potential catastrophic consequences.

"Will costs go up? You're darn right cost will go up," said Sen. Bill Hickman, R-St. George.

SB34 would allow open access for residents to any provider of health care, even if not part of their insurance plan, as long as that provider is willing to accept 95 percent of plan's reimbursement.

Critics, such as Sen. Greg Bell, R-North Ogden, said the measure would decimate discounts and incentives afforded in managed care plans, forcing costs to rise or other unseen consequences. Employers, for example, might be forced to pay higher insurance costs because control over the market has been wrested.

"This is so complex. . . . I just really think we don't know a tenth of the consequences."

A legislative fiscal analyst said the cost to the state alone would be an additional $2.4 million to cover the Public Employee Health Program's increases, but Buttars said it represents a 1.5 percent hike, when health care costs are rising between 15 and 20 percent a year.

"If you do nothing, we are on a course to medical catastrophe," he said. "The only thing that has the power to slow the monster down that is driving us off this cliff is market forces."

Buttars and others argue that the dominance Intermountain Health Care and other major health insurance companies enjoy in the marketplace not only impedes patient access but contributes to inflationary costs in health care.

All the talk about the cost, the numbers, damages to companies and risks to physicians on preferred provider panels was enough for Sen. Mike Dmitrich, D-Price.

"Who is going to take care of rural Utah?" he questioned, adding that Carbon County was "living proof" of patients routinely denied access to health care.

A shuttle leaves Price once a week for Provo because no preferred providers are in town, he said..

"It's absurd. I haven't heard any talk about patients. When someone goes into the doctor, the first question is who is going to pay for it? Show me your insurance card. It is not, 'what is your concern?' "

The House now gets to wrestle with the question.

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E-mail: amyjoi@desnews.com