Health-care reform urged for jobless, poor

It's essential to Vai Laumatia that any major health-care reform take into account those with low incomes or no incomes.

Laumatia, a representative of Hospice Alliance and the Tongan Association of America, was among panelists Friday who had questions about the United Way Financial Stability Council's proposed framework for health-care reform in Utah.

"The proposal is basically business-minded," he said. "How do you deal with those who are unemployed?"

His remarks came during a town hall meeting hosted by the Utah Multicultural Health Network at the Salt Lake Main Library to discuss the proposal's impact on ethnic minority communities.

"If we do not take bold action now, I think we will find ourselves in a financial doom cycle," said Scott Anderson, president of Zions Bank.

Anderson said the proposal, now open for public comment, would provide affordable, basic coverage for everyone and an independent commission to regulate that coverage, along with an "exchange" organization to facilitate insurance purchases. It also would emphasize more transparency in the system, which would be funded by a combination of employer and employee contributions to insurance costs, with government subsidies for those who can't afford their share.

The proposal has been presented to legislative leaders and to Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. as a framework for discussion. The governor is now working with legislators on policy proposals, said Lisa Roskelley, Huntsman's spokeswoman.

Luz Robles, former director of the Utah Office of Ethnic Affairs, was the only ethnic minority member to serve on the health-care part of the council. She said that to be successful the plan would need to define affordability and include all Utahns, including undocumented immigrants.

"If we want this health-care reform to be effective, we need everyone to be covered," she said.

Laumatia said it would be essential to include those already working on the grass-roots level in areas such as diabetes.

"They have failed to include the different ethnic communities," he said. "The people who were greatly involved, I don't think they have any problem paying for their insurance."

Paul LaSuba of United Africans of Utah agreed that, to address wellness and education, a grass-roots component would be needed.

"The community needs to be involved and contacted," he said. He suggested training for community representatives who could then train their communities "in their own language, so a lot of people will know what it means to live a healthy lifestyle."

Comments on health-care reform can be made at www.unitedwayut.org.

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E-mail: dbulkeley@desnews.com