4 health-reform measures signed by the governor

The second milestone in a 10-year odyssey to revamp the state's medical care system was ceremoniously marked Wednesday with the signing of four new reform bills by Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr.

The four bills are a combination of small to sweeping changes that those leading the medical care system reform say are integral to what they call the state's last best hope to displace the financially unsustainable, highly wasteful sick care system with one that promotes and rewards keeping people healthy.

Although naysayers repeatedly tell reformers that a new and improved health-care system is a modern-day Eldorado, Huntsman said that these bills are the beginning of a pioneering effort.

"There are a lot of people who didn't give us a chance to even make it this far," Huntsman said prior to signing the bills. The reform effort still has a long, and likely bumpy journey ahead, but the initial package of bills will ensure that the shift to a market-driven, consumer-based medical care system actually gets built.

HB188, the centerpiece of the four bills, imposes flexibility in the insurance market so it can expand offerings not now available for individuals and small pools of clients that don't fit with other common plans offered through the workplace. The intent is to help reduce the number of uninsured Utahns, currently around 300,000 but growing as people lose their jobs and, accordingly, their insurance coverage.

Opening insurance plans to those smaller pools begins Jan. 1. A "defined contribution market" the bill sets up will allow a family to aggregate premium payments from multiple employers or government assistance programs and apply the payments to one benefit plan. The products are guaranteed issue and an employee cannot be denied coverage based on health status, a common practice that forces many people to do without medical insurance.

The bill contains another landmark change, a so-called "mandate-light" medical insurance plan that is lower in cost because it excludes some state-mandated medical treatment and procedures.

Another of the bills, HB331, is an effort to end at least one practice by the state that is contributing to high cost of health care — cost-shifting from the uninsured to the insured. It will require all companies bidding on larger projects to offer insurance, which will level the bidding process between companies and also lower premiums for those who are insured, since there will be fewer uninsured people seeking medical care.

Expanding immunity for ER doctors in SB79, which was easily the most controversial proposal of the four reform bills, is a minor step to add some element of tort reform to the package, said sponsor Sen. Peter Knudson, R-Brigham City. The bill, which he said is the result of collaboration and a bit of arm twisting, "doesn't solve all the issues, not by a stretch of anyone's imagination," he said. "But it opens the door wider to those who practice emergency care or would like to."

The fourth bill, HB165, will simplify administration and information sharing for medical providers and patients.

E-MAIL: jthalman@desnews.com