When Everyone is Covered, Everyone Wins

In my judgment, the best way to address local health care costs is universal health insurance coverage. This is a topic of hot discussion, and it seems that everyone is talking about it these days.

Unfortunately, there is a lot of talk and little action. However, in Moore County, the Chamber of Commerce has taken the initiative by stepping forward to make possible more affordable health insurance for our local small businesses. We are pleased that the Chamber has chosen to partner with FirstCarolinaCare to offer such a product for our community.

The Chamber has designated enrollment goals before businesses can qualify for the specially-developed set of products, and Chamber member brokers are adding the plans to their product list and will be rolling it out soon.

FirstHealth of the Carolinas is the sole owner of FirstCarolinaCare, a fully licensed health plan in North Carolina. Our analysis of employer-based health insurance in Moore County, particularly those who work for companies of 50 or fewer employees (small business as defined by the state of North Carolina), indicates that slightly more than half actually have health insurance. This matches national trends.

Our goal is eventually to have health insurance coverage for all Moore County residents, whatever the source, and the Chamber initiative is an important step toward achieving this goal. FirstHealth’s endorsement of universal coverage should not be taken to mean that all health insurance in Moore County has to be provided by FirstCarolinaCare. The expectation is that all employees have coverage, regardless of where they, or their employer, wish to obtain it.

Some business owners simply do not offer coverage, and some employees choose not to be covered when a plan is offered, or they simply cannot afford it. While there are many reasons for this lack of coverage, cost is clearly a factor—the greatest factor.

Every state requires that an individual who wants to drive a car have it insured to a state minimum. No one can borrow money to buy a home without required homeowners’ insurance. So why then don’t we require all adults to have a minimum level of health insurance?

The Swiss do it. Government-mandated health insurance coverage, purchased only from private insurance companies, has been on the books in Switzerland for 10 years now.

The benefits of compulsory coverage would be considerable: lower costs for everyone, access to physicians and other practitioners in the right setting at the right time (as opposed to the emergency department, that most expensive site of care), emphasis on wellness and disease prevention, and so on.

As younger and healthier individuals opt out of the system and do not plan for unexpected health events, their expenses are borne by others as these events inevitably occur. Put it this way: Those who are covered pay for those who choose not to participate, and hospitals charge so much because so few pay.

Combine these factors with the current high costs associated with health insurance and you can see that we exist in a spiral of escalating premiums that will eventually create major disruptions in our current system of financing health care.

The end point could be a nationalized system, something that most individuals find acceptable.

In my view, to be successful, the assurance of universal coverage must come from a public/private effort. Government establishes the appropriate ground rules, and the private sector economically determines the best way to deliver goods and services; the prices and choices remain with the consumer.

There is a personal angle to universal coverage, too, one that has each of us living a healthy lifestyle and in making the right choices. We must seek preventive care from our physicians and listen carefully to their recommendations. We must act upon their advice and avoid smoking. We must eat properly, exercise regularly and take better care of ourselves generally.

That said, however, our community is rich in resources, populated by compassionate people who care about one another and blessed with leaders who want to see our area grow and thrive.

FirstHealth and its physicians are committed… the Chamber is committed… with the commitment of the small business community and their employers, we can achieve this lofty goal. All it takes is “Working Together.”

Charles T. Frock
President & CEO of FirstHealth of the Carolinas