Below are notes that Ohio Project Franklin County Coordinator, Caroline Lahrmann, recorded at the first Health Care Freedom Amendment hearing today.

From: Caroline Lahrmann

Subject: Committee Hearing Notes

Notes to Committee Hearing on Health Care Freedom Act:

Rep Maag gave a statement.  Same statement from the press conference.

Rep Sears followed with her statement from the press conference.

Representative Wachtman asked Maag and Sears what type of premium increases small businesses are experiencing as a result of the federal health insurance bill.  Rep. Wachtman said that he has seen 68% increases in premiums connected to three small businesses he is involved with.  Rep Sears responded that premiums are increasing any where from 2 – 60 percent and on average 20 percent due to uncertainty in the marketplace, the medical loss ratio ruling that is in the bill, and increasing the age of dependents covered to 26.

Rep. Wachtman then asked if the Representatives feel that premium increases will have an affect on hiring by businesses.  Representative Sears responded that businesses will make the most out of the employees they have before they are going to hire in the current climate.

Rep. Barnes asked the Representatives what type of health care system they would suggest in place of the federal health care bill. Representative Sears spoke very quickly, but from what I could gather she would like to see health insurance being taken care of in the private market, make sure that medicaid is truly for those people needing economic assistance, and setting up high risk pools for people with pre-existing conditions.

Rep. Barnes then asked Rep Sears something about Medicaid and it was difficult to hear his question.  Rep Sears responded that Medicaid does not have to live by the regulations that private insurers do and that if it did you would see that Medicaid cost much more than what it does now and especially relative to private insurers.  I think Rep Barnes might have been inferring that Medicaid is better at covering people who have difficulty obtaining insurance on their own, but this is a guess based on Rep Sears response.

Rep. Hagan stated that the federal health care bill allows people with pre-existing conditions to be covered and people can be covered up to the age of 26 on their parents’ plan.  He asked Representatives Maag and Sears if we should be on the side of the insurance industry or on the side of families?  Representative Maag responded that we should let the people decide.

Rep. Hagan then said that he would agree to vote for the Act if Rep Maag and Sears would agree to an amendment whereby the insurance companies and the medical providers would have to keep their money out of the campaign promoting the Act.  Rep. Sears responded that she would do so if Rep Hagan agrees to keep the money of special interests on their side out of it.  Representative Wachtman interjected that Rep Hagan is asking them to give up someone’s free speech.

Rep. Goodwin asked about the figure Rep. Sears quoted of 1.5 billion dollars in increase to Ohio’s Medicaid expenses as a result of the federal health care bill.  Rep. Sears confirmed that is the projected figure.  Secretary Sebilius has provided states with recommendations of cuts to their Medicaid budgets that would help them meet the increased costs.  Rep. Sears stated that none of these cuts would be easy to make.

Rep. Antano mentioned that insurers are oftentimes making medical decisions now and not the doctors and so inferring what is the difference between the insurers making the decisions and government making the decisions.  She told of a personal situation where a relative could not get an MRI for weeks because the insurer was denying it.  Representative Maag indicated that no system is perfect, but in countries with socialized medicine access is a problem and waiting times are much longer across the board for people  Doctors will leave the practice of medicine and some doctors are already unwilling to take Medicaid patients.  Rep. Sears mentioned that there are always going to be outliers by you do not destroy the whole system to address them.

Rep. Antano then mentioned pre-existing conditions.  Rep. Sears responded that the federal health care bill is not attacking this issue in the correct way.