Looking not at all like a compromise bill reached in April after months of negotiations between Sen. Tom George, R-Kalamazoo, and Rep. Marc Corriveau, D-Northville, the Michigan Senate Health Policy Committee has approved a two-bill health care reform package.

“This is about putting the interests of the state and our residents first in light of the new federal health care overhaul. It is our duty as representatives of the public to look out for them,” said Sen. Tom George, R-Kalamazoo, chair of the health policy committee.

“My bill would also encourage healthier lifestyles by giving consumers the ability to earn a better insurance rate by improving their behaviors,” said George, an anesthesiologist who also is running for governor.

Corriveau, chair of the House health policy committee, said he was disappointed that the Senate bills did not contain many of the provisions he and George negotiated over the past year.

“Tom and I both knew and realized that different versions were likely to come out of our chambers,” Corriveau said.

“Those (Senate) bills fall short of the reform that is needed in Michigan,” he said.

But Corriveau added: “There are some good pieces in there.”

For example, Senate Bill 1243, sponsored by George, would allow Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan to rate policies on a variety of healthy behavior factors, including tobacco use and body mass index.

S.B. 1242 creates a 17-member MI-Health Recommendation Board that would advise the state Legislature and the executive on the impacts of the federal health care legislation on the state.

The board is required to produce an annual report on a variety of different aspects of the federal health care bill.

“The MI-Health Recommendation Board would be charged with protecting the state’s interests — and those of its residents — regarding health care,” said George.

But the health policy committee rejected an amendment from Sen. Gilda Jacobs, D-Huntington Woods, that would have removed the authority of the MI-Health board to recommend ways the state could opt out of some federal requirements.

Sen. Bruce Patterson, R-Canton, said Michigan should be allowed to review federal requirements in case some are unconstitutional.

Corriveau said he hopes to hold hearings in his House health policy committee later this summer or early fall.

“I don’t foresee the House bills will change as dramatically as the Senate,” Corriveau said. “We hope to work with the Senate to reach a compromise.”

Earlier this year, George and Corriveau crafted compromise legislation that they said would help move Michigan to the forefront of health care reform.

Their proposal included the following provisions:

• Using an estimated $82 million annual payment in lieu of taxes from Blue Cross and millions of dollars in expected federal dollars to provide subsidies for up to 1.2 million uninsured residents to purchase customized private health insurance policies.
• Forming the Michigan Catastrophic Protection Plan Board, or MI-CAPP, which would be created in the state Office of Financial and Insurance Regulation.

The six-member board would oversee a newly created Michigan Claims Fund, which would use the Blue Cross funds and other assets, to reimburse commercial carriers and HMOs for eligible claims of high-risk individuals and those with pre-existing conditions.

(Source: www.crainsdetroit.com)