Group Proposes Single-Payer Insurance Plan in Georgia
Georgians for a Common Sense Health Plan is proposing a single-payer plan to provide health insurance coverage to all state residents, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. The SecureCare program would offer residents a comprehensive benefits package that includes long-term care and prescription drug coverage. It would be financed by a combination of payroll taxes, increased tobacco and alcohol taxes, a 1% sales tax and an individual tax, according to the Journal-Constitution. Emory University professor Kenneth Thorpe said the proposal would require more federal funding to lower the employer payroll tax, which has been suggested at 9.1%. According to a study released Monday by the Lewin Group, a Virginia-based health care consulting firm, the proposal would decrease the state’s total health care spending by about $716 million per year. Rita Valenti, founder of Georgians for a Common Sense Health Plan and a former state legislator, said, “Health care needs to be viewed as a necessary infrastructure, like roads or police services. I don’t think anyone is doing well under the current system, except for the private insurance industry and the pharmaceutical industry.” Thorpe said, “On paper there’s a lot of merit to [the proposal].” He added, “The politics is always the thing that bottles it up. You’re moving money from the private sector to the public sector.” Charlie Harman, a vice president of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Georgia, said, “We believe that Americans want their leaders and all health stakeholders to work together to improve what is already a very good system without the tax and fee increases suggested in this proposal.” Susan Pisano of America’s Health Insurance Plans added that single-payer systems in other countries have long waits for care and can be slow to adapt to change and medical innovations (Miller, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 6/22).