Senator Mills sent the following letter to his Somerset County constituents on health care.

Dear Friends:

In the past 10 years, health care costs in America rose 3 times faster than inflation. In Maine since the year 2000, health care premiums for small businesses rose by 90%, 5.4 times faster than people’s earnings.

As a result, Maine workers have lost $2500 of earning power and are now receiving less insurance protection although paying almost twice as much for it.

When economists tell us that 1/6 of the American economy is swallowed up by health care costs, we can see it right here in Somerset County. But it is just as true for a self-insured giant like General Motors that went bankrupt spending over $1500 for employee health care on every car they sold last year.

And sadly, we are not getting as much as we should for all the dollars that we spend. 46 million Americans are perpetually uninsured and another 40 million are chronically without insurance. The Institute of Medicine says 18,000 Americans die each year for lack of access to health care. Most civilized nations provide health care for all of their citizens by spending less than 10% of their gross domestic product. Because Americans spend over 16%, the cost of health care imposes a 6% sales tax on every service and product that our economy produces.

America cannot remain competitive unless we bring these costs under control. Health costs in Medicare have created a staggering public debt. They are the single biggest threat to our economic security. At the heart of the problem is fee-for-service payment and the over-utilization that results. Too often our medical system pays more for process than for results, for volume rather than value. And quality suffers.

Regardless of what happens in Congress, it will still be the states whose job it is to bring health costs under control. I have supported or sponsored a number of Maine reforms that are now in the works:

• a statewide electronic medical records system to reduce errors and duplicate testing;
• a medical home initiative to provide each patient with a strong relationship to a family practice, to emphasize prevention, to manage chronic illnesses and to cut down on emergency care;
• “shared decision making” to help both doctors and patients make better choices in difficult cases;
• a global budgeting system for mental health services to allow agencies to serve all area residents, regardless of payment source;
• pilot programs for “accountable care organizations” in which doctors on salary are organized to work in teams as they do at the famous Mayo, Lahey and Geisinger Clinics and at Kaiser Permanente;
• other experiments to encourage capitated payments in lieu of fee-for-service; and
• better controls over prescribing narcotics for non-cancerous pain.

All of these measures have had bi-partisan support. America has a long way to go; but if a small and nimble state like Maine can figure this out, we may lead the way for other states to follow.

Sincerely,
Peter Mills

Please share your views in the comments below or you can write to peter@millsformaine.com.