Taylor, Cox Take Different Tacks on Health Care

By Walter C. Jones, The Florida Times-Union, Jacksonville

Jun. 6–ATLANTA — One of the biggest policy differences between Cathy Cox and Mark Taylor comes in the area of health care.

While they agree on the topic’s importance to the campaign, they have competing proposals for how they would address costs and availability of coverage.

Public opinion surveys consistently show voters consider health care one of the key issues in recent years. And both candidates for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination introduced ideas early.

Taylor released his first, during a January news conference.

One aspect would provide basic health and dental coverage for children who are uninsured now. Modeled on a program in Illinois, Taylor’s proposal would provide coverage regardless of family income.

“Now is the time to provide health insurance to every child in Georgia, every single one of them, all of them — regardless of who they are, who their parents are, where they live, or income,” Taylor said during the announcement.

He estimates the plan will cost taxpayers $50 million to $100 million per year based on an estimated 75,000 children enrolled.

Critics say he’s low-balling the price tag because even well-heeled families would be inclined to drop the insurance on their children if they can get a subsidized plan from the government.

Senate President Pro Tem Eric Johnson brought up that concern Friday.

“We already can’t afford to take care of the people who need to be taken care of,” said Johnson, a Republican from Savannah.

Taylor’s response is that he’s heard naysayers all of his career who fretted that the state couldn’t afford to remove the sales tax on groceries or to lock up violent repeat offenders for life, the so-called two-strikes law. Those programs were instituted by making them a priority, Taylor says, and he’ll simply put children’s coverage at the front of the line for appropriations if he’s elected.

Besides, he says, think what a powerful tool it would be to recruit employers to the state.

Cox has a different approach that she announced in April. She wants to expand the existing PeachCare for Kids, a joint state-federal program. Expanding it to more children would allow it to get more federal money, but she also wants to reduce the premiums parents pay.

“Today, I am proposing a new covenant with the people of Georgia, a covenant based on opportunity for all and accountability and responsibility in government,” she said then.

She hasn’t pinned a cost estimate on it or any of her health proposals. Her spokesman, Peter Jackson, said the price would come when the details are worked out.

“The best that I can really say on that is it’s a big idea that’s going to require some real analysis,” he said.

To cover adults, she would create a purchasing pool for small businesses and the self-employed to combine their negotiating power with insurance companies. And she would allow them to take a tax credit for half the premiums they pay as a way to make it even more affordable.

For those who still have no insurance, she would have the taxpayers pick up the tab for all or some of the cost of providing catastrophic coverage.

Taylor and Cox have similar plans for prescription drugs in which the state would buy in bulk and make its bargains available to the public. Taylor would make them available to the poor, the uninsured and people over age 55. Cox would make them available to state workers, small businesses, the self-employed and senior citizens who don’t have Medicare drug coverage.

Both agree on their opposition to Republican approaches to health care. Neither likes a Massachusetts law that requires everyone to buy medical insurance, nor do they like the idea of removing so-called mandates on what plans must cover.

Republicans argue that mandating coverage of things like mammograms and two-day hospital stays for normal births only drives up the cost of insurance beyond what many employers can afford.

Economist Don Sabbarese, director of the Econometric Center at Kennesaw State University, has some concerns about both Cox’s and Taylor’s proposals. First, he said the campaigns need to project the full costs and the financial benefits of the proposals for the public to make an informed decision.

Second, he warns that the costs are likely to balloon because they could wind up being a form of universal health coverage. Looking at Cox’s concept of catastrophic coverage for the uninsured, for example, he speculated that employers and consumers may stop buying major-medical insurance to opt for the tax-subsidized plan.

“With this catastrophic coverage, is this going to encourage the shifting of the insurance responsibilities?” he asked.

And the low premiums for children’s coverage under both candidates’ proposals could also lead to overuse of the medical system.

“If people don’t pay anything for health care, they abuse it,” Sabbarese said.

Despite his cautions, the Cox and the Taylor health platforms are likely to tap into a public desire for cheaper premiums.

COMPETING HEALTH CARE PROPOSALS: Gubernatorial candidates Cathy Cox and Mark Taylor take slightly different paths toward appealing to voters concerned more about the cost of medical premiums than with the taxes they pay. Both propose programs that would use tax money to provide subsidized coverage, but they have competing proposals.

CATHY COX:

–Expand the existing state-federal program, PeachCare for Kids, to cover all uninsured children and reduce its premiums and eliminate penalties for paying premiums late, with no estimated cost.

–Have the state buy medicine in bulk and let certain groups benefit from the discounts, including state workers, small businesses, the self-employed and senior citizens who don’t get Medicare drug coverage.

–Establish a pool for small businesses and the self-employed to buy insurance together so they can negotiate for a discount, and give them a tax credit for half their premiums.

–Provide catastrophic coverage for every uninsured Georgian.

–Encourage the medical industry to reduce errors.

MARK TAYLOR

–Cover all uninsured children in the state, regardless of income, with a new state-run insurance plan at an estimated cost of up to $100 million per year.

–Have the state buy medicine in bulk and let certain groups benefit from those discounts, including the poor, uninsured and every Georgian over age 55.

–Remove the sales tax on over-the-counter medicines.

Source: Times-Union reports

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