In an effort to address health care reform in Kansas, representatives from the Kansas Health Policy Authority listened to community members Thursday afternoon at Flint Hills Community Health Center as part of a state-wide listening tour.
Concerns raised by community members ranged from the cost of health care to access for the underinsured and uninsured.
Andrew Allison and Joe Tilghman of the authority’s board conducted the meeting. Allison said the authority had made hundreds of stops around Kansas and was almost through the tour.
“This is an opportunity for us on a small scale to address a variety of topics,” Allison said.
In a press release earlier this summer, Marci Nielsen, executive director of the authority, said the board will use the information and opinions it has gathered to develop options for health care in Kansas.
“At the end of the tour, the authority board will use the input they gain to develop common sense health-reform options that are responsive to the needs of Kansans, with a focus on increasing access to health care services, improving prevention to drive down health care costs, and promoting personal responsibility,” she said.
To meet that goal, Allison said, the board needs to know what the issues and concerns are from the public.
“We’ve come into this process without pre-conceived solutions,” he said.
Tilghman said there are two areas the board is trying to get feedback on — how to get people into the ranks of the insured and how to hold down health-care costs. The issues that weren’t on the table include Medicare and Tricare for veterans.
During the discussion, the first issue raised was access to dental care. One consumer said Medicaid does not cover dental. Another person chimed in that there is a need for a dental school in Kansas. Tilghman said he agreed that Kansas has a shortage of dental care.
Lyon County Under Sheriff Richard Old talked about the insurance plan that covers county employees. He said the county pays for most of the individual policies but if there are spouses and families involved, that is the employees’ responsibility.
“(There’s a) heckuva increase in the premium the employee has to pay,” Old said.
Old suggested having somebody organize a cafeteria plan to let employees pick and choose the benefits they need.
Inmate medical care is expensive, Old said.
“We got a jail here,” he said. “(With) 150 beds a day and we’ve got to provide medical care for these guys that aren’t in the healthiest of situations.”
Old said he would like to see the state help pay for medical care to inmates, especially with the purchasing of prescription medications.
Nancy LeClear, of Newman Regional Health, raised the issue of health care for young adults who just graduated high school.
“It’s very difficult to find health insurance for that age group,” LeClear said. “Many schools do not have affordable plans for health insurance.”
LeClear said her greatest concern was access to catastrophic insurance for young adults.
Tilghman responded to LeClear’s concern. He said if a policy was designed for young people the ones likely to purchase a policy are those with health issues. He said healthy young adults likely won’t buy a policy so premiums might be high for unhealthy young adults.
Allison said the cost of health care is being driven by elements of the system and patient conditions and habits.
The topic then shifted to prevention and healthy living. The group agreed that for those living in poverty, unhealthy food is much less expensive than healthy food such as fruits and vegetables.
The conversation then branched into offering incentives for people who live a healthy lifestyle and making those who practice unhealthy habits pay for the added cost in their care.
This idea, though, raised concerns of privacy and how personal responsibility could be tracked.
Old brought up electronic medical records and how to get other providers in the state to use them. Old wanted to know if the state has a committee to help organize the usage of that type of system.
Allison said there was such a group but that it’s not an easy nut to crack.
“You’ll see initiatives and proposals within the next year on that,” Allison said.