Way back in 2009, when I went to Washington, D.C. on behalf of your Louisiana Blue Plan for the first time, I discovered some amazing things. You might call me a wide-eyed, first-timer in the Big City (even though I was already 48 years old!) as I met lobbyists, legislators, staffers for a bunch of influential people, and policymakers intent on writing what eventually became the Affordable Care Act.
It became clear to me almost immediately that these folks knew very little about Louisiana’s people and problems. And since they were intent on rewriting the rules for health insurance nationwide and consolidating a lot of power away from Louisiana and back to Washington, I knew we had to address two things: In order to stay relevant and do our jobs for you, we had to stay ahead of those changes that we knew were coming; and, second, I needed to do everything in my power to defend Louisiana. That has been my mission for at least the last 15 years.
The passage of the Affordable Care Act, and the continued healthcare reform handed down from D.C. since then, continues to worry me. There is no way to sugarcoat this: It is degrading our ability to make local decisions for you. Did you know we’ve had to absorb over 140,000 pages of new rules in just the past 11 years or so? They call them “improvements.” I struggle mightily at times to understand what has improved, honestly.
Federal Interference
By passing the ACA, Congress was making a clear statement that, from their perspective, local decision makers had too much power over health insurance markets. The ACA took power away from your friends and neighbors in Louisiana and parked that authority in Washington, D.C. The small group and individual health insurance markets are now D.C. fiefdoms. The feds design the insurance, they decide how much risk you are allowed to take, they decide what you can keep and what you have to give up. They put hard caps on the money available for us to invest in new technologies and improvements on your behalf.
They did not make allowances for not-for-profit/taxpaying local insurance companies like Louisiana Blue; we get treated with the same disdain they have for for-profit insurance companies. They regulate the value and the cost sharing of your insurance here. Deductibles and copays going up? In the individual and small group markets that increase is baked in each year by the Affordable Care Act. Only Congress can stop it.
Over the past nearly 14 years and across three presidential administrations, federal-level changes have caused local challenges. Lax enforcement of special enrollment and pricing policies, combined with an aging risk pool, have driven costs up faster than anything we could have imagined in the individual market. Tens of billions of dollars in new federal borrowing have been required each year to keep the individual markets (think HealthCare.gov here in Louisiana) going. The zeroing out of the individual mandate in 2019 removed a key hook to get younger, healthier people to sign up for health insurance. The feds have tied local hands in ways that are onerous and expensive. And they are asking YOU to foot the bill every time you pay your taxes.
We are working hard to counteract federal-level execution and decision-making that isn’t what’s best for Louisiana. We are fighting to do what is best for our members and all Louisianians. It’s a battle that is worth fighting. And as we move into a hotly contested election season, we will continue keeping an eye on changes from D.C. that could affect Louisiana families and worsen your situation. I think we’d all agree that Louisiana has ENOUGH insurance challenges already.
Despite these challenges, I believe that the best outcome Louisiana can have is a local company, acting on behalf of local residents, fighting for our friends and neighbors and making sure that when they get sick, the money is there to get them well without creating a horrible out-of-pocket financial burden. For 90 years, your Louisiana Blue Plan has been a great steward of the money you have invested in us. Our friends, neighbors and family in Louisiana deserve nothing less.
The Straight Talk is, a locally owned, taxpaying, not-for-profit Blue Plan, like us, continuing to be run by locals making local decisions, is the best way to make sure Louisiana’s healthcare needs are met and the money is there for you when you need it most. We all need to be Louisiana defenders in this day and age, and I’ll continue to do so as long as Louisiana will have me. After 20 years with Louisiana Blue, this mission keeps me excited about my job.
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