The Small Business Association of Michigan (SBAM) joined with representatives from National Federation of Independent Businesses and the Michigan Chamber to deliver a strong message that today’s ruling by the Supreme Court to uphold Obama’s health care law is a setback for job creators and middle class families.
“On behalf of our 15,000 member companies, the Small Business Association of Michigan is deeply disappointed with the Court’s decision,” says Rob Fowler, SBAM President and CEO. “We have been and will be consistent in our message that small business owners need access to affordable health insurance. Health care reform, specifically the Affordable Care Act, that does not get at the root cause of the problem — cost – is an empty promise. In other words, there is nothing affordable in the Affordable Care Act. Our hope is that the President and Congress recognize that cost is the problem and that they will get to work on efforts to lower the cost and increase the quality of health care products and services available to the small business community.”
According to Scott Lyon, Vice President Small Business Services, “From its passage in 2010 SBAM has worked to understand what is and what is not included in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. At this point in time, members of the Michigan House of Representatives must get to work on legislation authorizing the Michigan Health Insurance Exchange and related regulatory issues. If they do not, a Federal Exchange will be implemented here in Michigan.”
SBAM’s suggestions for getting the cost of health insurance under control include:
- Common Electronic Standards/Interoperability, Electronic Medical Records and common claim forms for providers regardless of what insurance company or federal program is providing the insurance
- Providing comparative data on health costs, success rates, infection, morbidity and mortality rates inside facilities
- E-prescribing/Computer Physician Order Entry
- Reducing Waste Fraud and Abuse – and getting at it electronically
- Promoting Best Practices and/or Centers of Excellence for health care services and greatly reducing the rate of infection within our hospitals
- Pay for Performance – bonuses or withholds and stop paying for “never-events”
SBAM will provide our members and their independent insurance advisers with the information they need to comply with this law.