AFL-CIO Prez Trumka Denounces Horizon Restructuring Bill
AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka released a letter today, blasting a legislative proposal that would restructure Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey advanced by state Senator Joe Vitale (D-19).
Trumka called on the Legislature not to take action on the bill.
“The main provisions of S-4 – changing Horizon’s mission to that of a charitable organization, changing the makeup of its Board of Directors, and requiring Horizon to be ‘an insurer of last resort’ – could have a dramatic impact on Horizon, its employees and the 3.8 million of New Jersey residents it insures,” said the national labor leader. “These changes to the law go well beyond what other states require and threaten Horizon’s ability to compete in the marketplace.”
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You know… It might make sense to eliminate the health insurance risk arbitrage business model and just focus on creating an accountable public health infrastructure to serve the needs of a healthy society. Once President Obama tried providing health insurance for 100% of The People, we ran into an intractable math problem whereby the associated cost was entirely superfluous to the cost of providing the underlying healthcare. Just by looking at Horizon’s financials, it’s about a 20% drag on the system. We could do a better job investing those reserves in healthy, vibrant, growing communities backed by a first-class, accountable public health system. Find a new sense of balance between the public and private sectors. If we get the model right, we could apply it to solve other socioeconomic problems, ramp up dynamic Growth, and responsibly lower our taxes. Our best days are clearly in front of us here in the Garden State.