Has been updated: 31 few minutes ago release date: 31 few minutes ago
In response to Jim Glazko's commentary that “repealing the 80th percentile rule is critical for Alaska,” his premise is that the only way to reduce health care costs in Alaska is through health insurance companies like Premera. It seems that the idea is to have medical insurance companies participate in the network. Control how much they pay. There is a difference in price and cost.
Insurance company Premera is concerned about the rates it pays. Healthcare providers are concerned about the cost of providing that care. Glazko compared some of Premera Alaska's medical “costs” to Washington state's medical “costs,” but could not provide what other private insurance companies, such as Aetna and Moda, currently pay. Although he mentioned Medicaid and Medicare, he offered only broad generalizations regarding comparisons with commercial insurance products.
In Glasco's defense, Alaska doesn't currently have a system in place to collect or analyze this type of data, so it would be difficult for Premera to compare health care payments across multiple payers. Other states have databases called All Payer Claims Databases that can help you better understand who is paying for what.
I would like to caution everyone to consider repealing the 80th percentile as an “easy button” to reduce Alaska's high health care costs. Healthcare pricing and costs are complex as healthcare providers strive to provide quality care to patients in Alaska.
— Sandra Heffern
anchorage
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