As liberals inside and outside of government demand more government intervention in health care, South Dakota has found a way to bring things back to where they once stood: between the patient and his or her doctor.
On July 1, a new state law took effect that allows the parties most intimately involved in the health care equation to strike up “medical retainer agreements.”
According to a 2015 article by the conservative website Michigan Capitol Confidential, under these agreements “patients make monthly payments to a physician who in return agrees to provide a menu of routine services at no extra charge.”
“Because no insurance company stands between patient and doctor,” the report continued, “the hassles and expense of bureaucratic red tape are eliminated, which have resulted in dramatic cost reductions.”
The website noted, “Routine primary care services (and the bureaucracy required to reimburse them) are estimated to consume 40 cents out of every dollar spent on insurance policies, so lower premiums for a given amount of coverage are another potential benefit.”
Michigan had adopted the practice six years ago.
Amanda Bowers, a columnist for the Tenth Amendment Center, which advocates devolving greater authority away from Washington to the states, noted that South Dakota’s arrangements do not constitute insurance, “thereby freeing doctors from the onerous requirements and regulations under the state insurance code.”
“The law stipulates that ‘a primary care provider or agent of a health care provider is not required to obtain a certificate of authority or license under this act to market, sell, or offer to sell a direct primary care agreement.’”
“This represents the kind of cost control Obamacare promised but failed to deliver,” she wrote.
More importantly, the spread of such an idea could do what Republicans have failed to do for a decade – even when they controlled all the levers of power under former President Donald Trump.
End Obamacare.
“State actions can help completely bring down the Affordable Care Act, or any national healthcare plan Congress comes up with in the future,” Bowers argued.
“Oftentimes, supporters of Obamacare criticize opponents for not having any alternative. Direct primary care offers one. These direct patient/doctor agreements allow a system uncontrolled by government regulations to develop. It makes doctors responsive to patients, not insurance company bureaucrats or government rule-makers,” Bowers added.
“Allowing patients to contract directly with doctors via medical retainer agreements opens the market. Under such agreements, market forces will set prices for services based on demand instead of relying on central planners with a political agenda. The end result will be better care delivered at a lower cost.”
“By incentivizing creative healthcare solutions, the market will naturally provide better options,” Bowers concluded. “A more open healthcare marketplace within a state will help spur de facto nullification of the federal program by providing an affordable alternative. As patients flock to these arrangements and others spurred by ingenuity and market forces, the old system will begin to crumble.”
In January South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem said, “COVID-19 challenged us in new, unforeseen ways, and those challenges provided us an opportunity to adapt and find innovative ways to deliver healthcare in South Dakota,” said Noem. “The flexibilities that we put in place in response to the pandemic have worked, with no concerns regarding their implementation. We will continue to strengthen South Dakota healthcare by welcoming these successes, building on them, and leaving flexibility for even more innovation into the future.”
“We greatly expanded telehealth in 2020. Since March, people have used tech services like these more than 70,000 times in South Dakota’s Medicaid program alone,” continued Noem. “In 2021, we will build on telehealth advancements and continue to find ways to remove government red tape in healthcare.”
“Workforce is one of the major challenges facing South Dakota healthcare,” Noem said. “Americans from around the country continue moving to South Dakota, we can (continue to) address workforce shortages by recognizing the good work that they did in other states and welcoming them to continue their work by serving South Dakotans.”
South Dakota became at least the third state with medical retainer agreements, joining Michigan and West Virginia, according to the Center.
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ICYMI:
Love it! Looking forward to moving to South Dakota as soon as I can!