Health issues join usual topics -- such as schools, taxes -- for lawmakers
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No Comments [ Add Comment ]By LORETTA PARK
Standard-Examiner Davis Bureau
lpark@standard.net
S
ALT LAKE CITY -- The Capitol is old, but new, as are the issues legislators and the governor are bringing to the table beginning Monday.
Gov. Jon Huntsman's priorities for the 57th General Legislative Session are health care reform, education and air quality, said Lisa Roskelley, the governor's director of communications.
"He has said we have to work on getting an effective framework to improve the health system in the state," Roskelley said. "We need to make sure all Utahns are insured, that insurance is affordable, portable and accessible."
"This is not a process that can happen in one year," said Rep. Brad Dee, R-Ogden, who is also the assistant majority whip for the House.
"Health care is very complicated," said House Majority Leader David Clark, R-Santa Clara.
He is sponsoring House Bill 133, which is a three-year plan to set the framework to begin reform.
The reform bill encourages consumerism, healthy lifestyles, tax-cut benefits for those who buy their own insurance and optimizes existing programs. He said it will take at least 10 years to reform the health care system.
Sen. Allen Christensen, R-North Ogden, is the co-chairman for the Health and Human Services Appropriations subcommittee. He agrees with Dee and others that health care reform is going to be "an ongoing process. It will take three to four years to get it set up, but it will get a start this year."
Assistant Majority Whip Sen. Sheldon Killpack, R-Syracuse, is the co-sponsor of the health care bill.
The hope is to eventually have the health care system be market-driven by bringing a consumer approach to the way it is offered, Killpack said.
The current way insurance companies work encourages consumers to use it more once they hit the deductible, Killpack said.
If a consumer has an out-of-pocket deductible of $4,000 and "say you had your appendix out in March, you could easily hit that deductible for the year," Killpack said.
"You decide it's time to do a complete overhaul and get that rotator cuff fixed that's been bothering you."
Insurance companies then end up paying more for medical expenses and pass the cost on to consumers the following year, he said.
"We need to look at how we spread the risk, how we cover different items. In other words, we need to look at things differently," Killpack said.
Besides getting the framework in place for reform, the bill may also include more funding to put more children on insurance who are currently uninsured, said Senate President John L. Valentine, R-Orem.
Minority Leader Rep. Brad King, D-Price, said he agrees the issue is complex.
"The devil is in the details," King said. "We're hopeful to see something early in the session, rather than later, so we can go thoroughly over it."
He said he and other Democratic legislators are excited that health system reform is being discussed this session and "are willing to work with the majority party to make some meaningful changes."
Huntsman also wants lawmakers to address education issues and increase teacher compensation, Roskelley said.
Although lawmakers and the governor agree teachers should receive a raise, they differ on how the raise is given.
Huntsman is proposing a 7 percent increase in the weighted pupil unit, Valentine said.
The House and Senate leadership want to give each teacher a $2,500 increase, as they did last session.
"If we use the 7 percent wpu recommendation from the governor, when it gets down to the district it doesn't always convert into money into the classrooms or into teachers' salaries," Valentine said. "We want to give an increase to all teachers, not just to those on the top end."
King said even though the Democrats want to see an increase in teacher compensation and more funding go into the classroom, how that funding is dispersed is where they differ with the Republicans.
Democrats want to see the increase in the education funding go to the per pupil spending so "local school districts are able to address their needs. They are closest to the problem so they should be closest to the solution to the problem," King said.
Legislators also need to look at how to fund higher education so more students enroll at the state's universities, said Sen. Gregory Bell, R-Fruit Heights.
"Our kids aren't going to school like they did in past generations," Bell said.
Bell wants to see more funding put into education, but said he also is aware that Huntsman wants more funding allocated to increase the air quality.
"I am driving on Victory Road right now and I can see the haze settling down over the valley," Bell said during the phone interview.
Bell served on the governor's blue ribbon committee. He said the new federal emissions standards go into effect in 2011 and "that's not what people want to hear."
Even though 4 percent to 5 percent of commuters use mass transit, Bell said it is important to provide funding for it in order to improve the air quality because the fewer vehicles on the roads, the better the air quality.
Huntsman also wants to improve air quality by increasing energy efficiency overall throughout the state 20 percent by 2015, Roskelley said.
It is a goal he has been working on for several years. In 2006, he and Rep. Fred R. Hunsaker, R-Logan, worked to pass a bill to improve energy efficiency in state buildings by 20 percent by 2015. Last year, Hunsaker and the governor extended the energy efficiency bill to the use of state vehicles.
"Air quality is not just an issue for Salt Lake County or Davis County, but an issue that is statewide," Roskelley said.
The governor is hoping lawmakers will make $2.4 million available for hybrid vehicles for state use, according to the budget report.
Also, Huntsman is asking for $2.5 million to help monitor and improve air quality in the state.
The governor's goal to improve air quality "is a laudable goal," Dee said, "but the air quality is not a complete product of Utah."
Dee said he also worries legislators may be hasty in passing bills that "could cripple the state economically."
He said every plan needs to be looked at carefully so it does not cause a negative impact on Utah residents.
One issue legislators are hoping will be solved without causing a negative impact is property taxes.
"Property tax is a particular burden on our citizens," Valentine said. "This is an issue we need to get our arms around this session."
Several legislators already have filed bills focusing on property taxes because many residents complained about increases on their property tax statements that were as high as 70 percent, he said.
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