Health insurance as a state issue / GOP leaders push for Utah to develop own health reform

SALT LAKE CITY -- Republican leaders in the Utah House are beginning to unroll their own limited health care reform plan, including an additional resolution that encourages President Obama to refrain from interfering with a state's right to create such a plan.

House Speaker David Clark shared with the GOP caucus on Tuesday the wording of the resolution that urges the president and Congress to allow "greater flexibility" for states under federal law related to health care.

"Individual accountability is going to have to rule the day," said Clark, as he began to talk to House members about Utah options he would like to eventually put into law.

What Clark hopes happens are expansions of some of the existing state programs, including one that encourages a connection between major insurance carriers and Utahns looking for coverage.

Other proposals are creating new tools for people to compare health plans, including information on a health insurer's claims denials. Legislation in the works might help Utahns select defined benefits or pinpointed health care plans.

"I don't know if the stakes have ever been higher," Clark said about the importance of making changes in the health care market.

House members had plenty of questions at the caucus meeting as they began to further craft and get support for the legislation Clark and his team have been quietly putting together since the last session.

"The price of the insurance is the bottom line," said Rep. Curtis Oda, R-Clearfield, about a primary consumer concern in this area.

But Clark admitted trying to help directly lower cost is almost too difficult and complex. Instead, he says, the legislative aim is to help "manage" the health care relationships at the state level.

Others wondered if state government should play a bigger role in the health care market.

"I am concerned we are just following the lead of the federal government," said Rep. Jim Dunnigan, R-Salt Lake.

Rep. Brad Dee, an Ogden Republican and majority whip, said a series of bills with the substance of the changes is due to be rolled out in the next few weeks.