Feb. 11, 2009
Dear Kansans,
As our elected officials gather at the statehouse in Topeka and on Capital Hill in Washington, D.C., there is important dialogue taking place regarding health care reform. The dialogue must be two-fold. It must not only look at ways to improve the delivery of health care in our state and country, but it also must identify ways to lower costs by improving the health and wellness of our citizens.
As the state’s largest health insurer, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas wholeheartedly supports the efforts of Tobacco Free Kansas to enact a statewide clean air act as a first step towards improving the health of all Kansans.
Health insurance premiums increase because the total number of services received and the cost of those services are growing at a rapid rate. The significant cost impact of tobacco-related illnesses makes access to affordable health insurance more difficult for individuals, small businesses and large employers. In addition, we all pay taxes which support insurance programs the state funds such as Medicaid and the State of Kansas employee program. Simply stated, providing health care in Kansas comes with a huge price tag.
If we are truly going to be serious about lowering the cost of health care in Kansas it is essential that we find ways to make people healthier and lower the incidence of chronic diseases. We must shift our focus to making Kansas a healthier place to live and work. We can have the greatest impact on the cost of health care by decreasing utilization.
In a recent 12-month period, the average cost that Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas paid for a member who suffered a heart attack was $34,488. During that 12-month period we paid out more than $70 million because 2,045 of our members experienced some level of heart attack.
Earlier this year, government researchers announced the results of a three-year study which showed a dramatic drop in heart attack hospitalizations after Pueblo, Colorado, adopted a clean air policy. The smoking ban is credited with reducing heart attack admissions 41 percent.
Applying that percentage to the number of our members who had heart attacks during the 12-month period I previously mentioned means that 838 fewer people would have had heart attacks, saving $28.9 million in claims expense.
Clearly, clean air acts lower utilization, therefore making health care more affordable. How much money could the state save if 41 percent fewer people covered by Medicaid or those in the State of Kansas employee group had heart attacks?
Studies indicate that 10-12 percent of today's health care costs are attributable to smoking-related conditions and diseases. The Society of Actuaries has determined that second-hand smoke costs the United States economy $10 billion a year -- $5 billion in exposure to illness and $4.6 billion in lost wages. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that smoking costs the U.S. economy $92 billion a year in lost productivity.
It is always an individual's personal choice whether or not to smoke and it's not my intent to argue that right. But a credible argument can be made that clean air acts provide tremendous financial benefits by lowering utilization and increasing productivity. And, this is really good news, enacting a clean air act costs little or no money to the state. It is one of the most cost-efficient and simplest ways to have an immediate and substantial impact on the health of all Kansans.
In an environment of high medical costs and precious state budget monies, passage of clean air legislation makes total sense.
Sincerely,
S. Graham Bailey
Vice President,
Corporate Communications and Public Relations
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas