Texas Businesses pride themselves on providing Quality & Affordable care for their Employees – and are therefore firmly against bringing more government into the process
By Alan Hassenflu
AUSTIN, Texas (Texas Insider Report) — A growing number of Texans are faced with unaffordable health care costs. While it is important for lawmakers to address these rising costs, they should bear in mind that imposing new, onerous government mandates on the health care decisions of businesses would only make matters worse.
As the Chairman of the Houston Region Business Coalition, I work to promote the Coalition’s core values of limited government and free-market capitalism. As the Texas State Legislature works to lower health care costs – specifically the out-of-control price of prescription drugs – the steps taken must:- Promote competition
- Allow employers to choose what works best for them & their employees, and
- Attack these problems at their source
If passed, this bill would have inserted the long arm of government where it does not belong and undermined a longstanding federal statute that protects employers’ ability to maintain a continuity of benefits for their employees, specifically those managing benefits across states. This proposed attack on free-market principles and plan sponsors’ choice would have allowed the government to dictate what benefits an employer can offer with no regard for the needs of their employees.
Businesses here in Houston and across Texas pride themselves on providing quality and affordable care for their employees and their families, and being able to do so by standing on free-market principles. Employers and business owners are therefore firmly against efforts to bring the government further into this process.
A survey conducted by the Texas Association of Business (TAB) revealed that 75% of businesses are against new government mandates restricting how employers that offer health care benefits can design their plans – and 77% agree the legislature should give employers more flexibility to contain costs, rather than limit their options through a government-mandated one-size-fits-all approach.
By giving employers the power to decide – rather than the government to dictate – what benefits they offer to their employees it allows Texas businesses to provide meaningful and affordable care for their employees.
Inserting the government into this decision-making process will hinder Texas businesses’ ability to deliver the best benefits for their employees and will limit Texas employers’ ability to attract top talent from around the nation.
A survey conducted by the Texas Association of Business (TAB) revealed that 75% of businesses are against new government mandates restricting how employers that offer health care benefits can design their plans – and 77% agree the legislature should give employers more flexibility to contain costs, rather than limit their options through a government-mandated one-size-fits-all approach.By giving employers the power to decide – rather than the government to dictate – what benefits they offer to their employees it allows Texas businesses to provide meaningful and affordable care for their employees.
Inserting the government into this decision-making process will hinder Texas businesses’ ability to deliver the best benefits for their employees and will limit Texas employers’ ability to attract top talent from around the nation.
To lower the price of prescription of and provide meaningful relief for their constituents, lawmakers should focus on enhancing competition in the pharmaceutical supply chain. By focusing on the source of high drug prices – particularly, anti-competitive tactics by manufacturers that keep cheaper alternative medications off the market – our legislators in Austin will better serve Texas businesses, their employees and their families.
As we look to the future in Texas – for the sake of our prosperity generating businesses – we must continue to promote free market principles, including in the health care market.
Allowing Texas employers to choose the health plans that work best for their employees, limiting the government’s role in health care, and taking on Big Pharma’s anti-competitive practices, state policymakers can do just that.
Mr. Alan Hassenflu is chairman of the HRBC, the Houston Region Business Coalition.
