SALT LAKE CITY -- Affordable healthcare for all Utahns could be on the horizon with HB133--and key members of Davis County's delegation are all smiles. "It passed the House unanimously and will go to a Senate committee to be heard," said Assistant Majority Whip Sen. Sheldon Killpack, R-Syracuse. "I don't foresee any issues on the bill that will hold it up. Rep. (David) Clark did a terrific job meeting with all the stakeholders to work the bill out."

The bill provides for a consumer-driven healthcare market and addresses the need for reform to help businesses and families in Utah who are facing the rising cost of healthcare.

Some of the points HB133 confronts are:

- Premium costs forcing small businesses to move away from providing insurance

- Patients who are not aware of treatment option costs with no incentive to compare prices

- Overuse of emergency rooms and other ineffective methods of healthcare delivery

- An increase of uninsured Utahns with the number of children rising to more than 90,000.

Passage of HB133 would call for a task force to study ways to implement change over the next few years. "I wish the path could move faster but this is a complex issue," said Killpack. "This year will be a busy one for the task force."

Clark's plan of action within the bill calls for a modernization of the health insurance market by creating consumer-driven insurance policies that maximize pretax benefits. It also asks for more transparency on costs and quality of healthcare, as well as an in-crease of Medicaid provider reimbursements.

Along with changes in how healthcare is delivered, HB133 would allow for funding to promote healthy behavior and educate the individual on taking responsibility for a healthier lifestyle.

The task force will work with insurance companies and physicians (stakeholders) to find ways to provide health insurance for low-income families rather than using government programs or giving costly charity care.

"Certain stakeholders' definition of health reform is to let the government make up the difference," Killpack said. "But if we're going to do health reform, just do it. This bill will move us in that direction."

HB133 has the backing of the Secretary of Health and Human Services, Michael O. Leavitt, former governor of Utah and current governor Jon Huntsman Jr., who addressed the House last Friday before the vote.

"The governor told everyone about the need to get out and moving" with this bill, said Killpack. Leavitt encouraged legislators at last year's session to look into a healthcare reform bill as an example for the rest of the nation.

Killpack predicts the bill could go before the Senate as early as this Friday.

bginos@davisclipper.com