Separate and distinct from his consulting business, Craig Cantoni is involved in a number of public policy issues. Presently, the number-one issue is health care reform. He is the co-founder of a reform coalition, FAIR, which has submitted reform legislation on Capitol Hill. Also, he has hosted a reform conference with Steve Forbes as keynote speaker, has written on the subject in national publications and has given keynote addresses. Although Capstone Consulting Group does not do benefits consulting per se, Craig's knowledge of benefits is very helpful in taking a total remuneration approach to employee and executive compensation.
The Free and Independent Reform (FAIR) Plan
Summary
The FAIR Plan specifies federal legislation that will enable individuals to purchase individual medical policies, free of certain federal and state mandates, and to receive tax deductions and credits not presently available to individuals. When fully enacted, the Plan would end the unfair tax advantage that employer-provided medical insurance has over privately-purchased coverage, thus putting people back in charge of their health care and less dependent on third-party payments, which are the primary cause of medical cost inflation. Over time, the Plan will result in medical insurance being more affordable, available and portable.
The FAIR Coalition is a group of citizens who are not beholden to any special interest group or political party. They all share the same goal: to reduce medical costs and expand medical insurance coverage to more people by empowering the consumer of medical care through the free-market.
Objectives of the FAIR Plan
- Begin an evolutionary transformation of health care financing by giving individuals control over their medical spending decisions, thereby making the consumer of medical care one-in-the-same as the payer of medical care.
- Reestablish the bond between patients and doctors by eliminating third-party involvement in routine medical care decisions.
- Provide coverage that is portable and not dependent on full-time employment or employer-provided insurance.
- Address the national problem of escalating medical care costs.
- Reduce administrative, legal and regulatory expenses.
Key Provisions
The FAIR Plan would enable people to purchase Individual Medical Access Policies (I-MAP), which is a term given in the Plan to policies:
- that are private policies, not group policies;
- that are subject to the state laws and taxes of the insurance company's home state, not the policyholder's home state;
- that include a Medical Savings Account (MSA) option;
- that permit Preferred Provider Organization (PPO) networks, but do not mandate them;
- that have fully deductible premiums for the purchaser, plus tax credits of $500 per child and $750 per adult, with a $2,000 limit per family; and
- that permit comprehensive front-end deductibles of any size;
In addition, the FAIR Plan would phase out over five years the tax preferences given to employer medical insurance contributions.
Rationale
Employer-provided group medical insurance is an anachronism in today's fluid job market. It is unsound social policy in this era of frequent job changes, business dislocations and contingent workers (part-time and temporary employees) to tie someone's medical insurance to full-time employment with one employer.
Also, as with any product or service, when someone else foots the bill, utilization and costs are bound to increase, and accountability and responsibility are bound to decrease — as has been seen in health care.
Because someone else picks up the tab, medical insurance is no longer "insurance" in the true sense of the word. It no longer covers just catastrophic illnesses and injuries but has become a complex and costly transfer payment system, in which the government and managed care companies fight over who should pay for what treatments. Meanwhile, the two most important players in this drama, the patient and the medical care provider, are not allowed on the stage and are forced to sit in the wings.
Health Care Reform Bibliography
NOTE: Reprints may be requested from Craig Cantoni.
Craig Cantoni, "The Case Against Employee Benefits," The Wall Street Journal, August 18, 1997.
Craig Cantoni, "Should Insurance Put a Tiger in Your Tank?" The Wall Street Journal, June 4, 1998.
Craig Cantoni, "Should Business Be in the Benefits Business?" ACA News (American Compensation Association), January 1998.
Craig Cantoni, " Health Care Reform Update: Is HR the Problem or the Solution?" Client Newsletter, September 25, 1998.
Jane Larson, "Forbes Backs Accounts for Health Care," The Arizona Republic, September 22, 1998.
Scott Holleran, "Individual Patient Gets Lost in Today's Health Care Economy," The Arizona Republic, September 30, 1998.
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