Rupie Phillips: Less government, more competition will benefit health outcomes, bottom line in WV

In West Virginia, we hold our conservative values close, and we take fiscal responsibility very seriously.

That means we value the free market and support legislation that allows for competition. That is because we know that competition among businesses and other service providers improves the quality and affordability of our products.

That belief in the free market and the benefits of competition was evident in the discussion about Senate Bill 476. It is a bill that I supported, and it is a bill that passed the West Virginia Senate unanimously.

It passed the House of Delegates overwhelmingly and was signed by the governor into law. The new law opens the Medicaid managed care program to additional competition, and it will save the state money while improving healthcare outcomes.

Since 2015, the State of West Virginia had limited access to Medicaid coverage, with only three companies participating in the managed care program. That meant those West Virginians only had those three options for health insurance coverage. This lack of competition also drove up costs.

With the adoption of SB 476, West Virginians now can get Medicaid coverage through any insurance company that provides Medicaid coverage and applies to be able to provide coverage in West Virginia.

That's a big change from the state's previous practice of limiting competition among companies that provide Medicaid coverage, a practice that drove healthcare costs for the state up. As a fiscal conservative who takes his job of being a steward of the people's money very seriously, I found it imperative to support a bill that would save the state millions of dollars.

Medicaid is a huge part of the healthcare system in this state. About a third of the state's population, or around 600,000 people, rely on Medicaid for healthcare coverage. This is big money, and we need to keep an eye on costs to not only keep them from skyrocketing but to reduce when we can. This is one of the cases.

As a businessman, I know the importance of saving money. You can't run a business without being fiscally conservative. Government should run the same way. These are taxpayer dollars that we're spending, and we should make sure that we do everything we can to make sure that this money is spent wisely.

That is one reason why I supported this bill. Another reason is because competition improves quality of service, and this is no different in the Medicaid managed care system.

The previous system limited competition and stifled West Virginians' ability to obtain the coverage that best suited their and their families' needs. Whether that means going to a doctor that's closer to their house or finding the right specialist to treat their specific health condition, the State of West Virginia is getting out of citizens' way when it comes to healthcare through Medicaid.

If we're paying money for a service, I want that service to operate in the most efficient and productive way possible. This law encourages that. This broader Medicaid managed care program will do more to help West Virginians stay healthy, care for their families, go to work, and pay their bills because they'll be able to get the coverage that best suits them while saving the state money.

I've lived in southern West Virginia my whole life. I love this state. I want West Virginia and the residents here to do well. This law will do this by saving our state money and helping provide a better service to those who rely on Medicaid.

Bio: Rupie Phillips (R-Logan) is a member of the West Virginia Senate.