Robin Smith at the Pachyderm Club on Monday
photo by Joseph Dycus
District 26 Rep. Robin Smith visited the Pachyderm Club during their Monday afternoon meeting, and she focused on the subject of healthcare for the majority of the afternoon.
“Please stop referencing the access to healthcare as the access to health insurance,” Rep. Smith said. “The reason this is important is because we’ve done so much at the state level to increase access to care and transparency, and to give people more information.”
She brought attention to how she has advocated for telemedicine, especially after COVID-19. While she had criticism for the other side of the aisle, Rep. Smith said the staunchest opposition to telemedicine came from another source.
“The reason it was difficult was because it was opposed by the insurance industry,” Rep Smith said. “To give you an idea of what telemedicine was defined as before the bill was passed, it was defined as “We have a pool of providers we’re going to pay $20 per-call to, but they’re not the doctor.””
“Before the telemedicine bill passed, she could only call Blue Cross Blue Shield and interact with their in-network pool of providers, so on the first encounter, she may be interacting with a nurse practitioner in Calhoun, Ga. Then two weeks later she’s doing a follow-up with a doctor in Maine.”
She also advocated for what she called a “direct medical contract.” Instead of going through insurance, a person would instead negotiate directly with the doctor on a price.
“I could go to a doctor or a nurse or physician, and I could enter into a direct medical contract,” Rep. Smith said, “and say 'Tell me how much it’s going to cost for me to see you once a month, year, or whenever, for you to take my call and how much that’s going to cost me on a per-month basis. It’s like direct medical primary care.'
“So that doctor, whoever that may be, can write up a contract and I can sign it a pay a monthly $20, $30, $50, whatever it is, to get access to that provider. It’s not insurance, but it gives you access to care and it competes against insurance and makes them better.”
She railed against the idea of universal healthcare, and said direct medical contracting could be a viable alternative to that.
“When you have a minimum benefit plan, everyone’s costs go up because the floor goes up,” Rep. Smith said. “You’re subsidizing others’ insurance. So candidly, that’s why I was devoted to the medical contracting law. Because you now, as a small business owner, you could go to a big group practice in our area and ask 'Hey, what would it take for me to enter into some sort of agreement where you saw our patients.' ”
Rep. Smith also touched on a couple of different laws she helped pass in the state legislature. She explained her rationale for supporting right to work laws, saying it is not anti-worker in any way.
“The right to work law ensures that if you join a union, you join willingly,” Rep. Smith said. “You’re not compelled to do so, and your membership is not mandatory for employment. It is not anti or pro-union. It just protects workers who want to make that decision on their own.”
She also said many have misinterpreted the recent laws passed criminalizing actions while protesting.
“You hear a lot about how we’re arresting protesters,” Rep. Smith said. “No, we’re arresting vandals and criminals who are rioting and destroying property and assaulting law enforcement. Read the bill itself. It specifies spitting on, doing harm to, interrupting the activity of law enforcement, throwing feces or bodily fluid on.”