Group Health Leads Attack On Initiative 673 Hmos Give $400,000 To Campaign

Led by Group Health Cooperative, seven health maintenance organizations have combined to give more than $400,000 so far to a campaign to defeat a ballot initiative they believe would destroy the managed care system.

Half of that money has come from Group Health, the state’s largest HMO, which fears Initiative 673’s proposal to let people keep their doctor if they change jobs or health plans would obliterate their networks and force costs to skyrocket.

“This initiative fundamentally contradicts what Group Health Cooperative is all about,” Karen Merrikin, the insurer’s public policy director, said Thursday.

Sudden surges in fund raising also have been reported by campaigns involving the other four initiatives on the Nov. 4 ballot, especially measures dealing with gun control, legalized marijuana and gay rights. Together, campaigns for or against the five ballot measures have spent at least $2.8 million this year, a figure that’s sure to rise as the election approaches.

The health care initiative hasn’t received as much attention as the others. But insurers, fearing for the future of their managed care networks, figure to change that soon.

Initiative 673 would allow people to choose their own doctor or keep their current physician if they change jobs or health plans if the doctor agrees to the rules of the new plan.

It also would require insurance companies to disclose any restrictions or limitations on coverage, and would make managed care providers disclose the percentage of a patient’s bill going to health care and the percentage going for administration and other overhead costs.

Supporters say the initiative protects patients by giving them more choices and requiring health plans to be more accountable. But insurers say forcing them to include virtually any licensed health care provider would be disastrous.

Group Health is leading the defense by contributing $200,000 in cash to the coalition against the initiative, most of it this month, according to recent campaign finance reports filed with the state Public Disclosure Commission.

Other big contributions include $100,000 from Seattle-based First Choice Health Network and $50,000 from Sisters of Providence Health System.