Star-Tribune Editorial Board

A legislative health insurance proposal has a worthy goal, but not nearly enough details to merit approval.

The pilot project would insure Wyoming people who have entry-level jobs but make too much to be on Medicaid and don't receive insurance through work. It's a segment of the population that could definitely use the assistance. It's easy to see why it has the support of Gov. Dave Freudenthal and several lawmakers, who want to revive a bill that failed earlier this year.

Thus far, however, the proposal lacks specifics in too many important areas, including precisely whom it would cover, who would administer the project, how much it would cost and how the program would be operated.

That's the message sent by the Wyoming Healthcare Commission, which on Monday reviewed an update about the proposal by Wendy Curran, the governor's health policy adviser. There wasn't much new information available, because Curran said most of the project's design would be completed after a bill is passed.

That's simply not the way things should be handled. As Dr. Larry Kirven, the commission's co-chairman, suggested, it might warrant the investment of a few hundred thousand dollars to help develop a pilot project, but not several million dollars to create the project and fund it next year.

The lack of specifics is troubling, considering that was one of the main reasons the initial bill failed. Curran told the commissioners, "We all want to do something and we have the concepts there, we've just been unable to put it all together."

Curran did say the components of the health plan for working people without insurance would most likely include preventive benefits, health management services and personal health accounts, which would all probably be beneficial to workers.

But the Legislature can't afford to just roll the dice and hope things work out. It would make more sense to develop a pilot project that could be fully tested, then go to the Legislature in 2010 to expand the program if it has been successful.

The commission is scheduled to discuss the bill with the Joint Labor, Health and Social Services Interim Committee next week. Based upon Monday's discussion, it's clear that without more details, the commissioners will be unable to recommend the bill's passage.

The panel could still decide to carry the bill and press for funding, but it would be a mistake. Lawmakers should listen to the commission's concerns and proceed at a much slower pace than the proposal's supporters desire.

Don't fund a health insurance plan for entry-level workers without knowing how it would work.

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