Vol. 32, No. 5, 4. From the Top.

• Author: By William L. Hiser, President

Wyoming Bar Journal

2009.

Vol. 32, No. 5, 4.

From the Top

Wyoming LawyerIssue: October, 2009From the Top . . .By William L. Hiser, President Health care reform is all the current rage and you can't talk with anyone who does not have an opinion on what has caused the current crisis or what is necessary to fix the problem. I believe we are certainly going to see changes in the delivery of health care during this administration. As lawyers, we understand better than most that there are competing interests at work that have led to our current situation. As humans we inherently understand the need to take care of our dependents and our own medical needs and in these economic times we recognize and fear that the expense of a significant medical issue is more costly than we can probably afford. (i.e. there is a real threat we could go broke if we or a loved one got sick). I do not intend to get into a debate on who is right or wrong and what must be done to fix the national crisis; instead, I would like to address health care reform on a more personal level and invite you to take action for yourself by investigating and considering the potential group benefit plan being worked on by the Wyoming State Bar.

The bi-annual membership survey conducted by the Wyoming State Bar consistently shows that the most pressing concern of our membership is affordable health insurance. We would all like to have the security of employer-provided health insurance, but for private practitioners that simply is not an option. A few things stand out in my mind 21 years ago when I first became a member of the Bar. First, the Wyoming State Bar had a health insurance plan through BlueCross BlueShield of Wyoming and I promptly signed up thinking I was set for life. Second, a brand new malpractice insurer, ALPS, was being established by and for lawyers. This was significant for me because in addition to the malpractice premiums, lawyers were asked to purchase equity interests in the fledgling company to get it up and running. Well, I bit the bullet and purchased my equity interest under a three-year commitment/payment plan. In the past 21 years each of these facts has dramatically changed and I believe shed some light on our current position in the health insurance dilemma. Within a few years I was informed by BlueCross BlueShield that my health...