Fund trauma care with extra fees on insurance?

Georgia Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine on Monday said he is considering the addition of fees on car and other forms of insurance to support trauma care services for car accident victims and others.

He said trauma cases often arise from incidents such as car crashes and work accidents, so it makes sense that the fees would apply to these forms of insurance.

Some industry advocates, however, said such fees could raise costs to consumers and constitute new and unfair taxes to an industry already paying its share.

Speaking at an Atlanta forum on trauma care in Georgia, Oxendine said the state was in desperate need of more trauma care services, and that other proposals to prop up the troubled system have fallen flat.

Georgia has only 15 hospitals that specialize in trauma care, and many are losing millions of dollars providing the expensive service. State researchers say 700 people die annually because of Georgia’s spotty trauma coverage.

Oxendine emphasized that he wanted to simply float the idea, and that he had no specific proposal in hand.

Oxendine said his office would research the matter, and, should he support it, that a proposal could be ready for the state Legislature when it convenes in January.

Oxendine said the fees could apply to insurance on vehicles, health insurance and workers compensation. He said he did not know how much the fee would be, how much it would raise, or whether it would be leveled on the insurance company or individual policies.

“A lot of trauma care comes from car crashes,” Oxendine said. “Maybe we need to look at what insurance companies can do.”

Last year, Gov. Sonny Perdue, House Speaker Glenn Richardson and Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle all supported trauma care funding, but their negotiations on a $10 tag fee fell apart.

Instead, Perdue provided a one-time shot of $59 million to prop up the system.

Considering the current state budget crisis, trauma care advocates say finding state money will be even harder, so they are pressing for a dedicated source such as annual fees.

Julie Pulliam, spokeswoman for the Southeast region of the American Insurance Association, said such fees likely would be passed on to consumers.

“[This] is double taxation on the most responsible citizens — those who pay their taxes and those who buy car insurance,” she said.

David Colmans, executive director of the statewide trade association called the Georgia Insurance Information Service, said these companies already pay extra taxes on their policies, which are split between state and local government.

“We are sharing the burden,” he said.