CQ TODAY MIDDAY UPDATE
July 2, 2009 – 1:24 p.m.
Revised Senate Health Bill Includes Employer Mandate, Public Plan Option
Revised health care overhaul legislation under development in the Senate would result in insurance coverage for 97 percent of Americans, leaders of a key committee said Thursday, though the total cost is still unknown.
The Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee is expected to resume work next week on the latest version of its overhaul bill, released Wednesday night.
Chairman Edward M. Kennedy , D-Mass., and Sen. Christopher J. Dodd , D-Conn., outlined the revised measure in a letter to other panel members. The Congressional Budget Office estimated that the latest version would cost $611 billion over ten years, and would provide insurance to 90 percent of Americans, excluding illegal immigrants. HELP aides told reporters in a conference call Thursday that an assumed expansion of Medicaid to cover people earning less than 1.5 times the federal poverty level — about $33,075 for a family of four in 2009 — would bring total coverage to 97 percent of the population.
The Medicaid expansion is part of a bill under development by the Finance committee. It and other Finance provisions are expected to bring the total cost of an overhaul bill to about $1 trillion over 10 years.
The HELP measure would require employers of 25 or more workers to provide health insurance to their workers and cover 60 percent of the premium costs, or pay the government an annual fee of $750 per full-time worker or $375 for part-time workers.
The bill also would create a government-run “public plan option” to compete with private insurers, in a bid to spur better service and lower costs.
Comments
Sounds like a good start. I especially like the extension of Medicaid and the public option. I hope the public option includes dental coverage and eye care. Offering Medicare to everyone would work if it includes dental and eye care.
That is absolutely stupid, but if you give congressmen $46 million in campaign contributions I suppose you can buy legislation that forces the use of your product. In this case medical insurance. But I'm reminded by this old quote: "America will always do the right thing, but only after everything else fails." Winston Churchill Seems to me that we must first eliminate the political corruption, then move on to health care. Jack Lohman ... http://SinglePayer.info
I feel that the best way for a public option on health insurance is to let the consumer buy into Medicaid and or Medicare. But on a pro rated income basis. This makes more sense than other plans I've seen because everything is mostly in place at states social services offices or the social security administration. SSA recipents already for the most part have a co pay. The the only thing remaing is change the law and arrange the basis for buying in. Regards, dePaul Consiglio
Go public option!
Isn't it ironic that these same working people with no insurance pay 70% of the premium on the senators and congressman but if and only if this passes will these same people get 60% of their premium covered. What a bargain. Why aren't we all covered by the same plan? What makes some people so much deserving of health insurance over others?
The independently-funded healthcare policy research organization, The Commonwealth Fund, compared possible savings 'a health insurance exchange' could bring under three different scenarios. One would include a Medicare-like plan along with private insurance. Another would instead offer only a government-run plan with rates somewhat higher than Medicare. The final one would be private insurance with no government plan at all. Commonwealth's study found cumulative health system savings between 2010 and 2020, compared with projected trends for that period, would range from $3.0 trillion under a Medicare-like plan along with private insurance paying providers at Medicare rates in competition with private plans, to $2.0 trillion for a public plan paying providers at rates between Medicare and private plan rates, to $1.2 trillion in the private plan-only scenario. All three options would help insure nearly all Americans, it said, with the number of uninsured dropping to about 4 million people by 2012. 'Such an exchange' would offer a central point for consumers to shop for and compare health plans. Under the Medicare-like plan along with private insurance, all U.S. residents would be required to obtain health coverage. The plan would establish a new government-sponsored health program for people younger than age 65 who are not eligible for Medicare. More than 40 million people would be expected to enroll in the program, according to Cathy Schoen of the Commonwealth Fund. The government-operated insurance exchange would be similar to an existing program in Massachusetts and would allow people to compare coverage offered by private insurers and the new public program. In addition, the plan supports wide adoption of health information technology, better disease prevention efforts and 'changes to the insurance payment system' that promote efficiency. Health spending would continue to increase under the plan, but at a slower rate than current projections over the next 10 years. The Commonwealth Fund said the plan would reduce annual health care spending growth from a projected 6.7% to 5.5% and save a cumulative total of about '$3 trillion' by 2020, adding a national health insurance exchange program that includes a federally managed health insurance option could potentially save $1.8 trillion more than a plan consisting only of private plans. The group's analysis assumed other changes would also be made to the U.S. healthcare market. These include an expansion of existing government coverage and new regulations that would require insurers to cover a wider range of consumers. Hospitals and doctors would also see their revenues grow with any of the three exchanges but at a slower rate, the report said. The proposal's advocates have argued that a government-sponsored insurance plan would offer the 46 million uninsured Americans an affordable alternative to costly private insurance, adding that It would provide a strong incentive for private plans to strealine, innovate and compete. Thank You !
The sad reality -- based on careful reading of the CBO analysis -- is that the HELP bill, combined with Senate Finance's proposed Medicaid expansion will cost between one and a half and two trillion over ten years, when fully implemented. For an explanation, take a look at www.reformupdate.blogspot.com.
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