House healthcare bill draft released

[30ashopper]

America?s Affordable Health Choices Act | EdLabor Journal | Committee on Education and Labor

Pretty different from previous Senate drafts. This one includes a nationally run public/private insurance plan "Exchange" instead of state run portals, A federally funded and managed public insurance provider instead of an independent, non-profit managed "public" insurer, expansions to Medicaid and Medicare, personal mandates making it illegal to not have health insurance, and an employer coverage mandate or tax. As far as I can tell the plans offered will be the classic all-you-can-eat! type plans.

As far as government subsidies of premiums go, the money is really going to flow! Subsidies will help offset health premiums based on income. On the low end scale, Medicaid kicks in below 133% of the poverty line. Above that, up to 400% of the poverty line ($43,320 for an individual and $88,200 for families of four) the government will pay a percentage of your premiums calculated through caps - 1.5% of your income on the low end to 11% at the high end.

To put that into perspective, a family of four that generated about 90K a year will have their premiums subsidized so as to limit cost to around 9K a year. For individuals making 43K a year, premiums will be limited to 4.7K a year. At the low end, a family of four making about 30K a year will have their premiums limited to about 450 dollars.

To pay for the 1 to 2 trillion over the next decade it'll cost, they will rely on "reforms" (good luck with that!) and about 150 billion in additional taxes on the rich. (The rest will be covered by the U.S. taxpayer and China. :roll

The CBO estimates the plan will force insurance upon or provide insurance to 37 million people who don't currently have coverage or can't find or afford it. They also say it'll leave 17 million illegals out, which is a little strange, I've never seen illegal numbers cited that high.

 

[scooterbug44]

Is there something in there to keep the health industry from just hiking up costs and making the government/taxpayer pay them profits?

Limiting your health care premiums to a max 10% of your pre-tax household income seems fair to me.

Are there incentives/credits for preventative care and helathy choices? Or do I pay the same as fatty McNicotine couch potato?

Tangent - under this plan, then how do the 17 Million illegals get medical care? ER visits? Underground clinics? Fake socials?

 

[30ashopper]

Is there something in there to keep the health industry from just hiking up costs and making the government/taxpayer pay them profits?

Limiting your health care premiums to a max 10% of your pre-tax household income seems fair to me.

Are there incentives/credits for preventative care and helathy choices? Or do I pay the same as fatty McNicotine couch potato?

Tangent - under this plan, then how do the 17 Million illegals get medical care? ER visits? Underground clinics? Fake socials?

Subsidies are equal based on the insured, so it would be in the best interest of private firms to limit costs and coverage in order to compete. Coverage levels however would be enforced by law, and both the private and the public plans available through the gateway would have have to offer a certain levels of coverage. The thing that struck me - private firms have administrative overhead (salaries, office expenses, IT, legal, healthcare for their employees, etc.) that the government insurer won't have as it'll be administered by the federal government. Depending on where the government sets coverage levels, you might not have to worry about private insurers jacking up costs, as they'll all be going out of business.

There's some preventitive stuff but it's standard boiler plate type stuff we have now in private plans. The actual details of the plans have not been defined yet, these bills only provide guidelines. The actual plans won't be known for a couple years - implementing the whole thing has largely been off laid till after the next presidential election.

My guess is illegals will get the same brand of emergency care they get today.

 

[30ashopper]

WSJ has a nice summary -

Small Business Faces Big Bite - WSJ.com

The small business taxes that kick in at 250K are pretty hard core. When people say this is a jobs killer, they're right.

Thankfully though the more liberal House version will never make it to the president's desk.

 

[Blair]

Is there something in there to keep the health industry from just hiking up costs and making the government/taxpayer pay them profits?

Limiting your health care premiums to a max 10% of your pre-tax household income seems fair to me.

Are there incentives/credits for preventative care and helathy choices? Or do I pay the same as fatty McNicotine couch potato?

Tangent - under this plan, then how do the 17 Million illegals get medical care? ER visits? Underground clinics? Fake socials?

Illegals???

Maybe they could go home to get health care......since our system is so flawed

 

[CampCreekLou]

Say goodbye to your private insurance, medical insurance accounts, etc.... It's right there on Page 16:

"Congress: It didn't take long to run into an "uh-oh" moment when reading the House's "health care for all Americans" bill. Right there on Page 16 is a provision making individual private medical insurance illegal.

When we first saw the paragraph Tuesday, just after the 1,018-page document was released, we thought we surely must be misreading it. So we sought help from the House Ways and Means Committee.

It turns out we were right: The provision would indeed outlaw individual private coverage. Under the Orwellian header of "Protecting The Choice To Keep Current Coverage," the "Limitation On New Enrollment" section of the bill clearly states:

"Except as provided in this paragraph, the individual health insurance issuer offering such coverage does not enroll any individual in such coverage if the first effective date of coverage is on or after the first day" of the year the legislation becomes law.

So we can all keep our coverage, just as promised ? with, of course, exceptions: Those who currently have private individual coverage won't be able to change it. Nor will those who leave a company to work for themselves be free to buy individual plans from private carriers."


Link

 

[CampCreekLou]

To put that into perspective, a family of four that generated about 90K a year will have their premiums subsidized so as to limit cost to around 9K a year. For individuals making 43K a year, premiums will be limited to 4.7K a year. At the low end, a family of four making about 30K a year will have their premiums limited to about 450 dollars.

Does it bother anyone that a family earning 90k a year gets subsidized?

 

[Lynnie]

WSJ has a nice summary -

Small Business Faces Big Bite - WSJ.com

The small business taxes that kick in at 250K are pretty hard core. When people say this is a jobs killer, they're right.

Thankfully though the more liberal House version will never make it to the president's desk.

Spoke with someone a couple of nights ago who sells medical equipment. This is a smaller company representing many different manufacturers. His company just changed his employment from W-2 to 1099.

This will be the thrend in the small business sector or they will not be profitable.

Say goodbye to your private insurance, medical insurance accounts, etc.... It's right there on Page 16:

"Congress: It didn't take long to run into an "uh-oh" moment when reading the House's "health care for all Americans" bill. Right there on Page 16 is a provision making individual private medical insurance illegal.

When we first saw the paragraph Tuesday, just after the 1,018-page document was released, we thought we surely must be misreading it. So we sought help from the House Ways and Means Committee.

It turns out we were right: The provision would indeed outlaw individual private coverage. Under the Orwellian header of "Protecting The Choice To Keep Current Coverage," the "Limitation On New Enrollment" section of the bill clearly states:

"Except as provided in this paragraph, the individual health insurance issuer offering such coverage does not enroll any individual in such coverage if the first effective date of coverage is on or after the first day" of the year the legislation becomes law.

So we can all keep our coverage, just as promised ? with, of course, exceptions: Those who currently have private individual coverage won't be able to change it. Nor will those who leave a company to work for themselves be free to buy individual plans from private carriers."


Link

As written, this will not pass.

Does it bother anyone that a family earning 90k a year gets subsidized?

ABSOLUTELY!

 

[CampCreekLou]

As written, this will not pass.

It should worry us all that it was even written!

 

[Linda]

Reactions to Obama's Health Care Plan

The American Medical Association has weighed in on the new health care plan being developed by the Obama Team.

The Allergists voted to scratch it, but the Dermatologists advised not to make any rash moves.

The Gastroenterologists had sort of a gut feeling about it, but the Neurologists thought the Administration had a lot of nerve.

The Obstetricians felt they were all laboring under a misconception.

Ophthalmologists considered the idea shortsighted.

Pathologists yelled, "Over my dead body!" while the Pediatricians said, 'Oh, Grow up!'

The Psychiatrists thought the whole idea was madness, while the Radiologists could see right through it.

Surgeons decided to wash their hands of the whole thing.

The Internists thought it was a bitter pill to swallow, and the Plastic Surgeons said, "This puts a whole new face on the matter."

The Podiatrists thought it was a step forward, but the Urologists were pissed off at the whole idea.

The Anesthesiologists thought the idea was a gas, and the Cardiologists didn't have the heart to say no.

In the end, the Proctologists won out, leaving the entire decision up to the a--holes in Washington.