The most surprising part of Ezra Klein's interview with Sen. Rockefeller this morning

[rhombus]

"Another issue is that 46 percent of the American people have health insurance from fairly large companies that self-insure. And they're not included in the regulations. They have to have protection from preexisting conditions and lifetime caps and rescissions too. People hear that the regulations in the bill don't apply to these companies and they think it's not possible. But it's true. And it's almost half of the insurance market!"

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/ezra-klein/2009/09/whats_wrong_with_the_finance_b.html


So health reform as is being proposed in Congress has virtually no protection for the 46 percent or so of Americans who currently have insurance through their employers unless they join the health exchange? This is stunning. Why hasn't this point been raised more often? I bet a lot of folks don't know about it including much of the Democratic base and Obama supporters.

[xchrom]

1. quelle surprise -- they'rer producing large. unwieldy smoke and mirror bills

that don't fix the most basic problem -- that of HEALTH care.

[Eric J in MN]

2. About 63 percent of Americans under 65 get health insurance through an employer...

...their own employer or a relative's.

The "46 percent" refers to corporations which self-insure.

http://74.125.95.132/search?q=cache:wrFkmnTiLQMJ:www.workforce.com/archive/article/25/82/27.php+what+percentage+of+american+get+insurance+from+employers&cd=6&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us

[SpartanDem]

3. He was talking specifically about that bill

not the other senate bill or the house one.

[Thrill]

4. This what the amendment process is for

Get to work

[karynnj]

5. Wow, How do you deal with that?

These companies actually have a lot of leverage. They do not have to provide any health insurance - the fine is far far less than the cost of insurance. Do all big company plans not cover pre-existing conditions? As to the lifetime caps, I fully understand why a self insured company can not drop them. It seems like companies need to offered government re-insurance for costs above hat level.

I agree with you that this is stunning. I certainly didn't know this though I have had employer paid insurance since 1972! I always thought of that 46% as being fortunate to have what is often good coverage.