by aheffy
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Health Care Reform is going to pass. I repeat, HCR will pass. It will be far short of what progressives want. Conservatives will scream government takeover etc. But at the end of the day, Obama is going to achieve what every other president has failed at- reforming our broken healthcare system. Is this reform far from perfect? Of course. But is this Reform the bill that can get through the minefield we call Congress-Yes! And this HCR will bend the cost curve a bit (far from what is needed), and this reform will afford tens of millions of Americans healthcare.
So what is the point of this post? To look back and see what Obama has accomplished over the past year.
- Obama is fighting two wars- intelligently, pulling back from Iraq, and taking care of Afghan., so that we can wind down those wars ASAP (God-willing). A smart foreign policy. The damage that Bush has done is being turned around, thanks to Clinton and Obama-no small feat.
- We were on the brink of a Depression. Obama steered America clear of catastrophe. Why he isn't getting more credit for that, I don't know. But our country, and the world, was on the close a total collapse and thanks t Obama's leadership, this has been avoided.
- Economy- Obama inherited this sinking ship. Stimulus/jobs bill are working. Economy slowly turning around.
- HCR-It is simply unbelievable that HCR is going to be achieved.
In summary, (assuming HCR WILL pass) in his first year or two, President Obama will have several substantial and long lasting accomplishment. That is Change we can believe in.
Our view on medical overhaul: Obama lays cards on table. Where’s the GOP health bid?
President’s plan represents worthy bid to revive needed reforms.<...>
If Republicans harbored any illusions that Obama would go back to the drawing board, as they've been demanding, he dashed them with his some-from-Column A, some-from-Column B approach to the separate health bills passed by House and Senate Democrats. His plan is as easy to pick on as its precursors were. (What change of this scale isn't?) But strip away all the Washington ax grinding and ideological infighting, and the plan can be put to a very simple test: Would it produce a health care system better than today's — one that would leave people confident that they could get high-quality care at a reasonable price? The answer is yes. And for all our misgivings about
aspects of the plan, that is not a close call.
In a nation where 46 million people lack health insurance, Obama's proposal would eventually cover more than 30 million. It would provide subsidies to help lower-income people buy policies. And it would eliminate an array of noxious insurance company practices, such as denying coverage to people with pre-existing medical conditions.
Like other plans on the left and right, the biggest weakness in Obama's is that it falls short in curbing the medical inflation that threatens to send premiums and the federal deficit soaring. It's disappointing that the president further weakened the "Cadillac" tax on expensive health insurance plans, one of the most important ways to discourage overuse of medical care — and cut costs.
The larger picture, though, is that his plan would improve the lives of tens of millions of people without increasing the budget deficit. Republicans, by tossing bombs while refusing to negotiate, effectively stand for the unacceptable status quo, which is doubly troubling because individual Republicans have good ideas. Obama has adopted some, notably ones aimed at reducing Medicare and Medicaid fraud. He should take more, such as malpractice reform to reduce costly "defensive medicine." But responding to Obama's plan Monday, Republicans pretty much stuck with their drumbeat of demonization and obstruction, which has proved politically profitable.
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New York Times editorial<...>
Mr. Obama’s plan also adds important new features that should make it more attractive to House Democrats and to the general public.
His boldest new idea is to give the federal government powers, in conjunction with state insurance regulators, to reject excessive premium increases. Anyone who read in horror, as we did last week, about rate increases of up to 39 percent for some California clients of Anthem Blue Cross should find that idea a particular relief.
For low- and moderate-income people worried that they will be forced to buy insurance they can’t afford, a proposal of his would beef up tax subsidies to help them buy policies and make the penalties for ignoring the mandate somewhat less onerous.
For older Americans, Mr. Obama would gradually close the so-called doughnut hole, a gap in Medicare’s drug coverage that leaves many elderly beneficiaries unable to pay for their medicines.
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Sunlight Foundation<...>
The deeper cost cuts come from an attempt to further close the “donut hole” in the Medicare Part D prescription drug program. The “donut hole” refers to the gap in coverage that occurs within Medicare Part D. For those purchasing prescription drugs through the program coverage cuts off at $2,700 spent and does not pick back up again until $6,154 is spent by the participant. The current language that was struck in the deal between the White House and the pharmaceutical industry maintains that drug companies would cover 50 percent of the cost for brand-name drugs for participants falling in the “donut hole.” This change would be implemented within the year. The White House’s new proposal would eliminate the “donut hole” by 2020 by making participants pay only 25 percent coinsurance with Medicare covering the other 75 percent. The White House also takes a page from the House health reform bill by providing a $250 rebate to Part D participants who fall into the “donut hole.” (The House bill provides for a $500 reduction in costs for participants who fall into the “donut hole.”)
Another piece of the proposal would allow the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to regulate the interactions between brand-name and generic drug companies. At issue is the revelation that
brand-name drug companies have been paying off generic drug companies for support on patent extensions for certain drugs. This means that consumers will see serious delays in the release of certain generic drugs and therefore still face the higher costs of brand-name drugs. The FTC is filing suit against the drug companies to end this practice and the White House proposal aims to give the FTC authority to regulate and end this practice. The summary of the proposal states that the White House would, “ anti-competitive and unlawful any agreement in which a generic drug manufacturer receives anything of value from a brand-name drug manufacturer that contains a provision in which the generic drug manufacturer agrees to limit or forego research, development, marketing, manufacturing or sales of the generic drug.” The White House claims that payouts to generic drug companies cost consumers up to $35 billion a year.
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- For the first time in history, there will be limits on how much anyone will have to pay to receive health care coverage. And depending upon your income, you may be among the tens of millions of Americans who will get a tax credit to to help pay for your coverage.
- And for the first time in history, insurance companies will no longer be allowed to simply tell you “no”. They will be required to offer coverage regardless of your health status, and they cannot jack up rates or drop you from your coverage when you get sick.
- One of the most important aspects of this reform is to finally end the practice of insurance companies denying you coverage based on your health status.
- Soon after the law is enacted, insurance companies will no longer be allowed to deny coverage to children with pre-existing conditions. Uninsured adults with pre-existing conditions will have access to a high-risk pool. And once the insurance exchange marketplace is up and running, insurance companies will no longer be allowed to deny coverage to anyone based on their health status.
- You will likely pay less---perhaps much less. If you buy coverage like you have today on your own, premiums are expected to drop by 14 to 20 percent. If you get coverage through your job, premiums could decline by up to 3 percent.
- In addition, many Americans buying coverage in the individual market will qualify for tax credits that reduce their premiums by an average of nearly 60 percent – and they will get better coverage than what they have today.
- Health insurance reform will limit what you have to pay out of pocket, a protection that does not exist today. And for the first time, no one will be required to pay more than a set percentage of their income on health care coverage.
- And, if you like the coverage you have today, you can keep it.
- If your insurance company spends too much of your premium dollars on overhead, such as big salaries, administrative costs and marketing, they will be required to give you a rebate.
- There will also be a new rate-review authority that will help keep premiums down and hold insurance companies accountable, so that health insurers will think twice before trying to impose a 39-percent increase on consumers as almost happened in California this February.
- Your guaranteed Medicare benefits will not be cut.
- In addition, you will have benefits you don’t have today: Preventive services like cancer screenings at no cost, and a substantial reduction in prescription drug prices if you fall into that gap in coverage known as the “donut hole”. Over time the bill closes this coverage gap completely. And the Medicare Trust Fund will be extended for more than 9 years, making sure that the Medicare program will be there for seniors now and in years to come.
Coming soon:
Repealing the Antitrust Exemption for Health Insurance Companies<...>
The President's support was made official in a statement of administration policy (SAP) sent to Congress as the House considers that legislation in the coming days.
Here's the SAP (pdf):
STATEMENT OF ADMINISTRATION POLICYH.R. 4626 — Health Insurance Industry Fair Competition Act
(Rep. Perriello, D-Virginia, and 65 cosponsors)
The Administration strongly supports House passage of H.R. 4626. The repeal of the antitrust exemption in the McCarran-Ferguson Act as it applies to the health insurance industry would give American families and businesses, big and small, more control over their own health care choices by promoting greater insurance competition. The repeal also will outlaw existing, anti-competitive health insurance practices like price fixing, bid rigging, and market allocation that drive up costs for all Americans. Health insurance reform should be built on a strong commitment to competition in all health care markets, including health insurance. This bill will benefit the American health care consumer by ensuring that competition has a prominent role in reforming health insurance markets throughout the Nation.
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