Results 1 to 7 of 7

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

  1. #1
    Senior Member JohnDoe2's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2008
    Location
    PARADISE (San Diego)
    Posts
    99,040

    The Republican health-care bill could cut benefits in employer-backed plans, too

    The Republican health-care bill could cut benefits in employer-backed plans, too

    WRITTEN BY
    Tim Fernholz

    OBSESSION

    "America First"

    May 04, 2017

    The health-care bill passed by Republican lawmakers has gotten attention for how it would change marketplaces for individual insurance and cut subsidies for low-income Americans.

    Now, it appears that efforts to overhaul the health-care system could also remove benefits from those with insurance plans sponsored by their employer, leaving them on the hook for huge costs in the event of a major illness.


    With 49% of Americans receiving health insurance from their employers, it is the most popular avenue for coverage—and the most politically sensitive.


    The original Affordable Care Act (ACA) enacted by the Obama administration called for increasing taxes on these plans as a cost-cutting incentive. The move has been virtually killed by bipartisan agreement, delaying the application indefinitely.


    Now, House speaker Paul Ryan and president Donald Trump are trying to repeal the ACA and replace it with the American Health Care Act, a bill that cuts health-insurance subsidies and ends the requirement to obtain health insurance. Forecasters predicted that it would result in 24 million people losing coverage.


    That bill originally didn’t have enough votes from the Republican majority to pass—it wasn’t extreme enough for hardliners nor moderate enough for moderates. Now, it has been further changed to win over conservative hardliners.

    A new amendment would allow states to opt out of requirements imposed by the health-care law, particularly that they provide 10 essential types of coverage for fundamental issues ranging from pre-natal care and check-ups to pediatrics and prescriptions, with no annual limits or life-time cap.


    If states opt out of these requirements, insurers could lower premiums by pushing more of the risk (and eventual cost) onto individuals who purchase barebones plans. It would also allow them to refuse coverage to people with pre-existing conditions.

    While the president has promised that his health-care
    overhaul will provide universal coverage, Republicans say they are simply giving states the choice to opt out, so their bill does not violate his pledge.


    Health experts say the amendment would also allow insurers who sell group plans to go on a regulatory shopping trip around the country. If they adopt the standards of a state that has opted out of essential coverage areas, they could limit their coverage, a move currently forbidden by the Affordable Care Act.


    A staffer on the committee that wrote the bill tells Quartz that the Trump administration could prevent large-group insurers from lowering their standards, with an administrative order that takes away their ability to choose their own set of essential benefits.

    Yet a Brookings Institute analysis of the issue notes such a move would not line up with Trump’s executive order that Obamacare administrators “provide maximum regulatory flexibility.”


    It’s not clear whether employers would take advantage of this opportunity to offer cheaper, riskier coverage; before the ACA passed, more than half of companies put no cap on the benefits they offered.

    Indeed, many employers use generous benefits to attract employees. On the other hand, jurisdiction shopping between states by financial industry players suggests that insurers will come under pressure to find the most permissive regulator.


    The bill, which is still opposed by doctors, nurses, retirees, and hospitals, now moves to the senate, where a more moderate mix of lawmakers has expressed skepticism about the implications of the legislation.


    https://qz.com/975646/ahca-vote-the-...ked-plans-too/
    NO AMNESTY

    Don't reward the criminal actions of millions of illegal aliens by giving them citizenship.


    Sign in and post comments here.

    Please support our fight against illegal immigration by joining ALIPAC's email alerts here https://eepurl.com/cktGTn

  2. #2
    Senior Member Judy's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2005
    Posts
    55,883
    The bill, which is still opposed by doctors, nurses, retirees, and hospitals, now moves to the senate, where a more moderate mix of lawmakers has expressed skepticism about the implications of the legislation.
    "retirees" .... no, it's opposed by the AARP which sells insurance. Doctors and nurses think they'll get pay cut somewhere along the line because the government is eliminating the tax penalties and pulling back on the federal formula for Medicaid Expansion to the states. Hospitals, yeah, well, they are the unbridled beneficiaries of this overpriced low-end disaster, 80% of them "charity" hospitals. They might have to drop their "room rate" and stop charging people $100 for a 3 cent Tylenol.
    A Nation Without Borders Is Not A Nation - Ronald Reagan
    Save America, Deport Congress! - Judy

    Support our FIGHT AGAINST illegal immigration & Amnesty by joining our E-mail Alerts at https://eepurl.com/cktGTn

  3. #3
    Senior Member JohnDoe2's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2008
    Location
    PARADISE (San Diego)
    Posts
    99,040
    NO AMNESTY

    Don't reward the criminal actions of millions of illegal aliens by giving them citizenship.


    Sign in and post comments here.

    Please support our fight against illegal immigration by joining ALIPAC's email alerts here https://eepurl.com/cktGTn

  4. #4
    Senior Member lsmith1338's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2006
    Location
    Boston, MA
    Posts
    3,638
    Here are a few things that I have issue with in the bill.

    Insurers can impose a 30% surcharge on consumers with a lapse in coverage.

    No tax credits for out of pocket expenses.

    Insurers can charge older customers up to 5 times as much as younger customers.

    States have the ability to opt out of certain types of coverage.

    I understand the need to remove illegal aliens and people who make 130% of the poverty level off these federal and state sponsored plans. But I am not for reducing coverage and increasing costs for those paying for Medical Plans.
    Freedom isn't free... Don't forget the men who died and gave that right to all of us....
    Support our FIGHT AGAINST illegal immigration & Amnesty by joining our E-mail Alerts at http://eepurl.com/cktGTn

  5. #5
    Senior Member Judy's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2005
    Posts
    55,883
    Quote Originally Posted by lsmith1338 View Post
    Here are a few things that I have issue with in the bill.

    Insurers can impose a 30% surcharge on consumers with a lapse in coverage.

    No tax credits for out of pocket expenses.

    Insurers can charge older customers up to 5 times as much as younger customers.

    States have the ability to opt out of certain types of coverage.

    I understand the need to remove illegal aliens and people who make 130% of the poverty level off these federal and state sponsored plans. But I am not for reducing coverage and increasing costs for those paying for Medical Plans.
    The surcharge for lapsed coverage is just an option for insurance companies. It's not a requirement. The surcharge is actually a cap on what they can do for someone with lapsed coverage or no coverage who has a pre-existing condition. They can only charge up to 30% for up to 1 year. When they complete repeal of McCarran, everything is going to be very competitive, so while federal law would allow it, a lot of companies are going to say to themselves, look how many more customers we can sign up if we only charge 20% for 6 months, and another company might say, we'll charge 15% for 3 months. There are 20 million paying fines today for not having health insurance. There are 11 million on Obamacare purchasing in the individual market, then there's this Medicaid Expansion group that's another 20 million. So making these plans beneficial and affordable, is the new motivation when you repeal McCarran, because once you repeal McCarran, the game is no longer state-contained collusion to push rates up, the situation we're in now, without McCarran, we're in a nationally competitive, huge economy of scale where there is no collusion, there is instead enormous competition to push rates down and services up by increasing the number of customers through national competition.

    The reason they increased the age rating from 3 x, where it is currently to 5 x, is because they expect the rates to go down substantially, so to have enough money to cover the higher costs of the older population, you had to change the age rating ratio to account for that. Rates for the older population will still go down even with the 5 x versus the 3 x. For example if policies now for younger people are $400 a month (including maternity and pediatrics), then the present age rating would make that same policy cost $1,200 a month for an older person under Obamacare today who doesn't need maternity or pediatrics. But when premiums go down with Trumpcare for younger insureds to say $100 a month for a basic no maternity coverage, no pediatrics plan, then a 5 x rate for the older person would be $500. Both the younger person and the older person will save a lot. It's all based on the numbers. You sign up both more younger people as well as older people which creates more revenue overall but with lower premiums across the board for all age groups, but with lower premiums on the young end, you need a higher age rating on the high end to make the overall lower math work to cover the higher costs of the older population.

    States can only opt out of pre-existing condition coverage IF they have an in-state alternative for those with pre-existing conditions, but that would only matter for intrastate insurance companies. No state is going to end up doing this because when they pass the repeal of McCarran-Ferguson, the states don't have much say in it. The insurance companies will be dealing on a national level directly with consumers writing their own rules subject to the federal regulation, they won't be dealing with the idiosyncrasies of the states. The states would have a lot of say in their Medicaid programs. This is where the states would have power to devise their own independent programs for the poor. And under this law, they will also have some say in these "high risk" pools that some apparently want to come up with, but I don't see any benefit to those once you repeal McCarran.

    Personally I think some of the states, whatever state or states are behind this, haven't thought through the way insurance will be handled once you repeal McCarran. There really won't be any need for those once McCarran is repealed. That's why the Senate needs to pass McCarran repeal first so that issue is resolved, this is the "erasing of the lines" Trump campaigned so hard about. The House bill HR 372 which repeals McCarran passed on March 22, 2017 and has been in the Judiciary Committee of the US Senate since March 23, 2017, that's Chuck Grassley's Committee. Maybe the lobbyists Heritage Foundation and Club for Growth don't know the House passed the repeal of McCarran. There has been no publicity or press coverage on it. It was like a total media black-out of this historic vote. I'm not even sure White House staff know. They never mention it and when a reporter asks them about it, they stumble. Kellyanne Conway was asked about it yesterday, and she just mumbled gibberish and moved on. I don't think Trump knows, or else he would have tweeted about the historic vote and "erasing the lines". Tthe Senate needs to make repeal of McCarran a top priority so its benefits get into play with the CBO estimate and so the public is aware of it being passed.

    There are tax credits. $2,000 for individuals for earnings up to $47,500 and $4,000 for families with earnings up to $97,500. Then it goes down for higher income groups on a declining basis until it's zero over $219,000. (One can only imagine how they come up with these odd numbers). And you can use those for whatever you want, premiums, out of pocket expense, and so forth.

    In addition, there will be another bill that expands the use of the HSA accounts and some other tax changes which will be part of the tax reform bill. There are some things they can't do because of budget reconciliation. Otherwise, we're dead in the water because we can't use the 51 vote and would need 60 votes on cloture just to vote on the bill.

    That all said, I think the Senate will make some good changes, tweaks, finesse, and so forth to make the bill even better while still complying with the budget reconciliation requirements.
    A Nation Without Borders Is Not A Nation - Ronald Reagan
    Save America, Deport Congress! - Judy

    Support our FIGHT AGAINST illegal immigration & Amnesty by joining our E-mail Alerts at https://eepurl.com/cktGTn

  6. #6
    MW
    MW is offline
    Senior Member MW's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2006
    Location
    North Carolina
    Posts
    25,717
    The reason they increased the age rating from 3 x, where it is currently to 5 x, is because they expect the rates to go down substantially, so to have enough money to cover the higher costs of the older population, you had to change the age rating ratio to account for that. Rates for the older population will still go down even with the 5 x versus the 3 x.
    Yep, and Obamacare made promises too:

    "Promise #1: “If you like your health care plan, you’ll be able to keep your health care plan, period.”[2]

    Reality: Millions of Americans have lost and will lose their coverage due to Obamacare.

    Promise #2: “[T]hat means that no matter how we reform health care, we will keep this promise to the American people: If you like your doctor, you will be able to keep your doctor, period.”[6]

    Reality: Many Americans might not be able to keep their current doctor without paying extra.

    Many plans offered on Obamacare’s exchanges have very limited provider networks, decreasing the chances consumers will be able to keep their current doctor without paying more money.[7] Furthermore, many Americans who purchase coverage on their own have had their existing health plans changed or canceled due to Obamacare, resulting in some people being unable to keep their current doctors without paying additional money to do so.

    Promise #3: “In an Obama administration, we’ll lower premiums by up to $2,500 for a typical family per year.”[9]

    Reality: Premiums for people purchasing coverage in the individual market have significantly increased in a majority of states.


    Promise #4: “[F]or the 85 and 90 percent of Americans who already have health insurance, this thing’s already happened. And their only impact is that their insurance is stronger, better and more secure than it was before. Full stop. That’s it. They don’t have to worry about anything else.”[12]

    Reality: Obamacare imposes certain new benefit mandates on those with employer-sponsored coverage—a majority of Americans.

    Promise #5: “Under my plan, no family making less than $250,000 a year will see any form of tax increase.”[15]

    Reality: Obamacare contains 18 separate tax hikes, fees, and penalties, many of which heavily impact the middle class.

    Promise #6: “I will not sign a plan that adds one dime to our deficits—either now or in the future.”[18]

    Reality: Obamacare’s new spending is unsustainable.

    Promise #7: “[W]hatever ideas exist in terms of bending the cost curve and starting to reduce costs for families, businesses, and government, those elements are in this bill.”[21]

    Reality: Health spending is still rising and is projected to grow at an average rate of 5.8 percent from 2012 to 2022.[22]


    Promise #8: “I will protect Medicare.”[24]

    Reality: Obamacare cuts Medicare spending.


    Promise #9: “I will sign a universal health care bill into law by the end of my first term as president that will cover every American.”[27]

    Reality: Millions of Americans will remain uninsured.


    Promise #10: “So this law means more choice, more competition, lower costs for millions of Americans.”[29]

    Reality: Obamacare has not increased insurer competition or consumer choice."

    Many of us have become very cynical of political promises, and I'd say for good reason.



    "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing" ** Edmund Burke**

    Support our FIGHT AGAINST illegal immigration & Amnesty by joining our E-mail Alerts athttps://eepurl.com/cktGTn

  7. #7
    Senior Member Judy's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2005
    Posts
    55,883
    It's not a political promise, it's just what happens when you open up the insurance market to a nationally competitive environment.
    A Nation Without Borders Is Not A Nation - Ronald Reagan
    Save America, Deport Congress! - Judy

    Support our FIGHT AGAINST illegal immigration & Amnesty by joining our E-mail Alerts at https://eepurl.com/cktGTn

Similar Threads

  1. Replies: 2
    Last Post: 03-24-2017, 03:11 PM
  2. Fox News: The End of Employer-Provided Health Plans Is Near
    By Newmexican in forum Other Topics News and Issues
    Replies: 1
    Last Post: 09-06-2014, 12:24 PM
  3. Experts: Almost 80 Million With Employer Health Care Plans Could Have Coverage Cancel
    By AirborneSapper7 in forum Other Topics News and Issues
    Replies: 0
    Last Post: 11-26-2013, 08:39 PM
  4. Republican bill would enroll seniors in same health plans as lawmakers
    By loservillelabor in forum Other Topics News and Issues
    Replies: 0
    Last Post: 03-15-2012, 04:47 PM
  5. Health Care Bill Outlaws Private Insurance, Benefits Illegal
    By cjbl2929 in forum General Discussion
    Replies: 6
    Last Post: 07-22-2009, 07:46 PM

Tags for this Thread

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •