Healthcare: Where Are We?

[dgriffin]

Healthcare: Where Are We?


Reuters



WHAT CHANGES IS CONGRESS CONSIDERING?

* All individuals would be required to obtain insurance under all of the options being considered in the House of Representatives and the Senate.

* All the bills are expected to bar insurance companies from refusing to cover people or charging them more because of health history or gender.

* The bills are expected to call for sweeping insurance market reforms including limits on insurance premiums.

* The House bill would set up a new government-run insurance program to compete with private insurance companies. The Senate Finance Committee, chiefly to address Republican concerns, is instead looking at creating nonprofit medical cooperatives to compete with insurers.

* The House and Senate Finance Committee bills would both create state insurance exchanges to act as clearinghouses for individuals and small businesses to buy insurance.

* The Senate health committee bill includes a sliding scale of subsidies for the purchase of insurance for people with incomes up to 500 percent of the poverty level. The Senate Finance Committee bill would scale that back to 300 percent of the poverty level, about $66,150 for a family of four.

* The House Ways and Means Committee bill includes a graduated surtax on individuals making more than $350,000, $500,000 and $1 million.

WHAT IS INDUSTRY'S INVOLVEMENT?

* Hospitals opposed the Obama administration's original proposal for $220 billion in payment cuts, but have agreed to $155 billion in cuts over 10 years, in part from reduced Medicare and Medicaid payments.

* Insurers oppose creating a new government-run insurance program. They are discussing payment cuts for Medicare Advantage health plans for the elderly and disabled offered by some companies to compete against private insurers.

* Drug companies agreed to $80 billion in prescription drug discounts over the next 10 years, in part by reducing the cost of medicines for elderly Medicare patients. They oppose requiring lower prescription drug prices for poor, elderly people who qualify for both Medicare and Medicaid programs.

Brand-name drug makers want 12 to 14 years of exclusivity for new biotechnology medicines before cheaper, generic versions are approved by the Food and Drug Administration. The Obama administration has endorsed seven years of protection.

HERE for complete article:
www.reuters.com/article/GCA-HealthcareReform/idUKTRE56C61720090713


THERE for Reuters in-depth look at the issues facing Americans as the Obama administration and the Congress wrestle with healthcare policy.
www.reuters.com/news/globalcoverage/healthcarereform

[chris]

Probably in a bad place

fredshelm.wordpress.com/2008/06/05/barack-the-black-hitler/

[clarencebunsen]

I ran across an interesting document today, it's a working paper from the Baucus group.

i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/images/09/08/baucus.framework.pdf

FRAMEWORK FOR COMPREHENSIVE HEALTH REFORM
This document constitutes a framework of a plan for consideration by the Bipartisan Six. The policies outlined here represent many of the policies discussed with Finance Committee members and described in previous options papers. In addition, the policies also reflect the group’s conversations and the group’s work throughout the summer, including throughout the August recess. Chairman Baucus proposes this framework for consideration and response by the next meeting scheduled for Tuesday, September 8, 2009.

Buried at the end under revenue provisions

Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Companies Fee. Under this proposal, an annual fee of $2.3 billion would be imposed on the pharmaceutical manufacturing sector beginning in 2010. The fee would be allocated by market share.
Medical Device Manufacturers Fee. Under this proposal, an annual fee of $4 billion would be imposed on the medical devices manufacturing sector beginning in 2010. The fee would be allocated by market share.
Health Insurance Provider Fee. The proposal would impose an annual fee of $6 billion on the health insurance sector beginning in 2010. The fee would be allocated by market share.
Clinical Laboratories Fee. Under this proposal, an annual fee of $750 million would be imposed on clinical laboratories beginning in 2010. The fee would be allocated by market share, except for small businesses.

The first provision would hit the manufacturing plant in Norwich, the second Con-Med and the last Centrex. We might as well slam a few more American manufacturers. I'm looking forward to the time when my choice is between a pace maker made in China or insulin from Somalia.

It's probably my racist tendencies that made me write that.

[clarencebunsen]

Another hater

Harry Reid: Health care bill won’t work for Nevada

www.lasvegassun.com/news/2009/sep/16/harry-reid-health-care-bill-wont-work-nevada/

No sooner than the Senate Finance Committee's chairman released his long-awaited health care bill today than Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said it's not good enough for Nevada.

Reid is concerned about the cash-poor state's inability to boost Medicaid spending as would be required under the bill.

“While this draft bill is a good starting point, it needs improvement before it will work for Nevada," Reid said in a statement. "During this time of economic crisis, our state cannot afford to shoulder the second highest increase in Medicaid funding."

[clarencebunsen]

The hate keeps coming

Dem Senator Warns of 'Big, Big Tax' on Middle Class in Baucus Bill

blogs.abcnews.com/thenote/2009/09/dem-senator-warns-of-big-big-tax-on-middle-class-in-baucus-bill.html

It's not every day that you hear a Democratic senator charge that a fellow Democrat is proposing to raise taxes on the middle class, but that is what happened on Tuesday when Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., ripped into the health-care bill developed by Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mt., the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee.

The Baucus proposal would impose, starting in 2013, a 35 percent excise tax on insurance companies for "high-cost plans" -- defined as those above $8,000 for individuals and $21,000 for family plans.
The West Virginia Democrat worries, however, that a lot of middle class workers, like the coal miners in his state, will end up facing "a big, big tax" under the Baucus bill because they currently enjoy generous employer-provided health care benefits which they receive tax free.

[dgriffin]

All these fees will be passed on to you-know-who. It's not clear if the government will be making some kind of a "tax profit" on the whole scheme. Could Health Care Reform be nothing but a scheme to increase tax revenue by rationing health care to citizens? There is a lot of money kicking around, and the government doesn't want you or the health or insurance industry to have much of it. The government needs all that money for ... for .... I forget.

[gski]

Dave,
A scheme from our government? Say it ain't so! It's a scheme alright from my standpoint. To control another chunk on the economy...by whom...you guessed it, our government. Sorry, in this case past performances are a prediction upon future performances.

Show me they can fix or take care of what they have before they do anything else. Oops, sorry they said they would do that too.

[concerned]

Gee and Obama hasn't started his Reform on Financial Institutions and business and nothing has been said about his Tax Reform. One thing is for sure is that the government needs revenue and I wonder where he will get it from

[chris]

From that tree Michelle planted in her victory garden that he has been shaken since he was voted into office. Or maybe its the silver dollar plant. Wouldn't you love some of those seeds.

[dgriffin]

Oh, yeah ... the Bush Tax Cuts. I must have done something with that money. Where'd it go?

[gski]

They went in the circle of life....are was that circle of government? Oh yeah, almost forgot, those are going to expire too. Gotta have more money to pay for new programs....