I'm still reading -
Section 164 – Reinsurance program for retirees – this deals with people who have retired but are not old enough to qualify for Medicare and are insured by their former employer. The gist of this section is to provide some government assistance to the employer so said employer can comply with the cost restrictions that will be established in this health care bill.
The next part of the bill, starting with Section 201 through Section 208 and covering 43 pages – is devoted to the establishment and provisions of a health insurance exchange.
For all those who keep harping about how they don’t want a government run single payer healthcare system, this is the section that provides for private health insurance along with a public option. Please note the word “option” as opposed to the word “mandatory.”
What this bill proposes to do is set a standard for health care where people can choose their level of coverage but where the insurance companies have to play by a FAIR set of rules. For instance, plans will be tiered with every company providing a basic health plan. In order for a company to be able to offer the next tiered Enhanced Plan, they must offer a Basic Plan. If a company wants to offer a Premium Plan they must also offer a Basic Plan and an Enhanced Plan. This is to keep the risk pool balanced and thereby keep costs down. This section also allows for individual states to set up a health insurance exchange.
BTW – throughout this document there are mandates for studies and reports to be conducted from day 1 in order to make necessary changes in the event of unanticipated problems and with a project this big, there are bound to be problems.
The next section is devoted to the dastardly, bastardly Public Health Insurance Option. Again, let me call attention to the word OPTION. You will NOT be required to take public health insurance. This is to ensure that ALL Americans have affordable health coverage. There will be income limits for eligibility, once again, debunking the myth that this bill is trying to set up single payer socialized medicine.
Did you also notice I wrote “All Americans?”
Carefully note the last entry in this section:
SEC. 246. NO FEDERAL PAYMENT FOR UNDOCUMENTED
ALIENS.
Nothing in this subtitle shall allow Federal payments
for affordability credits on behalf of individuals who are
not lawfully present in the United States.
Only 873 pages left to go…
Did you warm up with "War and Peace?"
ReplyDeleteIn seriousness, Thank You!
War & Peace? That fluff piece?
ReplyDeleteNaw, I warmed up my reading glasses on the Iliad and the Odyssey. ;)
Rocky, an incredible yeoman's job you are doing here! Although I may not be commenting, I am certainly reading, and you have certainly cleared up some of the obfuscation that has been going around.
ReplyDeleteSome thoughts: The size of this tome has been much criticized, but little do average folks know that a massive and complicated healthcare system cannot be reduced into a simple abstract. The civics lesson is: Do your own reading and don't rely on misinformation being slung around.
That said, you will probably emerge from this unenviable task as THE healthcare reform expert in Cyberspace. Much appreciated.
OCTO - the more I read, the more I'm impressed with the amount of forethought that has actually gone into this bill.
ReplyDeleteI was expecting a much fuzzier picture with huge gaps in presentation and that has not been the case.
While there are places where I can see that problems might develop and with this big an undertaking it is not that surprising.
When Obama said this would be a bill designed to preserve private insurance while providing a public option - he was good to his word.
I have a long way to go and will probably stumble across something I don't like soon.
But I'm glad I decided to do this. While I think it will hardly qualify me as an expert, at least I'll KNOW what the bill actually says!
Rocky, I am gratified to know that the bill is straight up with no hidden mysteries ... at least thus far. Robert Reich wrote a post yesterday reminding us that the bill is still a work-in-progress subject to change; part of the impasse, he attributes, is that the bill is not a finished document which makes it subject to heckling. But I think he is not quite right in how he views the opposition.
ReplyDeleteIt seems the bill has become a dumping ground for everyone's fear about the economy, the stimulus, the deficit, etc. Misplaced anger, in my opinion, but something that needs to be addressed.
I writing a post right now on the subject which I hope to have ready soon. A little sidetracked today, but maybe Monday.