I'm really into this podcast called "Stuff You Should Know" and it's from this website http://www.howstuffworks.com/. They research and write articles on everything under the sun and it's actually pretty entertaining. This week, they're doing a big 4 or 5 part podcast about the health care issues going on. I really enjoyed this because all I keep hearing is other people's opinions, not just the plain good ol' facts to form my own.
What I'm not going to do in this post is throw my opinions and ideas at you, that's not my purpose. I just wanted to share this info with you for your knowledgable reading pleasure.
I'm only going to post a couple sections from the article. To read the rest of the article please visit : http://health.howstuffworks.com/health-care-reform.htm
****
How US Health Care Reform Works
by Molly Edmonds
..
Obama's Plan for Health Care
Though the current proposals for reforming health care are frequently termed "Obamacare," these plans weren't written by Barack Obama. As opposed to 1993, when the Clinton administration created much of its health care plan in isolation without input from Congress, Obama has laid out his eight requirements for health care reform and then taken a hands-off approach, leaving it to the Congress to write the bills. Obama's eight principles for health care reform are:
• Assure affordable, quality health coverage for all Americans
• Remove obstacles to coverage for people with pre-existing conditions
• Maintain coverage in the event of job loss or change
• Safeguard families from bankruptcies related to health expenses
• Guarantee choice of doctors and coverage plans
• Shrink long-term cost increases in health care for businesses and the government
• Improve quality of care and patient safety
• Invest in preventive care and wellness
[sources: White House, Kaiser Family Foundation]
At press time, there are two major legislative proposals. The House of Representatives released H.R. 3200, also known as the America's Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009. From the Senate, we have the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee bill, which is referred to as the Affordable Health Choices Act. Still to come is the bill from the Senate Finance Committee, which is expected to be unveiled by mid-September 2009. The senators working on this bill include three Democrats and three Republicans, so many legislators are hoping that it arrives with provisions that satisfy both political parties. This bill is also anticipated because it must include ways of financing proposals, which the other Senate bill wasn't required to do.
While the United States is still recovering from the 2008 presidential campaign, the fall of 2009 may turn out to be a repeat of the election season, as senators and representatives will take to the floor to work out the various proposals. Pundits are positing that the Democrats are counting their votes in a possible attempt to pass legislation without broad Republican support, as Republicans have been largely critical of the proposals so far [sources: Montgomery, Bacon; Madden]. Already, interest groups have saturated the airwaves with claims about what the plan will or will not include. Through it all, President Obama has remained adamant that he wants a bill to sign by the end of the year. Even if Obama does sign a bill, the American people won't likely see changes until 2012.
So what's on the table so far?
Changes to Existing Insurance Plans
If Barack Obama had a nickel for every time he asserted that Americans would get to keep their doctor and their health insurance plan, he would probably have enough money to pay down the deficit. But it's a message that bears repeating to the majority of Americans who already have health insurance that they like.
The legislative proposals would require private insurers to avoid discriminatory practices toward people with pre-existing conditions. Insurers would also be forced to do away with annual or lifetime limits on care, so that people who get sick don't hit some arbitrary limit quickly and are forced to pay out of pocket. In an effort to increase transparency, insurance companies would be required to create a sort of progress report each year.
Ideally, these consumer protection and public accountability requirements would force the insurance companies to perform more fairly and efficiently. Additionally, President Obama has stated that he believes that a little competition will keep insurance companies honest and premiums low. While one source of competition may be the much-talked-about public option, the plans also pit private insurers against each other in an insurance marketplace, where certain consumers will be able to see very quickly how much a plan will cost them without reading hundreds of pages of fine print.
Private insurance plans that are sold in this marketplace will have to include certain "essential" benefits; legislators are currently debating whether services related to mental health or abortion, for instance, should meet these benefit requirements. However, already existing insurance plans won't have to meet these requirements at first. Instead, the current proposals call for older plans to be grandfathered in to the system, meaning that those who receive health insurance from their companies may see very few changes when reforms first take effect. Once the insurer starts to make significant changes to that particular plan, though, it would lose this grandfather status and be subject to the minimum benefits required in the marketplace. Existing plans may also be subject to a grace period of a few years to align their plans to the governmental standards.
Ready to head to that marketplace? Not so fast, there -- only certain people are eligible.
******
Go on, go read the rest of this article, it goes on to talk more about individual and employer mandates and subsidies, the public option, changes to medicaid and medicare, doctors roles, and how this is all going to get paid for. Happy reading!
TATA!
No comments:
Post a Comment