Healthcare reform update

[Martha]

Some provisions of healthcare reform are now going into effect today (more or less):

--Adult children up to age 26 now can get back on their parents plans;

--Plans are prohibited from placing lifetime limits on the dollar value of coverage;

--Plans can't rescind coverage except in cases of fraud;

--Plans cant deny children coverage based on pre-existing medical conditions or from including pre-existing condition exclusions for children;

--Annual limits on the dollar value of coverage are restricted(and eliminates annual limits in 2014);

--New health plans must implement an effective process for allowing consumers to appeal health plan decisions and must establish an external review process; and

--New health plans must provide at a minimum coverage without cost-sharing for preventive services rated A or B by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, recommended immunizations, preventive care for infants, children, and adolescents, and additional preventive care and screenings for women.

These changes apply to plan or policy years beginning on or after September 23, 2010 (annual limits eliminated in 2014)


A timeline for reform changes is here: Implementation Timeline - Kaiser Health Reform

 

[Automatika]

I wonder what the long term effects on the price of health insurance will be. I certainly don't see the price going down unless it is subsidized by the government, in which case taxes will have to be increased.

 

[MichaelB]

Some provisions of healthcare reform are now going into effect today (more or less):

--Adult children up to age 26 now can get back on their parents plans;

--Plans are prohibited from placing lifetime limits on the dollar value of coverage;

--Plans can't rescind coverage except in cases of fraud;

--Plans cant deny children coverage based on pre-existing medical conditions or from including pre-existing condition exclusions for children;

--Annual limits on the dollar value of coverage are restricted(and eliminates annual limits in 2014);

--New health plans must implement an effective process for allowing consumers to appeal health plan decisions and must establish an external review process; and

--New health plans must provide at a minimum coverage without cost-sharing for preventive services rated A or B by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, recommended immunizations, preventive care for infants, children, and adolescents, and additional preventive care and screenings for women.

These changes apply to plan or policy years beginning on or after September 23, 2010 (annual limits eliminated in 2014)


A timeline for reform changes is here: Implementation Timeline - Kaiser Health Reform

Thanks for the update.

 

[harley]

Some provisions of healthcare reform are now going into effect today (more or less):

--Adult children up to age 26 now can get back on their parents plans;

--Plans are prohibited from placing lifetime limits on the dollar value of coverage;

--Plans can't rescind coverage except in cases of fraud;

--Plans cant deny children coverage based on pre-existing medical conditions or from including pre-existing condition exclusions for children;

--Annual limits on the dollar value of coverage are restricted(and eliminates annual limits in 2014);

--New health plans must implement an effective process for allowing consumers to appeal health plan decisions and must establish an external review process; and

--New health plans must provide at a minimum coverage without cost-sharing for preventive services rated A or B by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, recommended immunizations, preventive care for infants, children, and adolescents, and additional preventive care and screenings for women.

These changes apply to plan or policy years beginning on or after September 23, 2010 (annual limits eliminated in 2014)


A timeline for reform changes is here: Implementation Timeline - Kaiser Health Reform

And it's all working out as intended.

Big health insurers to stop selling new child-only policies - latimes.com

 

[travelover]

Let the political slugfest begin anew.

 

[dex]

I wonder what the long term effects on the price of health insurance will be. I certainly don't see the price going down unless it is subsidized by the government, in which case taxes will have to be increased.

Here is the sequence of events
1. Private health ins premiums go up for each mandated change
2. Individual and companies reduce or drop health ins.
3. Private health ins premiums go up for #2 - fewer people paying in
4. More people move to the Gov't plan.
5. Private heath ins. premiums go up for #4 - fewer people paying in
6. Number of private health ins companies decline.
7. Private heath ins. premiums go up for #6 - fewer ins. companies; less competition
8. People without any ins rely more upon hospital emergency rooms. Increasing costs for state and local government and insurance premiums - depending upon state.
9. Premiums and/or taxes go up for #8
10. Gov't plan becomes dominate plan in USA
11. People complain that Gov't plan too expensive; Gov't tries to keep premiums artificially low
10. Gov't cuts benefits to control costs and deficits. Taxes may increase.
12. Private health ins. becomes supplemental ins to inadequate Gov't Plan for those that can afford it. The premium goes up as gov't services decline.

 

[FinanceDude]

Some provisions of healthcare reform are now going into effect today (more or less):

--Adult children up to age 26 now can get back on their parents plans;

--Plans are prohibited from placing lifetime limits on the dollar value of coverage;

--Plans can't rescind coverage except in cases of fraud;

--Plans cant deny children coverage based on pre-existing medical conditions or from including pre-existing condition exclusions for children;

--Annual limits on the dollar value of coverage are restricted(and eliminates annual limits in 2014);

--New health plans must implement an effective process for allowing consumers to appeal health plan decisions and must establish an external review process; and

--New health plans must provide at a minimum coverage without cost-sharing for preventive services rated A or B by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, recommended immunizations, preventive care for infants, children, and adolescents, and additional preventive care and screenings for women.

These changes apply to plan or policy years beginning on or after September 23, 2010 (annual limits eliminated in 2014)


A timeline for reform changes is here: Implementation Timeline - Kaiser Health Reform

Ok with those changes, I guess the gruesome stuff comes later......

 

[FinanceDude]

Here is the sequence of events
1. Private health ins premiums go up for each mandated change
2. Individual and companies reduce or drop health ins.
3. Private health ins premiums go up for #2 - fewer people paying in
4. More people move to the Gov't plan.
5. Private heath ins. premiums go up for #4 - fewer people paying in
6. Number of private health ins companies decline.
7. Private heath ins. premiums go up for #6 - fewer ins. companies; less competition
8. Gov't plan becomes dominate plan in USA
9. People complain that Gov't plan too expensive; Gov't tries to keep premiums artificially low
10. Gov't cuts benefits to control costs and deficits
11. Private health ins. becomes supplemental ins to inadequate Gov't Plan for those that can afford it.
12. Private heath ins companies provide full health ins for the rich.

You nailed it 100%!

 

[DallasGuy]

Let the political slugfest begin anew.

+1

why am I not surprised?

 

[RonBoyd]

An interesting graphic on the subject:

Op-Chart - The Health of Reform - Op-Chart - NYTimes.com

 

[ERD50]

Some provisions of healthcare reform are now going into effect today (more or less):

Thanks for the update. One that may affect me is the children up to 26YO. When my son graduated, but didn't land a job with full medical for a while, I purchased a high deductible policy for him. It was pretty cheap (~$60/month), but it was a pain to fill out the application, and mostly I worried about a denial if we actually had to make a claim.

My daughter may be in that position when she graduates next year. So while this is good for me in one way, I do wonder what it will do to our costs, and I wish there was a high deductible option so that I could keep costs down (I don't believe there is one, but I could be mistaken).

Let the political slugfest begin anew.

Isn't it a bit inflammatory to call out for the slugfest before it even happens?

+1

why am I not surprised?

I assume you are referring to dex's post? I don't see anything there that fits a political slugfest description - I think it's a pretty honest and objective view of what we will see. Those outcomes makes sense, based on what we know. I think you could point out any areas you disagree and present your case w/o stepping into a boxing ring. I for one would be interested in hearing an alternate view to what dex presented, if there is one.

-ERD50

 

[Rich_by_the_Bay]

Isn't it a bit inflammatory to call out for the slugfest before it even happens? ...

I assume you are referring to dex's post? I don't see anything there that fits a political slugfest description - I think it's a pretty honest and objective view of what we will see. Those outcomes makes sense, based on what we know. I think you could point out any areas you disagree and present your case w/o stepping into a boxing ring. I for one would be interested in hearing an alternate view to what dex presented, if there is one.
-ERD50

+1

 

[FinanceDude]

We can have a congent discussion of this, it has happened before...........

 

[ERD50]

I wonder what the long term effects on the price of health insurance will be. I certainly don't see the price going down unless it is subsidized by the government, in which case taxes will have to be increased.

A subsidy does not change the price of something, it only changes who is paying for it. I know you mentioned increased taxes, but I wanted to make that distinction regarding price.

If you peel the onion back a layer, that's not totally true. A subsidy will likely increase the price of something, as it artificially creates demand when you can purchase something and have somebody else pay the bill.

-ERD50

 

[RonBoyd]

Medicare Advantage Rates Dip, Membership Grows; CMS Says Review Your 2011 Options

The Medicare plan that was a key focus of health care reform – Medicare Advantage – will see an average price drop of one percent in 2011, according to an announcement yesterday by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). And, the agency added, participation in these plans is projected to increase by five percent.

CMS Administrator Donald Berwick, M.D., added, "Despite the claims of some, Medicare Advantage remains strong and a robust option for millions of seniors who choose to enroll or stay in a participating plan today and in the future.

“The Affordable Care Act gave us new authority to negotiate with health plans in a competitive marketplace. As a result, our beneficiaries will save money and maintain their benefits."

 

[FinanceDude]

A subsidy does not change the price of something, it only changes who is paying for it. I know you mentioned increased taxes, but I wanted to make that distinction regarding price.

If you peel the onion back a layer, that's not totally true. A subsidy will likely increase the price of something, as it artificially creates demand when you can purchase something and have somebody else pay the bill.
-ERD50

+1.................

 

[travelover]

.................
Isn't it a bit inflammatory to call out for the slugfest before it even happens? ..........-ERD50

I don't think so - some here (hem) are too predictable.

 

[DallasGuy]

Thanks for the update. One that may affect me is the children up to 26YO. When my son graduated, but didn't land a job with full medical for a while, I purchased a high deductible policy for him. It was pretty cheap (~$60/month), but it was a pain to fill out the application, and mostly I worried about a denial if we actually had to make a claim.

My daughter may be in that position when she graduates next year. So while this is good for me in one way, I do wonder what it will do to our costs, and I wish there was a high deductible option so that I could keep costs down (I don't believe there is one, but I could be mistaken).




Isn't it a bit inflammatory to call out for the slugfest before it even happens?



I assume you are referring to dex's post? I don't see anything there that fits a political slugfest description - I think it's a pretty honest and objective view of what we will see. Those outcomes makes sense, based on what we know. I think you could point out any areas you disagree and present your case w/o stepping into a boxing ring. I for one would be interested in hearing an alternate view to what dex presented, if there is one.

-ERD50

Yeah, I'm referring to Dex's post. I decided awhile back to try very hard not to comment on items with my own political slant. Obviously, there are some people in this forum that don't try to do that. Fine, that's their choice. But don't try to deny that some people always seem to go THERE!

 

[Martha]

Just passing along data, not into speculating today.

Another update:

Uninsured Rate Soars, 50+ Million Americans Without Coverage - Kaiser Health News

In a reflection of the battered economy, the number of people without health insurance rose sharply last year to 50.7 million — an all time high — according to data released Thursday by the Census Bureau.
That pushed the rate of uninsured Americans to 16.7 percent last year from 15.4 percent in 2008, when there were 46.3 million uninsured. It was one of the largest single year increases since the Census starting tracking the figure in 1987.

Nearly every demographic and geographic group posted a rise in the uninsured rate — with the exception of children, who remained stable at about 10 percent.

 

[Brat]

The cost of care for the uninsured who become ill will be born by those who have insurance.

 

[Rich_by_the_Bay]

The cost of care for the uninsured who become ill will be born by those who have insurance.

The cost of care for the uninsured is already born by those who have insurance.

 

[harley]

I don't think so - some here (hem) are too predictable.

P/K/B?

Other than a couple of people who don't like opinions of any sort on anything, this has been a reasonable discussion. There's no politics involved in saying that there can be unintended (if not unforeseen) consequences to actions. I guess all those people warning us of an overheated real estate and stock market back in 2007 were being too political too. We need more discussions like this, not fewer. If it devolves into name calling, somebody can wake up a moderator.

 

[ronocnikral]

i'm curious to how my company will react. they are very mum on the matter and basically said, "don't ask any questions, you'll see what happens next month during open enrollment and you won't get to know what changes are made until open enrollment starts, but change is a coming..." (no political pun intended on my interpretation of my company's message)

stay tuned til Oct 19th for the official change. hoping for the best.

 

[harley]

Just passing along data, not into speculating today.

Another update:

Uninsured Rate Soars, 50+ Million Americans Without Coverage - Kaiser Health News

In a reflection of the battered economy, the number of people without health insurance rose sharply last year to 50.7 million — an all time high — according to data released Thursday by the Census Bureau.
That pushed the rate of uninsured Americans to 16.7 percent last year from 15.4 percent in 2008, when there were 46.3 million uninsured. It was one of the largest single year increases since the Census starting tracking the figure in 1987.

Nearly every demographic and geographic group posted a rise in the uninsured rate — with the exception of children, who remained stable at about 10 percent.

I'd be interested in seeing how many of these newly uninsured are a result of the increase in unemployment, which is where most people get their insurance. The article didn't give any specifics. If it is, as I suspect, a major contributor, then that becomes an even more driving force toward uncoupling health insurance from employment. I don't think the current plan will accomplish what we need, but having options (hopefully affordable) would be nice. I wonder, though, how many would use those options if they are out of work. I suspect, once again, that people would defer coverage until something bad happened. That's the negative side of the public option and the forced coverability. Damn that human nature, it screws up all the good plans.

 

[Martha]

The cost of care for the uninsured who become ill will be born by those who have insurance.

Or care is forgone.

Nearly 45,000 annual deaths are associated with lack of health insurance, according to a 2009 study published by the American Journal of Public Health. That figure is us considerably from the 18,000 shown in a 2002 study, which I reported on before.

The study found that uninsured, working-age Americans have a 40 percent higher risk of death than their privately insured counterparts, up from a 25 percent excess death rate found in 1993.
New study finds 45,000 deaths annually linked to lack of health coverage | HarvardScience




And this from a 2010 survey: