Real Health Care Reform

Well, we head to see this one coming.

128 Democratic representatives have cosponsored H.R. 5808 to establish a government run public option within the health insurance exchanges.

At this time it is unlikely for this bill to go anywhere. And the coming elections may bury its possibilities for quite a while. But the current and coming regulations on the health insurance industry will make health insurance more unpopular than ever. Expect large and larger rate increases (more…)

Propaganda is not always easy to recognize. If you are not real familiar with the subject, it could just look like good unbiased information.

According to Wikipedia, “Propaganda is a form of communication that is aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position.” A great example is the “fact sheet” put out today by the department of Health and Human Services at http://www.healthreform.gov/newsroom/keeping_the_health_plan_you_have.html. (more…)

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius had asked U.S. District Judge roger Vinson for an extension on the deadline to respond to a joint lawsuit filed by 20 states, challenging the constitutionality of the health care reform law. (more…)

20 states are now involved in constitutional challenges to the new health care law. On Monday, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, Kathleen Sebelius, asked a federal judge to dismiss Virginia’s lawsuit which alleges that Congress overstepped its constitutional bounds. This is the first action by the administration in response to these various lawsuits.

The Oklahoma House of Representatives just approved a resolution giving voters the opportunity to vote on an amendment which would opt them out of the health care reform law. It will be placed on the November 2 ballot.

Finally, a bill has been introduced in the House (H.R. 5424) that will repeal the new health care reform law. (more…)

The House Energy and Commerce subcommittee is taking up several bills on health care pricing. One requires Medicaid programs to disclose charges for hospital services to their enrollees. Another would require hospitals, doctors, nurses, pharmacies, and others to disclose prices. And a third would require public and private health plans to disclose what services are covered, what restrictions and cost sharing requirements there are, and who the participating providers are

One of the main reasons that health care expenses are out of control is that no one involved in the purchase typically knows, or cares, what the real cost is. So doctors and hospitals rarely post prices, and in fact will be extremely reluctant to tell you even when you ask.

In general I’m not a big fan of additional government regulation. More often than not it causes more problems than it solves. But I am also for more transparent information, so interested parties can make rational decisions based on all available information.

Having doctors and hospitals disclose prices would probably be a very good thing. Though to really make it work, people should (more…)

John Oxendine has sent a letter to Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius, notifying her that he would not be implementing the Federally mandated high-risk insurance pool.

So far, there are nineteen state attorneys general who have filed lawsuits challenging the constitutionality of the new law. Oxendine’s position is also that this is an unconstitutional expansion of the federal government. The main basis of the constitutional challenges (more…)

The IRS has begun mailing millions of postcards to small businesses, to promote the tax credits they may be eligible for if they provide health insurance to their employees.

It is suspected that many small businesses may not take the IRS up on this offer, due to expected increases in health insurance costs and restrictions on high deductible plans.

Several companies in the individual health insurance market currently offer 2 or even 3 year rate guarantees. But with the increased costs facing insurers in the wake of the new health care reform law, that is ending. Assurant has already announced that they will not accept any applications for plans with 2 or 3 year rate guarantees after May 14. Blue Cross Blue Shield has already discontinued their extended rate guarantees in many states, and will be eliminating even 1 year rate guarantees in most states. Expect announcements from World and Golden Rule soon.

This is as to be expected. The masses who believed Obama when he said words about making health insurance “more affordable” will soon be facing a rude wake-up call.

Suffolk Superior Court Judge Stephen Neel has promised to rule by close of business today on whether or not insurance companies in the state can move forward with planned rate increases.

Now the nonprofit insurance companies in the state are losing millions and are in a situation where they cannot afford to keep insuring people without enacting a rate increase. And the state is in a situation where they are trying to force these companies to do business in the state.

It is a dangerous think when we have politicians who don’t have a clue about economics, trying to legislate things to be they way they want. Hey, why don’t we make a law saying health insurance is free, and another saying everybody is entitled to earn at least $100,000/year. Er, actually we seem to be already headed that way…

As a result of health care reform passed under Governor Mitt Romney, Massachusetts has the highest medical cost and health insurance rates (and the longest waits to see a doctor) of any state in the nation. And unfortunately for us, the federal health insurance reform bill was based largely on what they did in Massachusetts.

Health care reform is now the law of the land, and here are some of the upcoming consequences for people who purchase their own individual health insurance

On Sept 23, there are new mandates that will drive health insurance costs higher.

-New plans will no longer have lifetime limits
-Children under age 19 will no longer be subjective to any exclusions based on pre-existing conditions
-Dependent adult children up to age 26 can stay on their parents’ plan
-New plans must cover certain preventive services without copays or deductibles

All of these changes will drive costs up, so we are expecting to see some big rate increases coming – this year and in coming years. All the misguided people who think health insurance is about to be free will be howling in protest to the politicians. The politicians who passed this incredibly bad bill will be howling in protest as well, claiming the insurance companies are once again taking advantage of the public. And there will be calls to “do more” by those oblivious to the irony of it all.

The only hope is that high deductible plans will remain available. As rates continue to soar, more and more people will flock to health savings accounts and high deductible plans, and consumer-driven solutions may still stand a chance at stopping the runaway health care inflation.

For more details and a timeline of what’s going to happen, you can read the last issue of Maximize Your HSA.