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Post by sdtosf on Jan 11, 2011 23:10:13 GMT -8
for more affordable healthcare? Please post actual bills that have passed. Just curious.
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Post by AlwaysAnAztec on Jan 12, 2011 10:20:49 GMT -8
for more affordable healthcare? Please post actual bills that have passed. Just curious. Heck, I'd even like to see bills that have been proposed. |
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Post by aztecwin on Jan 12, 2011 13:58:42 GMT -8
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Post by AlwaysAnAztec on Jan 12, 2011 15:21:07 GMT -8
Does very little to expand coverage to those who don't already have it. Until a true single-payer system is instituted the only true winners in the healthcare debate are the insurance companies. Universial coverage is the only solution for true reform. Spread the risk to everybody that is what 'insurance' is all about. |
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Post by aztecwin on Jan 12, 2011 21:28:59 GMT -8
Does very little to expand coverage to those who don't already have it. Until a true single-payer system is instituted the only true winners in the healthcare debate are the insurance companies. Universial coverage is the only solution for true reform. Spread the risk to everybody that is what 'insurance' is all about. Republicans need to work on many other things before they think about a single payer system. Costs and eligibility first. Universal is a non-starter until you get universal contribution to the cost figured out. |
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Post by sdtosf on Jan 12, 2011 23:00:53 GMT -8
Can't republicans work on the #1 problem facing most Americans? At least the Dems tried. I think there should be some common ground here. Health Insurance costs $1,500 a month for a family of 4. Then you have to pay out $1,000 per person before you can use your insurance. And then the insurance companies plan to raise rates 30 to 50 percent every year.
No wonder why good jobs with health care are moving out of the USA. My sister's companys CEO said they had to hire from India first. If no canidates there then they can only hire USA personnel. Main reason Health insurance costs plus they can pay someone from India only 25% of what they would pay in Silicon Valley.
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Post by AlwaysAnAztec on Jan 13, 2011 11:30:28 GMT -8
Does very little to expand coverage to those who don't already have it. Until a true single-payer system is instituted the only true winners in the healthcare debate are the insurance companies. Universial coverage is the only solution for true reform. Spread the risk to everybody that is what 'insurance' is all about. Republicans need to work on many other things before they think about a single payer system. Costs and eligibility first. Universal is a non-starter until you get universal contribution to the cost figured out. The cost can be figured out quite easily, I'm sure it has already been done. I'll look when I have the time. I do agree with you though. |
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Post by Deleted on Jan 13, 2011 20:44:53 GMT -8
for more affordable healthcare? Please post actual bills that have passed. Just curious. More affordable for whom? |
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Post by Deleted on Jan 13, 2011 23:16:49 GMT -8
Can't republicans work on the #1 problem facing most Americans? At least the Dems tried. I think there should be some common ground here. Health Insurance costs $1,500 a month for a family of 4. Then you have to pay out $1,000 per person before you can use your insurance. And then the insurance companies plan to raise rates 30 to 50 percent every year. No wonder why good jobs with health care are moving out of the USA. My sister's companys CEO said they had to hire from India first. If no canidates there then they can only hire USA personnel. Main reason Health insurance costs plus they can pay someone from India only 25% of what they would pay in Silicon Valley. Who says it's the #1 problem? 84% of Americans have coverage. Of the 16% who don't, many simply choose not to cover themselves. More than a few of the remaining are illegal aliens. You want to solve the "crisis" you claim is the number 1 problem? Close the border. www.gallup.com/poll/121820/One-Six-Adults-Without-Health-Insurance.aspx |
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Post by The Great Aztec Joe on Jan 14, 2011 20:04:24 GMT -8
Can't republicans work on the #1 problem facing most Americans? At least the Dems tried. I think there should be some common ground here. Health Insurance costs $1,500 a month for a family of 4. Then you have to pay out $1,000 per person before you can use your insurance. And then the insurance companies plan to raise rates 30 to 50 percent every year. No wonder why good jobs with health care are moving out of the USA. My sister's companys CEO said they had to hire from India first. If no canidates there then they can only hire USA personnel. Main reason Health insurance costs plus they can pay someone from India only 25% of what they would pay in Silicon Valley. Who says it's the #1 problem? 84% of Americans have coverage. Of the 16% who don't, many simply choose not to cover themselves. More than a few of the remaining are illegal aliens. You want to solve the "crisis" you claim is the number 1 problem? Close the border. www.gallup.com/poll/121820/One-Six-Adults-Without-Health-Insurance.aspxThe poll is totally invalid. They did not define health insurance. |
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Post by Deleted on Jan 14, 2011 20:08:39 GMT -8
The poll is totally invalid. They did not define health insurance. What would be an alternate definition? |
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Post by The Great Aztec Joe on Jan 15, 2011 9:02:45 GMT -8
The poll is totally invalid. They did not define health insurance. What would be an alternate definition? A proper definition would explain the levels of coverage. People could be said to have health insurance with they really have almost NO coverage. I have full coverage but a lot of people do not. |
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Post by sdtosf on Jan 16, 2011 0:11:54 GMT -8
Here is the Health Care Program. Why are republicans trying to repeal this? Mostly benefits the average US citizen.
Health-care legislation passed in March 2010 are:
Within one year of enactment (2010–2011)
* Insurance companies barred from dropping people from coverage when they get sick, ending the practice of rescission. Lifetime coverage limits eliminated and annual limits restricted.
* Young adults able to stay on their parents' health plans until age 26. Many health plans previously dropped dependents from coverage when they turned 19 or finished college.
* Uninsured adults with pre-existing conditions will be able to obtain health coverage through a new program that will expire once new insurance exchanges begin operating in 2014.
* Insurance companies cannot deny group or new (non-grandfathered) individual coverage to children under age 19 due to a pre-existing condition.[43]
* A temporary reinsurance program is created to help companies maintain health coverage for early retirees between the ages of 55 and 64. This also expires in 2014.
* Medicare drug plan beneficiaries who fall into the Medicare Part D coverage gap (the so-called "doughnut hole") will get a $250 rebate. The new law eventually closes that gap completely. (The old law required the sick person to pay 100% of their own annual medicine costs after $2,700 was spent in the coverage year and did not start again until after $6,154 was spent).
* A tax credit becomes available for some small businesses to help provide coverage for workers.
* A 10% tax on indoor tanning services that use ultraviolet lamps goes into effect on July 1.
[edit] Effective during 2011
* Medicare provides 10% bonus payments to primary care physicians and general surgeons.
* Medicare will cover the full cost of annual wellness visits and personalized prevention plan services for beneficiaries. New health plans will be required to cover preventive services with little or no direct cost to patients.
* A new program under the Medicaid plan for the poor goes into effect in October that allows states to offer home and community based care for the disabled that might otherwise require institutional care.
* Payments to insurers offering Medicare Advantage services are frozen at 2010 levels. These payments are to be gradually reduced to bring them more in line with traditional Medicare.
* Employers are required to disclose the value of health benefits on employees' W-2 tax forms.
* An annual fee is imposed on pharmaceutical companies according to market share. The fee does not apply to companies with sales of $5 million or less.
[edit] Effective as of 2012
* Physician payment reforms are implemented in Medicare to enhance primary care services and encourage doctors to form "accountable care organizations" to improve quality and efficiency of care.
* An incentive program is established in Medicare for acute care hospitals to improve quality outcomes.
* The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which oversees the government programs, begins tracking hospital readmission rates and puts in place financial incentives to reduce preventable readmissions.
* Companies will be required to issue 1099 forms to any vendor of services or rental property to which the business has paid more than $600. Form 1099 is also sent to the IRS. Under the existing law, businesses issued the Form 1099 only to individuals who provided services or property to a business. The health care law included the same form be issued to corporations as well, and that the form be issued to individuals and corporations that provide property to the business.[44][45] Only business related payments are reportable, personal payments not.[46] There are a number of exceptions. For example: payments for merchandise, telephone, freight, storage, payments of rent to real estate agents are excepted.[46] The health care bill mandate aims to collect lost revenue from companies that under-report on their tax returns. The provision is expected to raise $17 billion over 10 years.[47]
[edit] Effective as of 2013
* A national pilot program is established for Medicare on payment bundling to encourage doctors, hospitals and other care providers to better coordinate patient care.
* The threshold for claiming medical expenses on itemized tax returns is raised to 10% from 7.5% of income. The threshold remains at 7.5% for the elderly through 2016.
* The Federal Insurance Contributions Act tax (FICA) is raised to 2.35% from 1.45% for individuals earning more than $200,000 and married couples with incomes over $250,000. The tax is imposed on some investment income for that income group.
* A 2.9% excise tax is imposed on the sale of medical devices. Anything generally purchased at the retail level by the public is excluded from the tax.
[edit] Effective as of 2014
Main article: Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act#Effective by January 1, 2014
* State health insurance exchanges for small businesses and individuals open.
* Individuals with income up to 133% of the federal poverty level qualify for Medicaid coverage.
* Healthcare tax credits become available to help people with incomes up to 400 percent of poverty purchase coverage on the exchange.
* Premium cap for maximum "out-of-pocket" pay will be established for people with incomes up to 400 percent of FPL.[48][10] Section 1401 of PPACA explains that the subsidy will be provided as an advancable, refundable tax credit[49] and gives a formula for its calculation.[50] Refundable tax credit is a way to provide government benefit to people even with no tax liability[51] (example: Child Tax Credit). According to White House and Congressional Budget Office figures, the maximum share of income that enrollees would have to pay for the "silver" healthcare plan would vary depending on their income relative to the federal poverty level, as follows:[52][11] for families with income 133–150% of FPL will be 4-4.7% of income, for families with income of 150–200% of FPL will be 4.7-6.5% of income, for families with income 200–250% of FPL will be 6.5-8.4% of income, for families with income 250-300% of FPL will be 8.4-10.2% of income, for families with income from 300 to 400% of FPL will be 10.2% of income. In 2016,the federal poverty level is projected to equal about $11,800 for a single person and about $24,000 for family of four.[52] See Subsidy Calculator for specific dollar amount.[53]
* Most people required to obtain health insurance coverage or pay a tax if they don't.
* Health plans no longer can exclude people from coverage due to pre-existing conditions.
* Employers with 50 or more workers who do not offer coverage face a fine of $2,000 for each employee if any worker receives subsidized insurance on the exchange. The first 30 employees aren't counted for the fine.
* Health insurance companies begin paying a fee based on their market share.
[edit] Effective 2015
* Medicare creates a physician payment program aimed at rewarding quality of care rather than volume of services.
[edit] Effective 2018
* An excise tax on high cost employer-provided plans is imposed. The first $27,500 of a family plan and $10,200 for individual coverage is exempt from the tax. Higher levels are set for plans covering retirees and people in high risk professions.
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