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Newsroom -
Healthcare Reform
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The Democratic party has made comprehensive healthcare reform its top priority this year. A majority of Democrats in the House of Representatives are backing Speaker Nancy Pelosi's proposal. One of its provisions is the creation of a government-run insurance plan, otherwise known as a public option, to compete with private insurers. A similar program is included in the Senate's reform bill. While the public option is supported by liberal Democrats, some conservative Democrats have concerns. Among other things, they are worried that pushing reform through will lead to the Democrats losing control of Congress. Ed Gillespie, former Republican National Committee chairman and adviser to President George W. Bush, has also expressed this view. Midterm elections are set for 2010, and the majority party typically loses seats in those years. The hopes of Democratic congresspersons are riding on the success of healthcare reform. More importantly, their chances rest on convincing the public that they have the best plan to fix the crisis. Most Americans seem to agree that the current system needs changing, but are skeptical of how Democrats propose to do so.
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Newsroom -
Healthcare Reform
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Nancy Pelosi has finally released the House of Representatives' version of the mammoth healthcare reform bill, which costs almost $900 billion. While this is by no means the end of the debate (the bill still has to be reconciled with the Senate's differing proposal), some of the dust has now settled. Who looks to benefit from Pelosi's proposals, and who will be hurt by them? As expected, the bill includes a public option and forbids the denial of coverage to people with pre-existing conditions. The uninsured win (even more so than in the Senate's bill, which allows states to opt out of the public option), and health insurance companies lose. Medicare Advantage will see some budget cuts, so many senior citizens will lose; but the new insurance exchange market (including both for-profit insurers and the federal government) will lead to lower premiums, a boon to individuals and small businesses in search of affordable health insurance on the open market. Most of these results are obvious, but there are some unusual beneficiaries and also-rans in the House's bill.
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Newsroom -
Healthcare Reform
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Th ere has been much speculation over the possible inclusion of a public option in the healthcare reform bill. Despite the controversy, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid plans to ensure that a government-run health insurance program, intended to compete with private health insurance plans, is included--but there's a catch. The new provision allows states to pass legislation that excludes them from the public option. With this strategy, Democrats in both chambers of Congress are forgoing support from any of the Republicans--although only one, Maine Senator Olympia Snowe, expressed willingness to vote for any version of health care reform with some type of public option (albeit one that first had to be "triggered"). However, it will probably secure the votes of some conservative and moderate Democrats who have been unsure of the public option. However, does this version of the public option defeat the purpose of the public option, and will it meet the goals of its liberal supporters?
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Newsroom -
Healthcare Reform
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Healthcare reform has the possibility of changing the state of health insurance in America as we know it. President Obama and Democrats in Congress have vowed to pass a health care reform bill before the end of 2009. Over $2 trillion was spent on health care in 2007, far more per person than other industrialized nations. The intent of healthcare reform legislation is to cover more Americans: currently, 46 million Americans are uninsured. Most people in the United States receive health insurance through their employers, but the recession has meant that those who are laid off lose their insurance. COBRA coverage, which allows the unemployed to continue buying insurance from their former company at a higher rate, is available; however, it is very costly. Many employers have eliminated health care coverage altogether, forcing their employees to buy individual health insurance on the open market. Individual health insurance tends to be less affordable than a group plan. Meanwhile, others have had to file bankruptcy due to medical bills despite already having a health insurance plan.
What changes would reform bring?
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Newsroom -
Healthcare Reform
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One of the strangest aspects of this health care debate has been the role of insurers. Shortly after President Obama was sworn into office, the industry and it's lobbyists (through the group America's Health Care Plans) pledged to support healthcare reform. Even though it would cut into their profit margins, they were willing to compromise on important issues. This was a contrast from their successful torpedoing of the Clinton administration's health insurance reform plan in the 1990s. The government has been striving to insure all Americans, and a key obstacle to that is health insurance companies that refuse to sell policies to people with pre-existing conditions. That dilemma has become more pressing during the recession, as millions of unemployed Americans have lost their employer's health insurance along with their jobs. Underwriting standards are stricter on the open market, since private insurers are unable to spread costs among a large group of employees.
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