Monthly Archive for November, 2009

Page 2 of 6

San Francisco’s health care a model during debate

November 20, 2009
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by JULIANA BARBASSA

The Associated Press 11/20/09
Friday, November 20, 2009

SAN FRANCISCO — This city did not wait for Washington’s health care overhaul. Most uninsured adults here are already reaping the benefits of a government-run health care program – seeing doctors, filling prescriptions, and getting surgeries they could not otherwise afford.

Healthy San Francisco is the nation’s first city-run universal health care plan. While not insurance and not valid outside the city, it does illustrate how some hotly debated elements of plans being considered on Capitol Hill might play out.

In just over two years, the $126 million program has won over its target population, and now covers about 48,000 people – more than two-thirds of San Franciscans who previously had no insurance.

San Francisco’s health care a model during debate – washingtonpost.com

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Senate Health Bill: Less, Later, and Holy Complexity Batman (P2)

November 20, 2009
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by Gillian Hubble

We covered the good parts of HR 3590, the new Senate healthcare reform bill, in Part 1. Now, on to the Less, Later, and Holy Complexity Batman aspects.

Less

  1. Numbers: HR 3590 costs less than the House bill, $849 billion vs. $894 trillion. It lowers the deficit less, $127 vs $139 billion (see more dollar comparisons here.) It manages this by covering less of the population (94% vs 96%) and delaying major insurance reform. That costs less, but it also does less. There are also unintended consequences like skyrocketing insurance premiums prior to 2014 due to implementation of consumer protections in 2010. Hey, if private insurers have to pay out and can’t get rid of you, they are going to charge more. Plus in 2014 they’ll have to take riskier customers. Their business is to make money, not spend it; they’ll circle the wagons.

Senate Health Bill: Less, Later, and Holy Complexity Batman (P2) | Health Care | Change.org

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Towers Perrin’s 2010 Retiree Survey Shows Continuing Affordability and Access Concerns

November 18, 2009
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STAMFORD, Conn.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Driven by a prolonged economic recession and already high health care benefit costs for active employees, large U.S. employers are continuing to shift significant health coverage costs to retirees or exiting sponsored retiree health benefit programs altogether, according to Towers Perrin’s 2010 Retiree Health Care Cost Survey.

The survey finds that pre-65 retirees, who are not yet eligible for Medicare, will be hardest hit as they attempt to balance fixed incomes with steady increases in health coverage costs. At the same time, the survey also reveals that many employers are missing significant opportunities to deliver retiree benefit value while saving money and improving program effectiveness.

According to Towers Perrin, surveyed employers’ total health benefit costs for retirees will increase 6% for pre-65 retirees and 4% for post-65 retirees in 2010. While these rate increases are consistent with past experience, the impact on retirees is significant. Today, only 45% of survey respondents subsidize retiree health care coverage in some form. That figure reflects a steady decline over the past 20 years. In addition, many employers have put caps on their premium subsidies and, since plan costs are now well in excess of those caps, many retirees now bear the full brunt of cost inflation.

Towers Perrin’s 2010 Retiree Health Care Cost Survey Shows Continuing Affordability and Access Concerns | Business Wire

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Health-Care Overhaul: Waiting for Elmendorf, Test for Lincoln – Health Blog – WSJ

November 17, 2009
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By James A. White

As the Senate gets ready to begin floor debate on the health-care overhaul, two players with different roles come in for media attention this morning.

All eyes in the health-care arena are on Douglas W. Elmendorf, head of the Congressional Budget Office, who is due to come up with an evaluation of the Senate’s proposed overhaul shortly, according to an article in the New York Times. It puts what’s riding on the CBO’s assessment this way:

A thumbs-up from Mr. Elmendorf could speed the process along, helping Mr. Obama fulfill his hope of signing a bill into law this year. A thumbs-down on any of the critical questions — how much the bill costs, how many people it covers, whether it reins in the runaway growth of health spending — could leave the White House and Democrats scrambling.

Elmendorf’s past calls on cost issues has strained some of his friendships in Washington, including with fellow Democrats.

Health-Care Overhaul: Waiting for Elmendorf, Test for Lincoln – Health Blog – WSJ

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AP poll: Tax the rich to pay for health bill

November 17, 2009
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The Lowell Sun

11/17/2009

WASHINGTON (AP) — When it comes to paying for a health care overhaul, Americans see just one way to go: Tax the rich.

That finding from a new Associated Press poll will be welcome news for House Democrats, who proposed doing just that in their sweeping remake of the U.S. medical system, which passed earlier this month and would extend coverage to millions of uninsured Americans.

The poll found participants sour on other ways of paying for the health overhaul that is being considered in Congress, including taxing insurers on high-value coverage packages derided by President Barack Obama and Democrats as “Cadillac plans.”

That approach is being weighed in the Senate. It is one of the few proposals in any congressional legislation that analysts say would help reduce the nation’s health expenditures, but it has come under fire from organized labor and has little support in the House.

AP poll: Tax the rich to pay for health bill – Lowell Sun Online

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