Monthly Archive for June, 2011

6th Circuit Court of Appeals panel upholds individual mandate

June 30, 2011
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By JENNIFER HABERKORN | 6/29/11

The 6th Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday upheld the health reform law’s controversial requirement that nearly all Americans buy insurance, marking a significant win for President Barack Obama in the legal battles over his signature legislation.

The ruling by a three-judge panel — 2-1 in favor of the mandate — is the first from an appeals court on the constitutionality of the law.

The panel included two Republican nominees, who ended up on opposite ends of the opinion. Jeffrey S. Sutton, a George W. Bush nominee and a former clerk for Justice Antonin Scalia, is the first Republican-nominated judge to rule in favor of upholding the mandate.

“We find that the minimum coverage provision is a valid exercise of legislative power by Congress under the Commerce Clause,” Judge Boyce F. Martin Jr., who was nominated by Jimmy Carter, wrote for the majority.

Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0611/58040.html#ixzz1Qm9FEF2G

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Is Employer Sponsored Health Care the Next Jurassic Park? | Health Care Solutions and Benefits Management

June 28, 2011
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Is Employer Sponsored Health Care the Next Jurassic Park?

By RedBrick Health
If employers have been looking for an exit to employer-sponsored health benefits, they may have found one in the new health reform law. According to the just released employer survey by McKinsey and Company, upwards of 30% of the 1,300 employers surveyed “definitely or probably” will drop health coverage altogether and instead pay the $2,000 per employee government mandated fine.  The flee rate gets even higher when focused on those employers with a high awareness of the new law – more than half (50%+) employers indicating plans to exit health benefits.

Regardless of whether or not the survey findings become reality, the health reform law is likely to have an impact on the landscape of employer sponsored health.  Employers leaning toward getting out of the world of health insurance may feel justified in doing so knowing their employees are ensured affordable coverage options outside of their employment.

Is Employer Sponsored Health Care the Next Jurassic Park? | Health Care Solutions and Benefits Management

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The Survey Kerfuffle Asks the Wrong Question

June 24, 2011
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Paul Krugman called it McKinsey Gate.  The New America Foundation called it a kerfuffle.

Three congressional committees threatened to investigate.

What provoked this outrage?  A survey?!

The survey by the normally respected McKinsey & Co revealed that 30% of employers were likely to drop their employer sponsored health insurance (ESI) after the insurance exchange provisions of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) kicked into place in 2014.  This contrasted sharply with a study by the Congressional Budget Office that predicted that only 7% of employers would likely drop coverage.

The kerfuffle

The McKinsey survey has been described as an “outlier”, inconsistent with the results of other studies, in addition to the CBO study, including Rand, the Urban Institute, and the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans.

McKinsey defends its work by stating that it has not produced an economic model but rather has surveyed actual decision makers.  But this response too is not enough.  Some have gone so far as to impugn the professionalism of the survey firm that conducted the research, Ipsos, a French marketing firm.  Many criticized McKinsey’s initial unwillingness to provide specific methodological details about its study.  Later the firm relented and released specific details but that barely quieted the critics.

As McKinsey admits in its own study, the future is difficult to predict.  Critics argue that when employers are fully informed they will see the advantages of continuing to offer ESI.

The kerfuffle obfuscation

But arguing over the specifics of one study versus another misses the larger point.  To the extent that McKinsey has challenged previous predictions, perhaps their work has positive value. Continue reading ‘The Survey Kerfuffle Asks the Wrong Question’

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Vermont Reform: A Giant Step by a Small State

June 13, 2011
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Has Vermont carved a path toward single payer health care or caved into powerful insurance company lobbies?

Maybe just a little bit of both.

Has Vermont drawn a new line in the sand for health care reform or outlined a sketchy drawing towards the future?

Yes to that as well.

On May 27th, 2011 Governor Peter Shumlin fulfilled a campaign promise to move the state toward a single payer health care system when he signed H-202.

As the saying goes, you can’t make an omelet without breaking a few eggs.  In this case, the analogy works pretty well.

H-202 outlines a path that takes features from current state and federal realities and blends it with recipes offered by the federal health care reform to take Vermont where previous federal and state lawmakers have feared to tread. Continue reading ‘Vermont Reform: A Giant Step by a Small State’

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Many U.S. employers to drop health benefits: McKinsey | Reuters

June 7, 2011
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 CHICAGO | Tue Jun 7, 2011

(Reuters) – At least 30 percent of employers are likely to stop offering health insurance once provisions of the U.S. health care reform law kick in in 2014, according to a study by consultant McKinsey.

McKinsey, which based its projection on a survey of more than 1,300 employers of various sizes and industries and other proprietary research, found that 30 percent of employers will “definitely” or “probably” stop offering coverage in the years after 2014, when new medical insurance exchanges are supposed to be up and running.

“The shift away from employer-provided health insurance will be vastly greater than expected and will make sense for many companies and lower-income workers alike,” according to the study, published in McKinsey Quarterly.

Many U.S. employers to drop health benefits: McKinsey | Reuters

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