Archive for the ‘State Healthcare Reform Initiatives’ Category

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PPACA Raises Barriers to State Single Payer Efforts

August 14, 2010
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Last week’s post highlighted encouraging initiatives in several states to implement a single payer system within a single state.

This was always a daunting challenge even before health reform. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act has raised the bar even higher.

Hawaii

ERISA and its preemption

Before PPACA a legal hurdle called the ERISA preemption severely hamstrung state health reform efforts. For those of us in the employee benefits profession, ERISA, including its preemption clause, is our bible or at least our Deuteronomy.

ERISA was passed by Congress in 1974 to regulate employee benefit plans. The preemption clause precludes states from regulating employee benefit plans. There were two exceptions to that preemption and both are instructive. Continue reading ‘PPACA Raises Barriers to State Single Payer Efforts’

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Health Care Reform, Single payer and State Healthcare Reform Initiatives-- Tags: Congressman Dennis Kucinich, ERISA, ERISA preemption, Hawaii, Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, PPACA, Single payer health care, State health insurance mandates, state single payer, Vermont single payer.

Single Payer is Not Dead

August 7, 2010
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The single payer movement was not invited into the national health reform debate.

But they are not going away.

July 30, 2010 was the 45^th anniversary of Medicare. Activists across the country took the opportunity to remind us that Medicare works for older Americans and it can work for the rest of us.

Medicare at 45

The Obama administration took the opportunity to tout improvements in Medicare as a result of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA):

More benefits, especially preventative benefits
More tools to fight fraud and abuse
Lower drug cots for seniors
Improved quality of care through pilot programs that encourage more integrated and coordinated care delivery Continue reading ‘Single Payer is Not Dead’

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Health Care Reform, Medicare, Single payer and State Healthcare Reform Initiatives-- Tags: Maryland single payer, Medicare, Medicare for All, Medicare Trust Fund, Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Pennsylvania single payer, PPACA, Single payer health care, Vermont single payer.

Healthcare Reform? Think small…very small

May 2, 2009
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Past efforts by the federal government to reform the health care system offer instructive guidance about future prospects for meaningful reform.

Forgeddaboutit.

Lesson learned – why go for the simple fix when the Rube Goldberg fix will do. Limit the fix to only a small hole in the system. Make sure it has a good story line. Congress gets some political mileage with little down side. In addition, it keeps bureaucrats and lawyers busy figuring out what Congress intended.

Let me illustrate with two examples.

Thirty state legislatures have attempted to address a real problem – health care coverage for young adults. Young adults generally lose coverage as dependents on their parents’ plan when they turn 19. The technical term we in the benefits profession use is “age off.” Young adults who continue as full time students can generally continue on their parents’ plan if they and their college or university jump through some administrative hoops.

These ideas evolved in a quainter world when young people could find jobs at 18 or 19 that offered health insurance. Rarely true today. Continue reading ‘Healthcare Reform? Think small…very small’

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Health Care Reform, State Healthcare Reform Initiatives and Thinking Small-- Tags: Michelle's Law.

For College Students – It's not simple

November 15, 2008
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I support a simpler health care system. That is my number one priority. Thus I am unimpressed with the health care reform platform of our newly elected president. I do share the hope and optimism of many that meaningful change can and will happen.

But getting a simpler health care system means that some of the stakeholders need to be cut lose from the system. That is a politically daunting task. It is why most health care reform proposals try to add more patches to what is already a shabby patchwork quilt of private and public programs.

One effort does try to simplify a small part of our current system. Continue reading ‘For College Students – It's not simple’

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Health insurance, State Healthcare Reform Initiatives and health care benefits-- Tags: Administrative Simplification, College students, dependent health care coverage, Michelle's Law, State health insurance mandates, State health policy.

Archive for the ‘State Healthcare Reform Initiatives’ Category

Page 2 of 2

PPACA Raises Barriers to State Single Payer Efforts

ERISA and its preemption

Single Payer is Not Dead

Medicare at 45

Healthcare Reform? Think small…very small

For College Students – It's not simple

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