NC Group Insurance
Town Hall Protests Seen as Not Derailing Health Reform
CQ Today reports that town hall protests, while loud and angry, have not had their desired effect: to derail President Obama’s health insurance overhaul effort. In DC, staff meetings on the bills continue and Democratic leaders are mounting an effort to help their rank-and-file members counter criticism of the legislation, especially any erroneous claims. However, if the protests are sustained and proponents of the overhaul do not respond with more robust demonstrations of support, some are concerned Democrats eventually will scale back their legislation. In what CQ calls a worst-case scenario for liberals, Democrats could be forced to drop plans to create a government-run insurance plan that would compete with private plans, the so-called ‘public option.’
Shortage of Primary Care Physicians Affects NC Health Insurance
There are plenty of surgeons and other medical specialists in America - more than enough, perhaps. And specialized institutionalized care of high quality is available for people who are seriously ill. But primary care - the continuing personal supervision of a family’s overall health, with emphasis on prevention and early treatment of illness - is sadly lacking for the urban poor, for most rural residents and for millions of middle-class people, too. How this shortage of primary care physicians affects health insurance in North Carolina remains to be seen.
Vote on Health Care Reform Unlikely Soon
Rep. Pete Stark (D-CA), who serves as chairman of the health subcommittee of the House Ways and Means Committee, said on a conference call earlier this month that Democrats were unlikely to vote on a comprehensive health-care reform proposal until early in 2010. Stark is known to have a longstanding interest in health care issues and has been critical of the fate of the uninsured under the George W. Bush administration. Along with John Conyers in April 2006, Stark brought an action against President Bush and others alleging violations of the Constitution in the passing of the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005, which cut Medicaid payments. The case, Conyers v. Bush, was ultimately dismissed for lack of standing in November of the same year.
DEMOCRATS FOCUS ON HEALTH CARE REFORM THAT COULD EFFECT NC HEALTH INSURANCE PROVIDERS AND PARTICIPANTS
A leading Senate Democrat rolled out a sweeping healthcare plan yesterday, signaling that Democratic leaders in Congress intend to aggressively pursue significant - and probably expensive - healthcare legislation despite an expanding federal deficit and President-elect Barack Obama’s intense focus on the ailing economy. According to a report from Healthcare Industry Today, Senator Max Baucus of Montana, the head of the powerful Senate Finance Committee, unveiled an 89-page policy proposal that in many ways resembled the one Obama put forward during the campaign, with an important difference - it requires everyone to buy health insurance. In that respect, it is even more like the plan Massachusetts enacted in 2006 than Obama’s, which did not include an individual mandate.
SENATORS WORKING TO KEEP HEALTH CARE IN FOREFRONT
Two of the Senate’s most influential leaders are working separately behind the scenes on legislation that would dramatically alter the way Americans get health care, hoping their early efforts — including the release today of a position paper — will push President-elect Barack Obama to move rapidly on the issue and spare the incoming administration some of the missteps that killed Bill Clinton’s health reform initiative in 1994. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) is unveiling a 104-page blueprint today that serves as the opening move in a fierce competition in the Senate to frame the debate. Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.), who is battling a life-threatening brain cancer, has directed aides over the past several months to convene negotiating sessions with a diverse group of stakeholders, including physicians, patient advocates, small-business owners and insurers. He intends to have legislation drafted by Inauguration Day.
OBAMA’S EARLY PLANS
The economic crisis will not stop President-elect Barack Obama from expanding health care, overhauling education and energy policy, and passing a middle-class tax cut soon after he takes office in January, senior aides said on Sunday. Meanwhile the U.S. Congress should act to ease the pain of an economy sliding into recession by extending unemployment benefits and boosting aid to states struggling to meet their health-care obligations, they said. NC health insurance companies are anxiously watching and waiting to see how the Obamam administration will affect health insurance in the state. It is not expected that sweeping changes will be made in the early days of the new administration.
Democrats to Make Children’s Health Program a Top Priority
Democrats are expected to pass a large expansion of children’s health insurance early next year, which could affect NC health insurance. This act would make good on a campaign promise dating to 2006. Lobbyists from child advocacy groups have been meeting with the staff of key Democratic lawmakers and committees responsible for the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) in recent weeks, urging them to pass an expansion of the program as one of their first acts of the new Congress.
NC Businesses Wary of Senator Obama’s Health Care Plan
Senator Obama’s health care plan is of concern to many North Carolina business leaders as it relates to the NC Health Insurance plans that they offer to their employees. Of main concern is Mr. Obama’s desire to eliminate pre-existing conditions for new participants in group medical plans, even if the new participant has had no coverage in the past or has had a 63 day lapse in coverage. Should this plan be adopted, business leaders are concerned that the cost of health insurance will escalate even more that the current trends.
Senator Obama’s Potential Affect on NC Health Insurance Plans for Employers
Senator Barack Obama’s health care plan wants the government to subsidize the cost of health coverage for millions who otherwise would have trouble affording it. The Democratic presidential candidate would set up a kind of government-run shopping mall that would negotiate prices and benefits with private insurers. One choice would be a government-run plan, and no participating company offering NC health insurance benefits could turn someone away because of pre-existing conditions. Nor would someone have to pay a higher monthly premium based on those conditions. The government would also subsidize the cost for many who buy coverage through this exchange. Obama’s plan would cover some of the costs by raising taxes on those households with incomes exceeding $250,000. He also would require all but small businesses to make a “meaningful” payment for health coverage of their workers or contribute a percentage of payroll toward the cost of the public plan offered through the exchange.
McCain Health Insurance Plan Summary
Presidential Candidate John McCain’s health care plan proposes a tax credit of $2,500 for individuals or $5,000 for a family that buys health insurance. The credit would replace the tax break people now get for obtaining health coverage through their employers. McCain also wants to let people shop across state lines when buying insurance, which would let consumers bypass states where insurance is more expensive and comprehensive. A similar tax credit plan was sent to congress in 2007 but failed to gain momentum.
