Insurance Quotes & Advice

On Thursday, House Democrats announced a new $894 billion healthcare reform bill designed to overhaul the $2.5 trillion healthcare industry.  The House version will contain the much debated public health option, which had been a major stumbling block and the main reason why legislation has taken so long.

The cost which will be factored in over ten years will mostly be funded by a 5.4% surtax on the wealthy and is expected to reduce the number of uninsured Americans substantially by 2013.  The health insurance industry has recently criticized the reform bill saying it would cause premiums to rise by about $4000 to individuals by 2019.

The bill which will begin debate sometime next week is expected to be universally opposed by Republicans.  Unlike the Senate, which also has a version that contains a public option, House Democrats hold an overwhelming majority and can afford a few defections at this stage.

The Senate which is hoped to finish up it’s bill sometime next month will likely contain a number of differences with the House version and it will be interesting to see what will happen when the committee forms to reconcile those differences.  President Obama made healthcare reform his major domestic policy initiative when he took office but it has taken quite some time for his goal to come into fruition.

Later this week, the Senate’s Finance Committee will vote on the proposed healthcare reform bill, estimated to cost $829 billion over 10 years.  If the committee approves the measure, which it is expected to, the bill will then be merge with the version that has already been passed by the Senate’s health committee.

On the heels of this vote, a trade association made up of a number of health insurers, released a report sharply criticizing the reform bill, stating that the current legislation would lead to a rise in insurance premiums of $4,000 by 2019.  The White House and consumer groups blasted the America’s Health Insurance Plans’ report calling it misleading.

While the insurance industry had pledged support earlier in the year for healthcare reform, that support has appear to have wavered in recent months.  Insurers are at odds with Congress over a weak mandate to purchase coverage in exchange for the abandonment of the practice of denying coverage and charging higher premiums for individuals with pre-existing conditions.

While the Senate version doesn’t contain the much criticized “public” option, there is a strong possibility that the House version will contain it and it will be interesting to see what happens the committee to reconcile the two versions meets.

The recession hit business hard and they are looking for ways to cut costs.  One of the ways is to shift more of the burden for healthcare benefits to their employees.

Healthcare costs have spiraled out of control with a recent study from the Kaiser Family Foundation finding that premiums for the average family have risen 131% over the last decade.  With premiums far outpacing inflation, it’s a trend that many Americans won’t be able to keep up with for long.

When asked about their plans for next year, 21 percent of offering firms say they are “very likely” to raise workers’ premium contribution next year, and 16 percent say they are  “very likely” to raise deductibles.  Just 4 percent say they are “very likely” to restrict eligibility for coverage, and 2 percent say they are “very likely” to drop health coverage altogether.

Nearly 7 million Americans have lost their jobs already during the recession and even with COBRA insurance allowing most to keep up with their coverage, many are finding the burden just too much to bear.  Both the employed and recently unemployed are finding it necessary to cut their health benefits in order to make ends meet.

Although the healthcare debate has been controversial at times, the majority of Americans are in support of healthcare reform.  While it seems the debate has stalled somewhat, the President is still hoping that something can be done by the end of the year.

It is vital that Congress finds a way to get cost under control.  We already have a sizable portion of the population unable to afford health insurance, if we have another decade like the last, that percentage will rise appreciably.