Health Insurance Blog

President Obama called for a rare meeting with lawmakers as part of a last effort to revive his health care priority.  The debate lasted all day and there wasn’t a resolution but voices were heard.  Obama gave his personal experiences with individual health insurance, including his mother’s battle with cancer.  He appealed to the fact that the health care system is not getting better, but only worse.

The Republicans main argument was that the existing reform bills didn’t do anything to lower costs.  The bills are estimated to cost 1 trillion dollars over the next decade.  The Democrats pointed out that it is going to be costly initially to extend coverage to nearly 30 million uninsured Americans.  Republicans fear a government system taking over a mostly private sector.

There was agreement that there are fundamental differences between the two parties that are causing the major rift.  The Democrats are still hoping to revive the comprehensive bills that have passed the House and Senate but Republicans are clear that they do not do comprehensive very well.  The debate continues even longer.  This information was obtained from the article “Obama and Republicans Haggle in Last-Gasp Health Summit” found on earthtimes.org.

The Senate voted for health care reform last week and changes are just around the corner.  According to the article “Senate Approves Health Care Bill” by Robert Pear on nytimes.com, the passing of the bill will guarantee individual health insurance to millions of Americans and also keep health care costs down.

The new bill has many parts to it but one of the main points is that it would require most Americans to carry health insurance and it would add 15 million people to Medicaid to subsidize private coverage for low and middle income residents.  The budget office believes the bill would offer coverage to about 31 million uninsured Americans but still leave an unsettling 23 million uninsured by 2019.

If this bill does end up becoming a law it will be a major milestone in US history.  This initiative does not carry full support from both sides of Congress which makes it even more complicated.  Only one Republican voted for the House bill last month and in regards to the Senate version, no Republicans voted for that.  This my end up being counterproductive as government tries to improve our health care system.

A new poll came out from Mason-Dixon Polling Research Inc. for the Las Vegas Review Journal last week reviewing where Nevadans stand on the health care debate.  The survey consisted of phone responses from 500 registered voters in Nevada.  Nevada and Las Vegas health insurance issues are definitely a concern for residents.  All of this information is according to the article “Most Nevadans Believe Health Reform Includes Tax Hikes” by Calli Fisher at krnv.com, News 4.

The poll shows that 49% of Nevadans are against President Obama’s health care proposal while 43% support it.  Only 8% believe no action is necessary.  A shocking 77% believe that President Obama’s plan will include an increase in taxes.  This goes against what most residents believe should be the main concerns when revamping health care.  This includes cheaper health insurance, easier to access and fewer restrictions. 

74% of Nevada Democrats support Obama’s plan and only 9% of Republicans approve of it.  Some say these numbers include many who don’t fully understand the proposal nor do they understand how it will affect them directly.  The poll does have a margin of error of plus or minus 4.5%.  It is still to be determined how and when Nevada health insurance will be affected.

According to the article “Texas Agency: Senate health care bill could cost Texans up to $20.4B” by Dave Michaels on dallasnews.com, residents who think they are already paying high Texas health insurance premiums and high taxes may be in for a surprise as the health care bill gets considered.

The Senate is considering a health care bill currently that would add about 2.5 million Texans to the state’s public health insurance plans.  This would cost Texas taxpayers up to $20.4 billion over the next 10 years in taxes.  This is according to an analysis of the legislation by the Texas Health and Human Services Commission. 

Texas currently leads the nation in the number of uninsured according to the US Census Bureau figures.  Over 25% of Texas residents lack health insurance, which totals about 6 million people based on a 2 year average for 07-08.  Although this statistic is staggering, it is uncertain whether Texas can afford to assist insuring that many more people and it makes the Texas government very nervous to implement such a project.

On Blue Cross Blue Shield’s website there is a news article entitled “New Census Report Underscores Need for Health Care Reform”.  It has a statement from President and Chief Executive Officer of Blue Cross Blue Shield Scott P. Serota.  The statement follows after the release of the report from the US Census Bureau that shows the number of uninsured Americans increased from 45.7 million in 2007 to 46.4 million in 2008. 

Serota points out that no one should have to worry about having quality, affordable health insurance.  He believes that 46 million uninsured is unacceptable.  It’s an important reminder of the critical need for health care reform.  According to Serota, we should enact bipartisan health care reform this year that will give health insurance coverage to everyone. 

Blue Cross Blue Shield companies support initiatives working towards this goal.  They want to build on the employer based system currently in place.  He says the high number of uninsured is partly because of the recession, but something still needs to be done now to fix this problem. 

According to the article “Houston turns out for health care reform” by James Thompson from People’s Weekly World Newspaper, 2000 supporters of health care reform had a rally organized by Organizing for America (OFA) at Houston City Hall. 

Many Houston health insurance policy holders are passionate about seeing change.  The rally was endorsed by OFA, Harris County Democratic Party, Harris County AFL-CIO, SEIU and Justice for Janitors.  About 100 people attended who oppose health care reform.  They were drowned out by supporters of reform.  Houston police officers were on duty and no violence broke out.

One of the highlights of the rally was a speech given by Rep. Al Green, D-Houston.  He pointed out that the US is spending $2.5 trillion a year in health care but we cannot afford this.  He believes that everyone should be protected and health care should serve all.

New York health insurance is ahead of the game when it comes to health care reform according to the article “Feds must consider NY situation in fixing care” by Kenneth Adams on poughkeepsiejournal.com.  New York is one step ahead of the nation when it comes to health care infrastructure, medical education, research, health insurance mandates, and insurance taxes.

New York’s plan isn’t perfect and is much more expensive than other states’ plans.  This is why New York is an important state to look at as Congress tries to put together health care reform.  According to the United Hospital Fund, NY ranks 25th across the country with 15% of New Yorkers without health insurance under 65.  If federal policies make New York health insurance more expensive NY cannot improve their numbers. 

59% of people in New York still get their health insurance from employer sponsored plans.  New health insurance taxes without reform to offset the increasing prices will force more New York companies to stop offering health insurance benefits to their employees.  That will cause even more uninsured residents since it will be harder for them to obtain individual health insurance.

About eight out of ten Americans favor a public option health insurance plan on the table in Congress right now.  This is according to the new poll underwritten by AARP and completed by Penn, Schoen & Berland Associates released Tuesday night at an AARP event in Denver. 

While most people seem to favor this public option, only four out of ten can accurately define what a public option health insurance plan means.  This is not good news for President Obama who may be facing possible defeat on his health care reform platform. 

The poll surveyed 1,000 Republicans, Democrats and independents across the nation earlier in August.  The survey does suggest that Americans agree on health care reform of some sort, but there is much less agreement on whether or not it’s worth higher taxes or higher health insurance rates. 

Most are still very concerned about having affordable health insurance.  65% oppose tax increases and 73% oppose higher health insurance premiums.  This information was found through the Wichita Business Journal in the article “AARP polling shows uncertainties about ‘public option’ insurance in health reform” by Neil Westergaard. 

The article “Suddenly Health Insurance Reform Is Not Affordable” by Armen Hareyan on emaxhealth.com discusses some concerns over how Congress plans on paying for the proposed health insurance reform.  Providing affordable health insurance to the public is going to require obtaining funds from somewhere…but where?

Already millions of Americans cannot afford the health insurance quotes they receive and the main goal of the reform is to make sure as many Americans have reasonable access to health care as possible.  The latest plan in the House on health insurance reform is to give a surtax on high income families. It would apply to individuals with an income of over $200,000 and couples over $250,000.  They approximate that this type of surtax will affect 2.4% of taxpayers.  It will raise about $375 billion in the next 10 years, which is projected to assist in the cost of health care substantially.  Connecticut, Washington DC, Massachusetts and New Jersey will feel the effects of the surtax the most according to the article.

Currently, our system is not working for over 46 million Americans and a change is needed.  Congress will continue to hash out how to solve the problem of health insurance over the next few months and it will be very interesting to see what they come up with. 

According to the article “Higher Taxes on Wine May Result From Health-Care Reform” by Mitch Frank on WineSpectator’s site, one of the biggest unknowns on President Obama’s health insurance plan is how it will all be paid for.  It is estimated to cost about 1.2 trillion dollars over the next ten years. 

Wine, spirits and beer makers are not encouraged by one proposal.  The Senate Finance Committee published a report on some different proposals to pay for the reform.  One suggestion is called the “lifestyle tax proposal” which recommends raising federal tax on alcohol, sodas and other sweet drinks.  They believe this would promote health by discouraging the purchase of these items. 

The idea to raise taxes on alcohol would affect wine especially.  The proposal calls to tax wine, beer and spirits at rates that are equal based on ounces of alcohol in each drink.  Currently wine is taxed at 21 cents a bottle and under the new plan it would increase to 70 cents per bottle, a 233% spike.  Because there are many options still on the table for the funding of the health care reform, the wine industry is remaining relatively quiet and waiting patiently for the final outcome of this ongoing debate.