Progress, and detractors
on reform bill
on reform bill
Health Care Reform Round-Up: President Praises Committee Passage
October 14, 2009
by Astrid Fiano, DOTmed News Writer
This week President Obama praised the "critical milestone" in health care reform--the Senate Finance Committee's passage of the Chairman's Mark legislation. But while the passage was seen as a major step forward, the industry has also been abuzz about a controversial report released by an insurance industry group criticizing the effects of the bill.
In his remarks, the President thanked the Senate Finance Committee for the months of deliberation and bipartisan efforts. He specially thanked Senator Olympia Snowe (R-ME) for her "political courage and seriousness of purpose." Obama pointed out that more work lies ahead as the five separate health care reform bills in the Senate and House must be eventually merged into a single proposal. However, he emphasized that the latest bill makes progress in offering security to those who have insurance and affordable options for those who do not. In addition, Obama said, the bill remedies some of the "worst practices" of the insurance industry while slowing growth of health care costs and not adding to the deficit.
As reported previously, the Chairman's Mark contains provisions including allowing those who like their current coverage to keep it; to reform the market so that those who have pre-existing health conditions could not be denied coverage or charged more, eliminating limits on amount of coverage; offering web-based insurance exchanges, a personal responsibility requirement for health care coverage, tax credits to help low and middle-income families purchase insurance, and tax credits for small businesses to help offer insurance to their employees. The bill also has means to finance the reform through measures such as a High Cost Insurance Excise Tax, Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Fee, and a Medical Device Manufacturers Fee which many congresspersons have protested.
Meanwhile, an insurance industry group, America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) released a report commissioned from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) concerning the effects of the latest legislation. The report was released shortly before the Committee vote. According to the report, the cost of the average family coverage--approximately $12,300 today--could be expected to increase to approximately $17,200 in 2013 under the bill if implemented, $21,300 in 2016 and $25,900 in 2019. The cost of the average single coverage is $4,600 today and could be expected to increase to: $6,400 in 2013, $7,900 in 2016 and $9,700 in 2019 if these provisions are implemented.
However, the cost savings in the bill (as analyzed by the Congressional Budget Office--see DM 10432) were not included in this report. On page one of the report and in a subsequent statement, PWC said that it focused on four components of the bill and did not estimate the impact of the new subsidies on the net insurance cost to households. In addition, PWC acknowledged that if "other provisions in health care reform are successful in lowering costs over the long term, those improvements would offset some of the impacts we have estimated."
Nonetheless, AHIP President and CEO Karen Ignagni expressed reservations over the bill passage Tuesday, stating, "While we agree with the objective of the current proposal, we are concerned about its workability and cost. The bill imposes hundreds of billions of dollars in new health care taxes and provides an incentive for people to wait until they are sick to purchase coverage."
The White House has responded strongly to the PWC report. Linda Douglass of the White House Health Reform Office was quoted in the White House blog as saying the report was hard to take seriously. "The analysis completely ignores critical policies that will lower costs for those who have insurance, expand coverage and provide affordable health insurance options to millions of Americans who are priced out of today's health insurance market or are locked out by unfair insurance company practices."
Read all the details:
AHIP remarks can be accessed at: http://www.ahip.org/content/pressrelease.aspx?docid=28535
The PricewaterhouseCoopers report can be accessed at: http://www.americanhealthsolution.org/assets/Reform-Resources/AHIP-Reform-Resources/PWC-Report-on-Costs-Final.pdf
The President's remarks may be accessed at: http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Remarks-by-the-President-on-the-Senate-Finance-Committees-Vote-to-Approve-Health-Insurance-Reform/
The White House blog: http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/Reality-Check-AHIPs-Study-Hard-to-Take-Seriously/
In his remarks, the President thanked the Senate Finance Committee for the months of deliberation and bipartisan efforts. He specially thanked Senator Olympia Snowe (R-ME) for her "political courage and seriousness of purpose." Obama pointed out that more work lies ahead as the five separate health care reform bills in the Senate and House must be eventually merged into a single proposal. However, he emphasized that the latest bill makes progress in offering security to those who have insurance and affordable options for those who do not. In addition, Obama said, the bill remedies some of the "worst practices" of the insurance industry while slowing growth of health care costs and not adding to the deficit.
As reported previously, the Chairman's Mark contains provisions including allowing those who like their current coverage to keep it; to reform the market so that those who have pre-existing health conditions could not be denied coverage or charged more, eliminating limits on amount of coverage; offering web-based insurance exchanges, a personal responsibility requirement for health care coverage, tax credits to help low and middle-income families purchase insurance, and tax credits for small businesses to help offer insurance to their employees. The bill also has means to finance the reform through measures such as a High Cost Insurance Excise Tax, Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Fee, and a Medical Device Manufacturers Fee which many congresspersons have protested.
Meanwhile, an insurance industry group, America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) released a report commissioned from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) concerning the effects of the latest legislation. The report was released shortly before the Committee vote. According to the report, the cost of the average family coverage--approximately $12,300 today--could be expected to increase to approximately $17,200 in 2013 under the bill if implemented, $21,300 in 2016 and $25,900 in 2019. The cost of the average single coverage is $4,600 today and could be expected to increase to: $6,400 in 2013, $7,900 in 2016 and $9,700 in 2019 if these provisions are implemented.
However, the cost savings in the bill (as analyzed by the Congressional Budget Office--see DM 10432) were not included in this report. On page one of the report and in a subsequent statement, PWC said that it focused on four components of the bill and did not estimate the impact of the new subsidies on the net insurance cost to households. In addition, PWC acknowledged that if "other provisions in health care reform are successful in lowering costs over the long term, those improvements would offset some of the impacts we have estimated."
Nonetheless, AHIP President and CEO Karen Ignagni expressed reservations over the bill passage Tuesday, stating, "While we agree with the objective of the current proposal, we are concerned about its workability and cost. The bill imposes hundreds of billions of dollars in new health care taxes and provides an incentive for people to wait until they are sick to purchase coverage."
The White House has responded strongly to the PWC report. Linda Douglass of the White House Health Reform Office was quoted in the White House blog as saying the report was hard to take seriously. "The analysis completely ignores critical policies that will lower costs for those who have insurance, expand coverage and provide affordable health insurance options to millions of Americans who are priced out of today's health insurance market or are locked out by unfair insurance company practices."
Read all the details:
AHIP remarks can be accessed at: http://www.ahip.org/content/pressrelease.aspx?docid=28535
The PricewaterhouseCoopers report can be accessed at: http://www.americanhealthsolution.org/assets/Reform-Resources/AHIP-Reform-Resources/PWC-Report-on-Costs-Final.pdf
The President's remarks may be accessed at: http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Remarks-by-the-President-on-the-Senate-Finance-Committees-Vote-to-Approve-Health-Insurance-Reform/
The White House blog: http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/Reality-Check-AHIPs-Study-Hard-to-Take-Seriously/