AP: Senator (Wyden) Wants Universal Health Care Plan

[Eugene]

Senator Wants Universal Health Care Plan
By MATTHEW DALY
Associated Press Writer

December 13, 2006, 10:59 AM EST

-snip-

"Employer-based coverage is melting away like a Popsicle on the sidewalk in August,"
said Sen. Ron Wyden, a member of the Senate Finance subcommittee on health care.

Wyden's proposal, which he planned to unveil on Wednesday, is an outgrowth of work
by the Citizens' Health Care Working Group, a 14-member panel that went to 50
communities around the country and heard from 28,000 people about how to overhaul
the nation's health care system.

-snip-

Called the "Healthy Americans Act," the plan would cover all Americans except those
on Medicare or those who receive health care through the military.

It would require that employers "cash out" their existing health plans by terminating
coverage and paying the amount saved directly to workers as increased wages. Workers
then would be required to buy health insurance from a large pool of private plans.

-snip-

Full article: http://www.newsday.com/news/politics/wire/sns-ap-wyden-health-care,0,4033828.story

[katsy]

1. Just curious...

Why can't the VA and Medicare be combined into one univeral healthcare system for all?

[Double T]

2. Universal Health Care's time has come...............

BUT NOT THIS PLAN.

[Ignacio Upton]

4. Isn't this the same thing Romney signed into law in MA?

This is NOT a good way to have a healthcare system. Also, what about if you are unemployed but not poor enough to afford Medicaid?

[Double T]

8. Universal Health Care should include ALL people, even the unemployed and poor...........

the employer providing the health care funds as additional TAXABLE wages is ridiculous. The health care should be funded by the government with price controls on ALL the components of the health care system. Funding would be provided by elimination of tax cuts to the rich, reduction in the pentagon and similar agencies budgets, elimination of government agencies that are redundant, halting the start of preemptive illegitimate wars, ELIMINATION of PORK BARREL SPENDING and the abolishment of lobbyists.

[Fovea]

13. This should be called the

screw people on private disabilty insurance act.

We did the smart thing and got the insurance package like good little capitalist droids, now we get screwed again.

[nashville_brook]

22. explain, maybe?

[rodeodance]

3. GREAT----I hope Pelosi at least looks at it! she is going 'modest" with only

perscription drug coverage REform!

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

5. Stupid question.

Under this plan, what would stop employers from terminating ALL health care benefits before the bill is enacted, and thus preventing them from paying anything?

[nashville_brook]

23. i would imagine there would be a penalty for that -- here's "how it works"

http://www.standtallforamerica.com/cgi-bin/display.cgi?page=howitworks

How it works

The Healthy Americans Act guarantees universal, private health insurance for ALL Americans.

Under the new system, every American will have the power to choose a comprehensive health insurance plan, and—with individuals, employers and government each investing something into the system—insurance will be guaranteed to be affordable for every American.

The Healthy Americans Act will match insurers with health care consumers in an environment designed for competition. Each state, with financial support from the Federal government and insurance companies, will establish a Health Help Agency. Health Help Agencies will lower administrative costs by coordinating payments from employers, individuals and government. These agencies will also provide consumers with unbiased information about competing private health plans and determine premim reductions that will ensure every American can afford their health plan. With the resources to compare plans based on quality, cost and service, individuals—rather than their employers—will be empowered to choose the health plan that works best for them and their families.

Government will be responsible for ensuring that every American has and can afford health insurance. Every time an individual interacts with state, local and federal government—registering their car, enrolling their children in school, applying for a driver’s license or paying their taxes—they can be required to verify their enrollment in a private health insurance plan. Government will in turn ensure that every American can afford health care by working through the Health Help Agencies to lowe premiums and by providing standard health care tax deductions for individuals and families.
The Healthy Americans Act promises the level of care that Members of Congress enjoy at an affordable price.

The Healthy Americans Act creates a system of tax benefits and premium reductions that will ensure every American can afford a high-quality, private health plan that is comparable to what Members of Congress enjoy now. Previous and existing health problems, occupation, genetic information, gender and age will no longer be allowed to impact eligibility or the price paid for insurance. Rather, insurance companies will be required to cover every individual who chooses to enroll and can not raise prices or deny coverage if individuals are sick.

One of the ways the Healthy Americans Act guarantees affordable health care is by putting more money in people’s pockets. For the first two years of the new system, employers who currently provide employee health benefits will be required to convert their health care premiums into higher wages that employees will ue to purchase their own private health insurance.

Employers who do not currently provide health benefits will be required to begin making phased-in “Employer Shared Responsibility Payments.” These payments will be used to ensure that everyone can afford their health plans by funding premium reductions.

After two years, all employers will be making "Employer Shared Responsibility Payments." These payments will reflect the relative ability to pay of small and large employers and low- and high-wage industries and will have no impact on the insurance coverage of their individual employees.

As part of a competitive compensation package, employers can continue to provide wellness, prevention benefits and long-term care insurance. They can also help their employees sign-up for health plans through a state-based Health Help Agency. Just as under the current system, employers can continue to withhold premiums from their employees’ paychecks.
The Healthy Americans Act focuses insurance companies on keeping Americans healthy.

The Healthy Americans Act focuses on preventive care by giving insurance companies a financial incentive to keep their subscrbers healthy. By investing in prevention and disease management, insurance companies will be able to give individuals a reason to choose plans that keep them healthy and, in the long run, to stay with the same insurer. And as consumers will have access to information on every plan’s success in prevention and disease management, insurance companies will ultimately be competing to keep Americans healthy.

Individuals will be rewarded when they or their children successfully participate in wellness programs. Primary care will assume greater importance in the system by allowing patients to designate a primary care provider to manage heir care and help them navigate the health care system, and by reimbursing health care providers for time spent outside of the exam room, The Healthy Americans Act rewards providers for helping their patients stay healthy.
The Healthy Americans Act contains the rising cost of health care—saving $1.48 trillion.

The Healthy Americans Act relies on competition to drive down costs and promote quality. No longer grouping individuals according to their employees, the plan expands the pool of health care consumers — allowing insurance companies to remain profitable while driving down prices.

The Healthy Americans Act also works toward better investment of America’s health care dollars. By assuring that every individual has adequate coverage and use of prevention and wellness services, taxpayers will no longer be asked to foot the bill for expensive visits to the emergency room.

Ultimately under the Healthy Americans Act, the average annual rate of growth in health spending will slow by 0.86% between 2007-2016; this will result in savings of $1.48 trillion.
The Healthy Americans Act assures every American that their health care can never be taken away.

The Healthy Americans Act provides health care that is more dependable than employment. By putting Americans — rather than their employers — in charge of health care, everyone will be guaranteed quality care, even if they change jobs, lose their job or become too sick to work a job. By reducing premiums for individuals and families who may encounter difficulty, The Healthy Americans Act promises that you will not only always be able to afford your insurance, you will always have care.

[Solon]

25. Sounds like a freebie for the Insurance industry...

No offense, but the Insurance industry makes money on the stock market, not premiums, how is the government to control premiums, when they are regulated through the stock market itself. Every time the market takes a dive, premiums go up, and vice versa.

Not to mention, are they going to forbid insurance companies from refusing to cover pre-existing conditions, what about plans with high deductibles? They claim they will be able to contain costs, and premiums, by expanding the pool of folks under the insurance plan. How are they going to do that, what about catastrophic care, or care that isn't covered by a particular employer's insurance plan?

The biggest problem with this plan is this, its still, at the core, PRIVATE, and therefore outside the DIRECT CONTROL OF THE PEOPLE. Hell, this plan actually eliminates the choices of customers, is it going to be like Romney's plan in Mass. which PENALIZES people who refuse to accept their companies inadequate insurance plan?

[nashville_brook]

26. government creates the rules that the insurance industry must play by

i'm not saying this is the end all be all reform act -- but it's sure better than NOT ADDRESSING the situation at all...

and...

now that there's some cards on the table, perhaps We The People, can jump into the discussion. we might have to delay our pre-2008 campaigning, but i think we can afford that trade-off.

don't like what you see? then speak up. now's our chance.

[nickshepDEM]

6. I hope Wydens tax plan grows legs too.

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

7. The fact is...

That Wyden is laboring under the flawed assumption that a larger pool of insured people will drop rates. The history of the insurance industry shows that this will not happen. They will use this medical insurance to prop up their other insurance sectors and bloat executive compensation to new heights.

Nope. Single-Payer is the only scheme that will truly make a difference. It is time for Congress to stop propping up that corrupt and venal industry.

[luckyleftyme2]

9. WE COULD ALWAYS MODEL IT AFTER

We could always model it after "CANADA'S". EVERY CANADIEN HAS COVERAGE,THEIR HEALTH CARE IS RATED BETTER THAN OURS,AND IN MY AREA THE WAITING TIME FOR A HEART OPERATION IN CANADA IS HALF THE TIME AS HERE IN MAINE.
I've been told the orginal health plan for canada was designed by americans.
I've grown up in the new england states and heard the propaganda all my life that we can't afford it and it doesn't work.Tahe only problem is i know better many canucks in my family tree and their answer to me is it sucks to be you.
may'be back in the fifties when i first hit the work force and health care was a given benny by an employer and it was 100% coverage. we could compete. now 15-30% of our income goes to health ins.that makes our take home pay 15-20% less than our neighbors.
oh by the way their prescription drugs are much cheaper than ours.
lets face it we're long overdue for national health care.

[Heywood J]

29. The system up here

does fairly well, but it does have significant drawbacks. For one, we have higher wait times for some procedures and certain areas end up underserviced. The other enormous elephant in the room is the cost of the system. Forty plus percent of my province's budget is taken up with paying for health care - we're talking about $35-40B or so.

Yes, it's supposed to be fifty-fifty federal/provincial, but the feds slack off. I don't foresee that being any different if you were to transplant the system, it would mean a huge burden to the individual states - and that's something many states would try and stop cold. I don't think many states like New York, Michigan, Ohio, Florida, etc. have thirty billion to throw around without raising taxes. Raising them that much might be political suicide.


By all means, use it as a model. But keep in mind that blindly transplanting something won't work well.

[More Than A Feeling]

10. Kick, Rec'd, and a link to the site he's set up to promote it.

http://www.standtallforamerica.com/

It has the bill, cost estimates, and places to sign up to support or to get updates.

[Katzenjammer]

11. Your title is wrong. He's talking about a Insurance Co. Profit Guarantee plan

The same one Romney pushed in Mass. That's not "universal health care" at all.

[endarkenment]

14. Indeed.

And using UHC to refer to mandating insurance purchases is deliberately confusing. It seems that the corporate greedheads did look at the polling data and were horified to discover that true UHC is supported by a huge majority of the population. Their new plan is to sell us bullshit wrapped up in a label they call universal health care in order to preserve their rent extraction from us at gunpoint.

[Katzenjammer]

16. Isn't it great how slimy and deceitful "our" representatives are?

Doncha just luv 'em to pieces?

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

17. Exactly.

To put it succinctly: Fuck that.

[endarkenment]

12. Corporate greedheads rejoice! Big Healthco profits preserved!

So much bullshit, so little time. Its RomneyCare for the Nation!

[Fovea]

15. Orwellian name for a big bone to the insurance industry.

JEEEZ why can't we get a little of the gravy as citizens once, instead of always getting the dirty plate to wash.

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

18. Campaign Contributions.

That's why.

[nashville_brook]

27. can you be more specific?

[Fovea]

30. Let's look at this idea.

<snip>
Called the "Healthy Americans Act," the plan would cover all Americans except those
on Medicare or those who receive health care through the military.

It would require that employers "cash out" their existing health plans by terminating
coverage and paying the amount saved directly to workers as increased wages. Workers
then would be required to buy health insurance from a large pool of private plans.

</snip>

What if you are not employed?
What if you are already disabled and get private disability insurance from your former employers insurance company?

I am already paying a lot more than the insured for my healthcare out of pocket. I see nothing that this bill changes. Further, this will not do much for those who are already not getting healthcare coverage at work.

Since my insurance only pays 70% of my old wages and no insurance coverage for medical, this is brutal. And I cannot see how this will make it any better, since the uninsured will be certain to have even more costs shifted onto them.

[Imagevision]

19. Wasn't Healthcare one of Pelosi's first 100 hour plans??

[mcking]

20. Well, maybe it'll get the conversation going

But like the Clinton plan, it assumes that current private health insurance is actually working for us. Wyden is one of my senators, and I'm sorry he's been taken in by the insurance industry to this extent.

I'm wondering what would happen to people like me: I pay for my health insurance. As a retiree under age 65, the only subsidy I get from my former employer is the opportunity to buy health insurance at what it would cost the former employer. Because I have a chronic (but not disabling) disease, I would just bet I couldn't get insurance for the $600 a month I'm paying now.

And now think about the difference in what an employer pays for a single employee versus one with a family. Is Wyden proposing that employers increase single people's salaries by LESS than married people's? I just don't see how this can work.

Single payer is the only way to go, in my opinion, and part of the financing should be a payroll tax on both employers and employees, like the current Social Security and Medicare taxes. At the very least, everyone should be given the opportunity to participate in the plan regardless of pre-existing or chronic conditions, at a cost linked to income and not to health status.

We DO need to be talking seriously about universal health care, and about disconnecting health coverage from employment. Canada is a good model to start with, but there are others worth considering.

[nashville_brook]

21. also see this post on the Healthy Americans Act

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x2911814

it's not just about this particular proposal -- it's about shifting energy from fruitless debate to real political work that could pay off.

[Radical Activist]

24. The only realistic option is to cut out the health insurance industry.

Universal Single Payer will cut down health care costs by eliminating duplicative bureaucracies and executive salaries. I can't take any plan seriously that works through the current health insurance racket.

[Vinca]

28. You can't have "universal health care" unless the money grubbing,

greedy insurance companies are taken out of the mix. A larger pool of clients won't make rates go down unless the government is allowed to set the rates. Drip, drip, drip (insurance companies salivating over the prospects of screwing over more people).