I'll tell you just what will happen when the insurance reform bill is passed.

[county worker]

More employers will find a way to drop coverage for employees and still the employees will be mandated to buy health insurance from insurance companies. They will buy as cheap a policy as they can to avoid the penalty. That will take away money needed for the basic necessities like food, shelter and clothing.

The cheap policy will not be honored by most providers because it does not reimburse them enough. So it is either pay out of pocket or go without care.

Insurance stocks will sore, profits will sky rocket, still the amount of people going without care will remain the same only they will get sicker do to lack of food.

Hope you like the change!

[Fire1]

1. Yeah, that sounds about right. Typical capitalistic americana.

[timeforpeace]

2. Your Congress is doing this, not some scapegoat.

[Fire1]

3. Yeah AND?????? n/t

[roguevalley]

23. the drop coverage part is already there, in a fine print back page

section.

[Hippo_Tron]

4. There is a significant penalty for employers that don't cover their employees

[county worker]

5. I did not hear of an employer mandate for a long time.

I'm not sure it is in any bill.

There was going to be a place to go if your employer could not afford coverage but that is no longer there. There is nothing left but some meager insurance reforms and a public mandate. That's how I see it.

[Hippo_Tron]

6. There is no employer "mandate"

There is a penalty if firms with a certain number of employees (I can't remember the number) don't insure their employees.

[HillGal]

11. Not really, the house bill calls for an 8% payroll tax to employers who

don't give their employees health insurance, but the Senate bill is just a $750 fine, so what would the employer choose?

[rgbecker]

13. So now, with no tax and no $750 fine employers are offering insurance.

And when they get taxed or fined for not insuring people they are going to drop people off the insurance roles like crazy?
What am I missing here? Is this the post for the alter universe? I missed the heading.

[HillGal]

16. So far as I know the $750 per employee fine is still in effect, and that's one of many

problems with this bill, it's cheaper for the employer to drop employees insurance, especially now if the pre-existing conditions clause is in effect and health care costs skyrocket, the employer is going to dump the employee into the public system. The rich are still going to have great health care because they can afford expensive insurance and afford to pay out of pocket, but this plan is going to throw the middle class into the same boat the poor have been in and someone is going to have to pay for the government to carry all these people, so imo you're going to see more and more small employers going out of business, and the entire government system is going to be overwhelmed. This is a nonsense bill imo and aside from pre existing conditions, what else is good in this plan? This isn't going to benefit the poor or middle class at all.

[rgbecker]

17. So why doesn't the employer drop the insurance right now...no fines now?

Why do they even bother with it now, in the present situation? I think they offer it to attract the best employees and even if the price of insurance goes up, they will still offer it to compete with the employers that do.

[HillGal]

20. Employers are cutting jobs now so in effect people are losing their insurance, but if this bill goes

through then costs to the employer are going to skyrocket, you force the insurance company to insure everyone then costs like I said will skyrocket and the employer isn't going to pay that, they're just going to dump people onto the government and pay the fine. We're still in an unstable economy and the regular person no longer has the luxury of selling themselves to an employer.

[quantass]

7. YES...but Also remember that if it gets this Dire there will FINALLY be a revolt

The people can only take so much and the corporations AND congress know this. Congress when it comes down to it works for the Wealthy and Corporations...not the 280 million other Americans....But when those 280 finally wake up and realize THEY are in control and do something, that is when things will change....

I have come to realize that America doesnt get real change ever unless there is a dramatic turning point. So unless their is a Nuclear Bomb ignition in the heart of Texas with winds carrying across all of america whiping out 3/4 of the population then Congress and their bed buddies have no incentive to listen (sure throw the people a few bread crumbs once in a while --e.g. the shit HCR we are seeing now) to anything since afterall the majority of Americans don't really care. You have to respect those elders of the 60s revolution -- they were pissed.

until then either marry a Canadian (if ur hot, email me :P) or sit back and :popcorn:

[county worker]

8. They will wake up on election day 2010 and decide it isn't worth go out to vote.

At least those who wanted a real health care bill.

Our history is that we get pissed and lose even more, see: 1994.

[jgraz]

15. A revolt? Not as long as we have access to Cheetohs and free internet porn.

[depakid]

9. Well, at least ERISA preemption (where isurers are immune from bad faclaim denial) wouldn't apply

Small solace- but since Congress and the Obama administration seem to have little interest in holding group health insurers accountable in tort for withholding necessary medical care, it's at least a step in the right direction for some insureds, who would otherwise have no recourse.

[SeattleGirl]

10. Given your last line in your OP, you seem to be blaming Obama

for this. It's the HOUSE and the SENATE that are working on the health care bill, with some input from Obama. Obama cannot dictate what they put into the bill (unless you DO want him to be just like Bush).

Yell and scream, yes, but yell and scream at the people directly involved in writing the bill. In fact, I suggest you yell, scream, and throw some rotten eggs at LIEbermann, as he sure seems to be happy gumming up the works.

When it gets to Obama's desk, if you find it horribly lacking (and who knows, a lot of us just might feel that way), THEN yell at Obama.

I'm all for holding him responsible, but I'm also for holding the congress critters responsibile if they are not doing their jobs.

Just a suggestion.

[county worker]

12. I'm not blaming Obama. I'm just saying that I see nothing good coming.

I do recall Obama promising more than that during the election. And it will be a change from what we now have. Also, I don't hear Obama fighting for what he said will happen. I sure would like to hear an explanation of why it isn't going to happen.

To say the least I am disappointed.

[ThomCat]

14. Yes, that sounds about right.

This is yet another creative way to transfer wealth upward from the poorest and those who work for a living to those who live off of their investments. That is all that will be accomplished, a transfer of wealth. Every other purpose has been or will be stonewalled and scuttled.

:grr:

[janx]

18. Insurance stocks will what?

:shrug:

[SOCALS]

19. i hope

doctors will have to cut their salaries, because they are outrageous. They are not much better than Canadian doctors and I doubt doctors in Canada make 300 000-500 000 a year!

[dflprincess]

22. At least doctors actually provide a service

the insurance company CEOs do nothing but drive up costs - and they're the big winners in this.

[eridani]

24. In Canada, the docs don't have to pay people to fight insurance companies

Also, the government pays for their medical education (no student loans) and subsidizes their malpractice insurance.

[Armstead]

21. BINGO!