The White House Blog
Posted by Nancy-Ann DeParle
Congress has been working hard for months to shape health insurance reform legislation that will bring down costs, expand coverage, increase accountability for insurers, and attack our mounting deficit. We got good news today on all those fronts, as fresh statements of support from the Small Business Majority, the American Cancer Society, and the American Diabetes Association amongst others make clear.
We learned today from the Congressional Budget Office that this bill will reduce the deficit by $132 billion over the first decade, and more than $1 trillion in the decade after that. That makes it the biggest deficit-reduction effort in over a decade. All while expanding coverage to 30 million more Americans
But bringing down the deficit and expanding coverage are only part of what insurance reform will do. And today the Senate introduced a package of changes to their bill that will make critical progress in ensuring competition, providing affordable choices, and holding the insurance companies accountable. These improvements were bundled together in what’s called a manager’s amendment – and here are some of the highlights:
- Penalizing insurers for unfair rate hikes. If insurers who arbitrarily jack up rates before the exchanges come online, they won’t be allowed to participate in them – they’ll miss the opportunity to compete for millions of new customers. That creates a strong incentive to keep premiums low before the exchanges are up and running in 2014.
- Making sure your money goes toward care, not administrative costs. Insurers will be required to spend a greater portion of your premium on the care you receive, rather than administrative costs or salaries. And if they don’t, they’ll have to pay you a rebate.
- Ending discrimination based on pre-existing conditions. Once the exchanges are open in 2014, insurance companies will no longer be able to deny you coverage because you have a pre-existing condition. In the meantime, the legislation immediately creates a high-risk pool where adults with pre-existing conditions can purchase affordable coverage. And for families with kids, the news is even better: insurers will immediately be prohibited from denying coverage to kids with pre-existing conditions. Period.
- Protecting your access to care. Lifetime limits on benefits will be banned right away.
- Annual limits will also be banned once the exchanges are up and running. The manager’s amendment ensures that in the meantime, the use of annual limits will be tightly restricted until we can do away with this unfair practice entirely.
- More help for small business. The bill now includes additional help for small businesses. The health insurance tax credit for small businesses will now start in 2010, eligibility for the credit will be expanded, and small businesses will see improved purchasing power to make sure employees are getting good coverage at a good value.
- Choice and competition. Insurers will now offer multi-state plans under the supervision of the Office of Personnel Management. That means more choice and more competition in your state.
- Focusing on quality, not quantity. Health care providers will be reimbursed by Medicare for the quality of care, not just the quantity of tests and treatments. Shifting the way we reimburse for care is one of the most important things we can do to rein in spiraling health care costs – and it means a renewed focus on what’s best for the patient.
All told, it’s been a landmark day in the health insurance reform effort. There’s a lot more hard work to be done, and we’re confident that the Senate and House will continue to work hard to get this bill across the finish line and to the President’s desk. For the millions of Americans who don’t have coverage, for those who are struggling with costs or being mistreated by their insurance company, every day counts. It’s time for us to deliver.
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