DrSteveB has a regular series called Health Care Thursday that he publishes at the DailyKos. Today’s post is, Mandated Health Insurance plans by Goldberg & Murphy. And it’s a nice summary of some of the state plans that have or are trying to require Universal Coverage:
While Hawaii’s “Prepaid Health Care Act” required employers to provide health insurance for employees working twenty hours per week or more, there is no such requirement to provide coverage for employees working less than twenty hours per week. On top of that increasing health care costs, insurance premiums, employer costs, prescription drug costs, long-term care costs, together with the growing number of uninsured individuals, and inadequate Medicaid reimbursements have led to uninsured over 10%… and unmangeable costs.
(snip)
[this is a bit that he quotes from the Boston Globe]
“If we’re going to mandate this, people need to see that they’re getting some value,” said panel member Jonathan Gruber, an economics professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. But, he added, the premium is “bad news.”
“I’m trying to think of something to get this number down,” he said.
The minimum plan would limit annual out-of-pocket expenses to $5,000 for an individual and $7,500 for a family and include prescription drug coverage, according to the proposal by a subcommittee of the Commonwealth Health Insurance Connector board, which is implementing the new law.
As proposed, deductibles would run no higher than $2,000 per individual and $4,000 per family.
Advocates for the uninsured were stunned at the price, considerably higher than the $200 estimated by Mitt Romney when he was governor and first proposed universal coverage. A spokesman for insurers said the requirements were too prescriptive and could undermine the goal of universal coverage.
“For a large proportion of the folks not eligible for subsidized care, the bare minimum plan is flat-out unaffordable, not only because of the premiums, but the deductibles and out-of-pocket expenses,” said John McDonough, executive director of Health Care for All, an advocacy group that supports the health law. “This is a significant disappointment. We think the Connector and particularly the insurers need to go back to the drawing board.”
Take a look at the whole thing. There’s a lot of great information. And, if his past diaries on this topic are anything to judge by this will get a couple hundred insightful comments by the end of the day.
If I spot more Health Care posts, I’ll post the links here.
One Comment
Hello Katie,
I am so happy to see your series on health care for all. This is probably one of the few areas that I believe bigger government is better. There is no excuse for a country as rich as we are for people to go without basic health care and prescription coverage.
While I don’t believe national care like Canada’s is the answer. We must do something to at least make sure every single American who has a job has affordable health care insurance available.
Keep up the good work.