The Future of Health Care and Health Insurance in 2009: Revisited
Tuesday Aug 11, 2009The Future of Health Care and Health Insurance in 2009: Revisited in Politics and Legislation
The day after Barack Obama became the 44th President of the
United States, we weighed in on the chances
of big change in the health insurance and health care delivery system.
Since then, times have changed. The political atmosphere has shifted. Reform proposals are out on the table.
Based on what’s happening now, let’s take a look at the top issues along with their chances of passage into law:
Single-payer health care. There are still a handful of members of U.S. Congress that want to push a single-payer health care system. Politically speaking, it’s just about impossible.
Public health insurance cooperative. Cooperatives are being tossed around as an alternative to the often contentious public health plan option. But because cooperatives historically don’t have a great track record, we’d be surprised if it was in the final bill.
Losing your current health plan. More than 60 percent of Americans are afraid that health reform will hurt their current coverage — a huge political time bomb. The fear has merit, too. One has to think that if new competition is injected into the market, it could affect health insurance rates and benefits in some way. But because this is one of the biggest factors that killed then-President Clinton’s reform efforts, we have to give lawmakers these days some credit and say your current plan is likely safe.
Public health insurance plan. Because the public health insurance option is such a polarizing provision of health reform, it’s not clear what’s going to happen. Democrats have reconciliation up their sleeves, so there is the chance it could be forced through Congress.
Employer health benefits mandate. Here’s another provision that’s politically tricky. The Blue Dog Democrats have already voiced their concerns for small businesses that might face higher health care costs — and won. Business and doctors groups are, however, divided on the issue. But because so many want an employer mandate, it just might happen.
Provider reimbursements. We haven’t heard much about changing the reimbursement system for health care providers in a while. But we think there will be some sort of provision that addresses how doctors are reimbursed for their services.
Individual mandate for insurance. During the 2008 campaign, President Obama was opposed to an individual mandate. Today, the president is open to the idea. That coupled with an endorsement from AHIP, an individual mandate seems likely.
No pre-existing condition exclusions. AHIP agreed to get rid of pre-existing condition exclusions as long as there was an individual mandate — a political win-win for lawmakers.
Electronic medical records. We still think electronic medical records are inevitable. How can our society, who so heavily relies on computers and the Internet, not apply that to the health care industry?
Reform in general. If health reform is killed at this point, it’s dire straits for future efforts. Because of the party in power in both Congress and the White House, it’s almost certain we’ll get some kind of reform. We just don’t know what the final reform will be.
