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Florida Health Insurance Group Comments On Health Care Bill
Will the health insurance bill pass upon final review?
The health care bill proposed by congress has been approved as part of a sweeping reform plan in the Senate Finance Committee. This is the most significant legislation on health care since the inception of Medicare in 1965. The bill was passed with the help of just one republican, Sen. Olympia Snowe of Maine. The health care component of this bill was not as comprehensive as many had hoped, as there is no public option component, but many recognize this as significant progress toward that end. "My vote today is my vote today," Snowe said. "It doesn't foretell what my vote will be tomorrow." How will this change your Florida health insurance program?
FLORIDA HEALTH INSURANCE FOR EVERYONE?
Many Florida health insurance programs in the past have attempted to set up exchange whereby the uninsured could obtain coverage. These programs allow private insurers to set up plans to accept those who are otherwise uninsured, but this has become problematic in Florida and in other states where similar systems have been attempted. The main problem with setting up health insurance exchanges within a state is that insurers tend to “cherry pick” the healthier prospects, leaving those with expensive illnesses and high health care costs to the exchanges which overburden them.
The Senate bill has some problems on the matter of costs as well. In order to reduce the budget as claimed by the Congressional Budget Office, payments to Medicare providers would have to be reduced which will not sit well with lobbyists. These reductions have not been implemented yet and they will likely meet a lot of resistance.
Additionally, the issue of Medicare fraud presently accounts for billions of dollars lost. Although there has been much discussion on this topic, history has readily confirmed that fraud measures across the Medicare industry have not been effective and there is a significant public concern than any government run health care program will suffer the same fraud problems.
The bill recently approved by the Senate Finance Committee contains a penalty provision for those who refuse to purchase health insurance. As written, Americans will be charged $750 if they do not take part in a health insurance plan. Healthy people may opt to simply pay this fine rather than purchase a costly insurance plan that they consider either too expensive or unnecessary. This effectively limits the pool of insurance consumers to only those who need insurance. This is typically referred to as “adverse selection” by the insurance industry.
GET GROUP HEALTH INSURANCE QUOTES IN FLORIDA TODAY!
While not perfect in the minds of many who supported the public option and a more comprehensive health care reform, this bill is a sign of progress. As far as people without health insurance, this bill provides that 94 percent of all Americans would be covered, and group health insurance companies would be limited in denying coverage or increasing premiums for those with chronic health issues or pre-existing conditions. There are also provisions to help with the cost of premiums to those who need it, as well as a provision, which provides tax credits to small businesses that offer health insurance to their employees.
The new plan will offer many strong suits, and will go a long way to ensure that most Americans have health insurance coverage. Give us your opinion today!
