health care proposal nears one billion price tag
November 18, 2009 by admin
The Senate now has before it a new bill covering health care reform with an estimated expense of nearly one billion dollars. President Obama is pushing the legislation hard to finalize and agree on a health care reform bill by the end of the year with hopes to dramatically reduce the number of uninsured Americans and help streamline insurance coverage across the country. The bill before the Senate will be hotly contested by Republicans who appear less than anxious to agree to health care reform that carries with it any form of coverage that is managed by the government. The present bill in front of the Senate includes a national health care option, eliminates the ability for health insurance companies to restrict coverage based on “pre-existing health conditions” and allow consumers to shop for coverage across state lines. A unique aspect of the bill is that it imposes a financial penalty to individuals who elect to not receive coverage. The so called “tax penalty” is aimed at reducing the burden of uninsured on the health care system which is likely to face further concessions as the health care debate moves forward.
Moving forward, there remains a great deal of work to be done before any health care bill is passed. There is a large political division between Democrats and Republicans on the need for including a government backed insurance options. This single item could delay any health care reform for the foreseeable future as Republicans are likely to angle for additional political concessions in debating this bill. The present Senate bill is almost two hundred billion dollars less than the health care reform bill introduced in the House over the last thirty days. The two proposed bills carry price tags above the Presidents plan to keep health care reform under nine hundred billion dollars over the next ten years while trying to rebalance the budget. The likelihood that a bill could be signed without universal coverage through a government agency remains a possibility, but only one that would include dramatic concessions of current insurance carriers and regulations to significantly increase competition. The government has countered that a federal option is the only remedy to bring down insurance premiums that have risen in excess of thirty percent over the past five years. While this hypothesis may be true, it seems to overlook the underlying increases from pharmaceutical companies that have contributed to the large price increases. This is certainly a complex issue that will require numerous sacrifices to achieve a new universal health care solution.