House Releases Reform Bill Draft
Saturday June 20, 2009
The Senate Finance Committee has been working on healthcare reform legislation for some time, and is
thinking about tweaking their bill to make it more appealing to opponents. Meanwhile, the House of Representatives has been relatively quiet about health reform in recent months. It turns out that this is because they have been
busy compiling an 850 page bill that doesn't shy away from the public plan option that stirred up controversy in the Senate. It also places an increased burden on employers to ensure that workers are covered. But it does not address the cost issue, which has been especially prominent since the recent Congressional Budget Office report estimating the cost of reform at over $1 trillion over the next 10 years.
The House bill is by no means a final document, but rather a working document that will serve as the foundation for their version of reform. But ultimately, the House and the Senate need to come together on reform before it can be enacted, so it will be interesting to see if the revisions on their separate reform bills bring them closer together or move them farther apart.
Insurers Won't Stop Retroactive Cancellation
Thursday June 18, 2009
At a Congressional hearing about retroactive cancellation, or rescission, of health insurance policies, health insurers refused to discontinue this practice. According to the
Los Angeles Times, insurers believe that this practice is absolutely necessary in order to reduce fraud. However, even when lawmakers allowed for situations where policyholders willfully or intentionally lie, the insurers would not agree to stop.
Both Democratic and Republican lawmakers condemned rescission as "unfair and abusive." In some cases, evidence showed that insurance adjusters were rewarded if they could find a way to cancel insurance policies, even in cases where there was no apparent fraudulent behavior. Some reform leaders used the insurers' position to bolster their argument in favor of including a public insurance option in any health reform package.
Congress Works To Reduce Reform Price Tag
Thursday June 18, 2009
The Senate Finance Committee is working to keep the cost of health reform below $1 trillion over the next 10 years. According to the Wall Street Journal, this is a difficult task considering that the Congressional Budget Office has estimated that the cost of reducing the number of uninsured Americans by 40 million would be approximately $1.6 billion over the next 10 years, and that would still leave 15 million Americans without insurance.
If the committee can find a way to keep costs below $1 trillion, this spending should be fully covered by redistributing money from other government programs, as well as tax increases.
Medical Identity Theft a Growing Problem
Saturday June 13, 2009
Medical identity theft is an increasing problem, with many victims not realizing their insurance information has been stolen for months, or even years. According to the
New York Times, more than 250,000 Americans were victims in 2007, and this number is likely to have increased significantly with the increase in
health information technology adoption.
This underscores the need for adequate data security measures built in to any nationalized health IT system. These safety measures need to address the various ways in which thieves access information, either through social security numbers, insurance ID numbers, or insider activity perpetrated by health provider employees. There also need to be better consumer protections built in, similar to those provided to individuals whose credit information has been stolen, so that victims have a way to rebuild their identity.
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