Robert Reich: The Untimely Death of Long-Term Health Insurance

[ProSense]

The Untimely Death of Long-Term Health Insurance

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As written, the law had three incompatible parts.

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Third, unlike the rest of the healthcare law, enrollment was to be voluntary. But given the fairly hefty premiums, the only people likely to sign up would know they’d need the benefit because they had or were prone to certain long-term illnesses or disabilities. Healthier people probably wouldn’t enroll.

Yet if the healthier didn’t enroll, the program would have to be financed entirely by the relatively unhealthy — which meant premiums would have to be even higher. So high, in fact, that even the relatively unhealthy wouldn’t be able to afford it.

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The lesson: If a public insurance system has minimum benefits and must pay for itself, it can’t be voluntary. Everyone has to sign up.

more

Think Progress:

Today’s news that HHS will not administer CLASS — the Affordable Care Act’s long term care program — is already being touted by conservatives as emblematic of the law’s failure. The first “gimmick” in a long line of “budgetary tricks” that will ultimately sink reform. But it is nothing of the sort.

Kathleen Sebelius’ decision to end the program is yet another example of the success of one of the law’s safety clutches (this one was actually introduced by former Republican Sen. Judd Gregg). The ACA prohibits the Secretary from instituting CLASS unless the program can sustain itself without tax payer funding for 75 years. Sebelius and her team concluded that it the program wouldn’t attract healthier applicants and as a result pay out more than it would take in. That it was suspended at this point is a better example of the administration’s fiscal restrain and economic stewardship than its failure.

And by the way, critics are misunderstanding what this announcement really means. The administration’s conclusion that a voluntary program results in an unsustainable death spiral is actually and indictment of those who want to repeal the individual mandate and a point of vindication for advocates who argue that the mandate is necessary to maintain the ACA’s coverage expansions and affordability.

[woo me with science]

1. You left out the most important paragraphs:

Why, oh why, didn’t the Obama administration make life easy for itself and for Americans by choosing the simplest and most efficient system for both primary and long-term health insurance — Medicare for all?

It didn’t because it wanted to get Republican votes. It got almost none. And now the Republicans are enjoying the prospect of the law being dismembered piece by piece, starting today.

[ProSense]

2. Hmmmm?

It didn’t because it wanted to get Republican votes. It got almost none. And now the Republicans are enjoying the prospect of the law being dismembered piece by piece, starting today.

Yeah, let's ignore the make up of the Democratic caucus at the time. Do the names Lieberman, Lincoln and Nelson ring a bell?

Sanders: Single Payer Never Had A Chance

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) reminded the progressive media gathered on Capitol Hill today that single-payer health care reform was dead before it started in the Senate.

"It would have had 8 or 10 votes and that's it," he said, addressing a topic central in the minds of many who the bloggers and left wing talk show hosts gathered for the 4th annual Senate Democratic Progressive Media Summit in Washington reach everyday.

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Of course, that doesn't prevent people from being completely unrealistic

[woo me with science]

4. Yeah, yeah, we know.

He's helpless, and the American people really prefer being caught in a for-profit corporate system that bleeds them to death with skyrocketing premiums. There is absolutely no way, in four years of a Presidency, that he could have rallied the country behind him for real change in this regard.

:eyes:

[ProSense]

6. No

"He's helpless, and the American people really prefer being caught in a for-profit corporate system that bleeds them to death with skyrocketing premiums. There is absolutely no way, in four years of a Presidency, that he could have rallied the country behind him for real change in this regard."

...he was realistic (Video).

Health care reform was a huge step in the right direction.

Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer Will Seek Health Care Law Waiver To Establish Single Payer In His State

One Million Young Adults Gain Health Insurance in 2011 Because of the Affordable Care Act

HHS announces record number of National Health Service Corps members

Rate Review: Cutting Costs for Consumers and Small Businesses – Chapter One

Reducing costs, protecting consumers: The Affordable Care Act on the one year anniversary of the Patient’s Bill of Rights

One year after the Affordable Care Act’s Patient’s Bill of Rights took effect, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released a report summarizing some of the achievements of the health reform law. In the eighteen months since the president signed the Affordable Care Act into law, health reform has had a tangible effect in the lives of millions of Americans. The report discusses how the law is helping to give hardworking families the security they deserve and the reforms in the Affordable Care Act that have helped hold down insurance premiums, hold insurance companies more accountable and strengthen Medicare.

“The Affordable Care Act has made the health care system better for millions of Americans,” said HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. “As a mother, a wife and a daughter, I know how important health coverage is for America’s families. This law is helping to give hard working families the security they deserve and stop insurance company abuses, hold down insurance premiums and strengthen Medicare.”

Recent reports, including the U.S. Census and the National Health Information Survey, have indicated that approximately one million additional young Americans now have insurance coverage due to the Affordable Care Act according to experts. The Patient’s Bill of Rights made it illegal for insurance companies to deny coverage to a child with a pre-existing condition or place a lifetime limit on the care they will provide. Through Affordable Care Act initiatives, 19 million seniors with Medicare have received new free preventive benefits, while efforts to cut fraud and abuse have extended the Medicare Trust Fund by 8 years, strengthening the Medicare program.

To read more about the many accomplishments of the law visit: http://www.healthcare.gov/law/resources/reports/patients-bill-of-rights09232011a.pdf

To read a blog commemorating today by Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Richard Sorian visit: www.healthcare.gov/blog

[woo me with science]

9. Woot! Woot! That corporate health insurance is da bomb!

Woot woot!

:eyes:

Nation’s major health insurers barreling into a third year of record profits - May 2011
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/14/health-insurance-companies-make-record-profits_n_861946.html

Health Insurers Making Record Profits as Many Postpone Care
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/14/business/14health.html

High Cost a Key Factor in Deciding to Forgo Health Care
http://www.med.wisc.edu/news-events/news/researcher-examines-cost-to-be-healthy/31290

Americans more likely to delay care than adults in other nations-High costs are a major reason
http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2010/12/27/gvsc1227.htm

Health Insurance Premiums Skyrocket, Again
http://moneyland.time.com/2011/09/28/same-old-story-health-insurance-premiums-soar-yet-again/

Health Insurers Bid to Take Elderly Poor Out of U.S. Planshttp://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-10-12/health-insurers-bid-to-take-over-care-for-9-million-elderly-poor-from-u-s-.html

Employee Health Insurance Cost Rising Again
http://www.usatoday.com/money/perfi/insurance/story/2011-10-07/open-enrollment-health-care-insurance/50712382/1

Costs shift to workers as health insurance expenses/High Deductible plans rapidly gaining market share
risehttp://www.ctmirror.org/story/14028/costs-shift-workers-health-insurance-costs-rise

Health Care Reform May Not Reduce Medical Bankruptcies
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x4761450

Medical Debt Bankruptcies on the Rise
http://www.newsjunkyjournal.com/medical-debt-bankruptcies-on-the-rise/2521121/

Americans Waiting Longer for Health Care
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/07_28/b4042072.htm

[ProSense]

12. Evidently

"Woot! Woot! That corporate health insurance is da bomb! "

...other than sarcasm, the only thing you can come up with is a bunch of articles demonstrating that health insurance companies are predators, which is the reason reform was necessary in the first place. From the first link you provided:

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Some observers wonder if the insurers are simply raising premiums in advance of the full force of the health care law in 2014. The insurers’ recent prosperity — big insurance companies have reported first-quarter earnings that beat analysts expectations by an average of 30 percent — may make it difficult for anyone, politicians and industry executives alike, to argue that the industry has been hurt by the federal health care law. Insurers were able to raise premiums to cover the cost of the law’s early provisions, like insuring adult children up to age 26, and federal and state regulators have largely proved to be accommodating.

But 2014 and 2015 are likely to be far more challenging, as insurers are forced to adjust to the law’s greatest changes, like providing coverage to everyone regardless of whether they have an expensive pre-existing condition. “I think they’re going to go through a winter,” said Paul H. Keckley, executive director of the Deloitte Center for Health Solutions, a research unit of the consulting firm Deloitte.

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See the link at "rate review" here.

""Woot! Woot!"

[woo me with science]

13. Yeah, it'll be all better then.

What a piece of work.

:eyes:




Nation’s major health insurers barreling into a third year of record profits - May 2011
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/14/health-insurance-companies-make-record-profits_n_861946.html

Health Insurers Making Record Profits as Many Postpone Care
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/14/business/14health.html?_r=1

High Cost a Key Factor in Deciding to Forgo Health Care
http://www.med.wisc.edu/news-events/news/researcher-examines-cost-to-be-healthy/31290

Americans more likely to delay care than adults in other nations-High costs are a major reason
http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2010/12/27/gvsc1227.htm

Health Insurance Premiums Skyrocket, Again
http://moneyland.time.com/2011/09/28/same-old-story-health-insurance-premiums-soar-yet-again/

Health Insurers Bid to Take Elderly Poor Out of U.S. Plans
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-10-12/health-insurers-bid-to-take-over-care-for-9-million-elderly-poor-from-u-s-.html

Employee Health Insurance Cost Rising Again
http://www.usatoday.com/money/perfi/insurance/story/2011-10-07/open-enrollment-health-care-insurance/50712382/1

Costs shift to workers as health insurance expenses/High Deductible plans rapidly gaining market share
rise
http://www.ctmirror.org/story/14028/costs-shift-workers-health-insurance-costs-rise

Health Care Reform May Not Reduce Medical Bankruptcies
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x4761450

Medical Debt Bankruptcies on the Rise
http://www.newsjunkyjournal.com/medical-debt-bankruptcies-on-the-rise/2521121/

Americans Waiting Longer for Health Care
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/07_28/b4042072.htm

[ProSense]

15. Um,

"Yeah, it'll be all better then."

...yes


Are those links in your signature. Or was reposting them an attempt to get around your previous comment and the response?

[Honeycombe8]

7. Okay, now....you're making sense, ProSense. Stop that right now! nt

[Jakes Progress]

14. And so very logical.

[elleng]

10. Thanks, Pro, as usual.

:hi:

[snagglepuss]

3. That paragraph deserves its own thread:(

[woo me with science]

5. Yup.

Funny how the most important paragraphs keep getting lost!

[Safetykitten]

8. So silly! This does not fit into the narrative. Facts, schmacts.

[woo me with science]

11. I know!