Despite writing in June that “quality health coverage must exist for every American, regardless of pre-existing health conditions,” Republican Leader John Boehner introduced a substitute amendment this week that according to the Associated Press will not protect consumers with pre-existing conditions:
The bill leaves out a number of the key features of the Democrats’ 1,990-page legislation, such as new requirements for employers to insure their employees and for nearly all Americans to purchase insurance. It also doesn’t block insurers from denying coverage to people with pre-existing health conditions, as Democrats would do.
That’s right – Republicans would do nothing to stop health insurance companies from cherry-picking the healthiest of individuals for coverage at the expense of others. Failure to reform this critical element of the health insurance system will leave millions of Americans ineligible for coverage and will continue the crisis facing families across the country.
The American people overwhelmingly support prohibiting insurance companies from denying coverage for pre-existing conditions. The Kaiser Family Foundation found 80% support the federal government requiring health insurance companies to cover anyone who applies, even if they have a prior illness:
The Affordable Health Care for America Act includes comprehensive reforms to create a transparent, consumer-friendly insurance marketplace that protects consumers and provides them with choices among quality, affordable health care plans–putting an end to insurance companies discriminating against consumers for pre-existing medical conditions – helping Americans like:
Kelsey Jessup
A 26-year old, healthy woman from California who “runs five days a week, practices yoga and stays away from red meat.” She was recently denied coverage by multiple insurers because she had knee surgery in high school and visited the emergency room after a fainting spell a few years ago.
Peggy Robertson
A Colorado mother of two who was denied health coverage because she had a c-section in 2006. The insurance company told her if she got “sterilized” she would be eligible for coverage.
Christina Turner
After being sexually assaulted in Florida, Christina Turner followed her doctor’s orders and took a month’s worth of anti-AIDS medication as a precautionary measure. She never developed an HIV infection. Months later, when shopping for new health insurance coverage, Ms. Turner was repeatedly denied coverage because of the precautionary treatment she received after being raped.
How does the Republican proposal stack up to the Affordable Health Care for America Act – comprehensive health insurance reform to protect consumers, hold insurance companies accountable, rein in health care costs, reduce the deficit, and cover 36 million uninsured Americans?
I found this analysis online and thought you might find it useful.
Do your own homework. Read the bill or a good summary. Read the Kaiser report. Talk to your own friends, family and co-workers. Then contact your Senator and Congressperson and let them know how badly we need health care reform.
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Comments: 116
At the same time the Dems are no better. Their bill does not fix the denial of coverage issue because the penalty for denying coverage is so minimal it will be cheaper for an insurance company to deny than to pay.
End result? Same as the GOP.
If he is serious about it, he should make his bill apply at the federal level. Then I will believe that he is honest about bringing change. I would also be his biggest supporter. In the meantime I see it for what it is, a nice group of words but no change or any chance of change.
Right now my state is borrowing money from the government just to keep unemployment up and running.
States are not like the banks and auto makers and when they borrow money they have to pay it back.
Maybe we should all start living on a monopoly board, our money is just as worthless.
Absolutely right. The major cost saving advantages that single payer universal health care offer come from standardization of the administrative costs of health care and having both healthy and unhealthy people paying premiums into one system. Fifty different single payer systems do not make a single payer system.
That could easily be fixed with an amendment. So what else don't you like?
I'm not writing this from my "bubble", I'm just not convinced that another 16 percent of our Gross National Product needs to be taken-over by Congress. Where did the Social Security Trust Fund go? Will the money paid into Obama Care end up in the same place as the Social Security Trust Fund? This is the aspect of the debate that most concerns people. The country is broke right now and is having trouble paying back debts to China. Look at the history before you write others off as being closeminded. People simply are not sold on the notion that Nationalized Health Care is going to lowerour nation's health care costs. This is not what has happened anywhere else in the world where government has done this. The contrary is true.
Don't believe all the Democrat propaganda. We have been told this is a national emergency. Why? It was not a big emergency 11 months ago, what changed? a Democrat administration is all that changed.
It is also an emergency because as I stated a few weeks ago the prices of insurance premiums keep going up astronomically. As an example the smokers with our company will have to now pay $1200.00 in premiums this year alone on top of the amount that the company and their current contributions.
I must say, you must be living in another country or you would already know all this.
Our Congressmen have insurance from a private insurance company. The gov pays part and the congressman pays part just like in most industries. As to the cost of administering that I don't know or care. They have several plans to choose from.
This bill will fail, I'm sure of that. In the interm some sharp Politico should get a bill going to allow 100% deduction on taxes for medical care, and insurance premiums. That would go a long way to reforming the system. Then they could repeal a bunch of regulations that force the doctors to hire extra help just for the paperwork. That would help some more.
Once the economy gets back on track they could modify HR676 just a little and implement it. For one thing make it voluntary and don't try to force everyone to buy insurance. Run it in competition to private insurance. That way they would have to be efficient and good or the privates would overrun them. The reason so many don't want the public option is they worry that a good government system would run them out of business.
Now. If you have to wait that long for your doctor I would get another doctor with a staff that knows how to schedule appointments.
"$540 a month to get a ride to and and from dialysis. Don't have it. Anyone have other suggestions? $45 a day, 3 days a week. Have to be there by 9:30, picked up around 1:30. Public trans doesnt reach out here. It stops a half mile from my house and the schedule doesnt fit anyway.
"I'm sure I don't qualify--(husband's name) is a (college name) professor. Just very hard taking money from funds that are supposed to pay for college when I've already lived a productive life. These are the sentiments that go with a health care system that is inadequate and unjust. You have to bankrupt your kids to stay alive."
The one in West Seattle has all kinds of programs and is kind of a hang out for Seniors. I had a lot to do with them a few years ago.
Prima Donna: That lady who has trouble getting to her appointments could solve it with one phone call.
I worked originally for one hospital in their home health care company. It was bought out by a huge hospital corporation here. When that happened, many of my co-workers had to deal with the pre-existing clauses and many other challenges when switching over to the new hospital's insurance plan. Some of my co-workers with children with serious illnesses knew they would go bankrupt or their children would not be covered for certain illnesses. As many as could found jobs at other hospitals because of this. So it does happen. One woman who had a serious lung condition knew going in that she would not be covered.
Need I say more?
There is no decency in a doctor's office. I don't care if some overblown puff of smoke thinks he should make millions while providing less than adequate care.
The problems you are experiencing with the health care system stand a good chance of getting worse if we hand the final say over to Congress.
As you probably know, every hospital and doctor has a specific deal about what they can charge a specific insurance company for their services. As you probably also know is that a doctor or hospital has more than one insurance company that they are servicing. The end result is that the same doctor or hospital has to hire people to ensure that each service is codded according to the patient's insurance company and insurance policy. Need I go into more details?
I am ok with that. I so hope that the politics of the GOP affects only the GOP and nobody else.
In the early 1970S I worked in a Pediatric coronary surgical unit (now called Pediatric pulmonary care in some areas) no hospital would have such a unit if babies were not born, occasionally, with heart defects. Now all you anti-abortion, anti Gov health folk out there, do we save a baby born with a health defect or let them die?
GOP bills are minimalist so as not to offend the insurance companies. They are out of touch with what life is and looks like beyond the tips of their own noes. I feel so badly for them that anyone on this planet should be able to earn a living with NO mental and emotional compassion for the misfortune of others, that is inhuman...INHUMAN!
Don't give up hope Marilyn they may invent a time machine and you can go back to the dark ages and live in your own little hell.
Who said the "Dems" want to take over your "health"? All this DULY ELECTED Congress and DULY Elected Administration is trying to do is take Health CARE INSURANCE out of the hands of obscene, FOR PROFIT Insurance Companies whose only reason for existence is to make profit by DENYING you coverage! Spin it any way you like, but Canada, the UK, France and the rest of our ALLIES make us look like complete idiots when it comes to what SHOULD be a basic Human Right!
If you think that every penny paid into the healthcare system by the taxpayers is going to go directly back into the healthcare system you haven't been paying attention to the way Congress operates. I tried to point this out earlier... Please, do tell me about the successes. Maybe you could open my mind up to your ideas. Start first with showing me the Social Security Trust Fund balance sheet.
Look, most of us agree, we need transparency in the government and we still haven't gotten that. Unitl then, how could anyone justify signing over another 16 percent of our GNP to them?
I hope not. I was a Republican for 30 years, and this kind of behavior makes me very sad. So did the robocall I received yesterday repeating falsehoods about the House bill including federal funds for abortion.
I've written about this before, Prima Donna. And I've shown videos where they've said that they get harassed for being conservative Republicans.
I think the demographic makeup of the group is interesting because it suggests the USA of my childhood.
Social Security and governement union pension funds are going broke. And Obama wants to add another big government entitlement program?
It's the economy, stupid
We have different rates for car insurance - based on where people live and their driving record.
We have different rates for homeowner's insurance - based on where people live and the construction of their homes (and sometimes on how many times they've used their insurance).
Why should we think that health insurance is any different? Cover everyone. Just expect to pay more if you're old or if you have a pre-existing condition. And if and only if you cannot afford a trip to the doctor, then you should be covered by a government program.
Insurance is the wrong way to approach health care financing in the first place but obviously we're not going to fixt that this time around.
There's no reason that a person's need for health care can't be amortized over an entire lifetime instead of charging on a variable scale. It costs the same regardless.
I agree that insuring people with "preexisting conditions" is a critical part of any health care plan. Without fixing this, nothing will be achieved.
I am grateful to live in a country with a national health service.