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Some Key Points in President Obama's Health Care Proposal

By Jeralyn

The White House has released President Obama's proposed health care plan. Big Tent Democrat has the White House recap and some preliminary thoughts. I add mine below, from the various pages of the White House release.

The President’s Proposal builds off of the legislation that passed the Senate and improves on it by bridging key differences between the House and the Senate as well as by incorporating Republican provisions that strengthen the proposal.

The overview says it changes the Senate-passed bill and "reflects policies from the House-passed bill and the President’s priorities." Among the key changes it touts: It ends discrimination on pre-existing conditions and closes the Medicare "donut hole" gap in coverage. It increases the excise tax threshhold "from $23,000 for a family plan to $27,500 and starting it in 2018 for all plans." For singles, it is $10,500. (Why are singles always discriminated against?) [More...]

The Act will include an additional 0.9 percentage point Hospital Insurance tax for households with incomes exceeding $200,000 for singles and $250,000 for married couples filing jointly. In addition, it would add a 2.9 percent tax for such high-income households to unearned income including interest, dividends, annuities, royalties and rents (excluding income from active participation in S corporations).

What about the public option? The section on "the Role of Public Programs" begins here. Nothing there. But, in the section called Title I. Quality, Affordable Health Care, it says:

For Americans with insurance coverage who like what they have, they can keep it. Nothing in this act or anywhere in the bill forces anyone to change the insurance they have, period.

Americans without insurance coverage will be able to choose the insurance coverage that works best for them in a new open, competitive insurance market – the same insurance market that every member of Congress will be required to use for their insurance. The insurance Exchange will pool buying power and give Americans new affordable choices of private insurance plans that have to compete for their business based on cost and quality. Small business owners will not only be able to choose insurance coverage through this exchange, but will receive a new tax credit to help offset the cost of covering their employees.

On Social Security:

Protect the Social Security Trust Funds.

The President’s Proposal provides that, if necessary, funds will be transferred to the Social Security Trust Funds to ensure that they are held harmless by the Proposal.

There's also a section on "Improving Access to Innovative Medical Therapies:"

The Act promotes innovation and saves consumers money. It ends anti-competitive behavior by drug companies that keep effective and affordable generic drugs off the market. It extends drug discounts to hospitals and communities that serve low-income patients. And it creates a pathway for the creation of generic versions of biological drugs so that doctors and patients have access to effective and lower cost alternatives.

How long will it take to "create a pathway" for generic biological drugs? What about the people who need them now and whose insurance companies won't pay? Will they be provided the non-generic one?

One other promise I'll have to read the fine print on:

[It gives] consumers new power to appeal insurance company decisions that deny doctor ordered treatments covered by insurance.

What about treatments the insurance companies refuse to cover?

I'll say one thing for Obama's proposal: It's in plain English. It does a much better job of explaining the provisions than either the House or Senate bill did. It will be interesting to see if the descriptions match the fine print of whatever bill we end up with.

As for substance, I'll let the experts weigh in. One question I have is how much Republicans will water it down, and how many compromises Democrats will allow in order to get their vote, if needed?

Full post as published by TalkLeft on February 22, 2010 (boomark / email).