That Health Care “Reform” Will Actually Force Us To Pay More For Insurance

Flopping Aces ^ | 10-12-09 | Curt

[Starman417]

America's Health Insurance Plans commissioned a study from PriceWaterhouseCoopers recently on the Baucus health bill and it shows many things that we all expected and feared would happen. The cost of insurance will go waaaaay up....by about 18% on average ON TOP of the expected inflation.

Key Findings

• Health reform could have a significant impact on the cost of private health insurance coverage.
• There are four provisions included in the Senate Finance Committee proposal that could increase private health insurance premiums above the levels projected under current law:
  1. A new tax on high-cost health care plans,
  2. Insurance market reforms coupled with a weak coverage requirement,
  3. Cost-shifting as a result of cuts to Medicare
  4. and New taxes on several health care sectors.
• The overall impact of these provisions will be to increase the cost of private insurance coverage for individuals, families, and businesses above what these costs would be in the absence of reform.
• On average, the cost of private health insurance coverage will increase:
  1. 26 percent between 2009 and 2013 under the current system and by 40 percent during this same period if these four provisions are implemented.
  2. 50 percent between 2009 and 2016 under the current system and by 73 percent during this same period if these four provisions are implemented.
  3. 79 percent between 2009 and 2019 under the current system and by 111 percent during this same period if these four provisions are implemented.

America's Health Insurance Plans asked PricewaterhouseCoopers to check out the impact of four components in the Baucus bill:

• Insurance market reforms and consumer protections that would raise health insurance premiums for individuals and families if the reforms are not coupled with an effective coverage requirement.
• An excise tax on employer-sponsored high value health plans (or "Cadillac plans") that in a few years could also raise premiums for some moderate value plans.
• Cuts in payment rates in public programs that could increase cost shifting to private sector businesses and consumers. These changes are expected to more than offset the potential reduction in cost shifting resulting from providing coverage to the uninsured.
• New taxes on health sector entities that are likely to be passed through to consumers.

And found the following:

[massgopguy]

Who wants to bet that HMO Blue will be labeled a Cadillac plan.

[SuziQ]

Whoops!