[Psycho_Bunny]

The premise of this bill is nothing but BS but the quote states "Except as provided in this paragraph..."

What's the rest of the paragraph?

Someone stated on another thread that the rest of the paragraph sets conditions on private insurance but doesn't outlaw it as WND and IBD breathlessly report.

It's important that we KNOW what we're pissed about, lest we look like fools.

[MrB]

There are exceptions for government employees, Congress, and,

wait for it...

UNION MEMBERS.

[tx_eggman]

Read if for yourself ... if you can decipher the legalese mumbo jumbo:

Linky Thing: Text of "America's Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009"

It states:

IN GENERAL- Except as provided in this paragraph, the individual health insurance issuer offering such coverage does not enroll any individual in such coverage if the first effective date of coverage is on or after the first day of Y1.

From a comment on the site, :

Linky Thing: Explanation

stating that the this reference is to the requirement that private insurers will be required to participate in a Health Insurance Exchange or they cannot write new policies.

Quoting from the link:

So what is the Health Insurance Exchange that new plans will have to participate in? You can read about it in the bill here, or in the committee summary:

The new Health Insurance Exchange creates a transparent and functional marketplace for individuals and small employers to comparison shop among private and public insurers. It works with state insurance departments to set and enforce insurance reforms and consumer protections, facilitates enrollment, and administers affordability credits to help low- and middle-income individuals and families purchase insurance. Over time, the Exchange will be opened to additional employers as another choice for covering their employees. States may opt to operate the Exchange in lieu of the national Exchange provided they follow the federal rules.

According to the bill text, the Exchange will be made available to the public through a telephone hotline and a website, which, the bill stipulates, must be written in plain text.

And, from Instapundit, here:

Linky Thing: Instapundit

Investor’s Business Daily did not continue to read the bill to page 19. “Individual health insurance coverage that is not grandfathered health insurance coverage under subsection (a) may only be offered on or after the first day of Y1 as an Exchange-participating health benefits plan. ” It does not outlaw individual private coverage – you can still buy the plan on the Exchange where they will compete with the public option, not be replaced by it.

[Girlene]

What's the rest of the paragraph? Someone stated on another thread that the rest of the paragraph sets conditions on private insurance but doesn't outlaw it as WND and IBD breathlessly report. It's important that we KNOW what we're pissed about, lest we look like fools.

The bill is posted on Huffington Post (sorry!). Anywho, scroll down to page 15/16 to read the context. I'm trying to decipher what it means, also. I think the "limitation on new enrollment" is for what they call "grandfathered" private health care. IOW, I think the bill says you can keep your old private health care, as is, but no new enrollements or changes are allowed in that specific plan, unless it's adding a dependant.

New private health care will be allowed, but must follow the new guidelines set out in this bill. See page 15. It refers to Subtitle B, C, and D as the guidelnes for private health care. Subtitle B starts on page 19.

I think what's going on here is that you can keep your existing coverage if you were enrolled in the year before this plan is passed into law. That's considered grandfathered. But if you change jobs, or your employer dumps the old plan, any new private health care must comply with these new federal guidelines. It may become so costly or restrictive that private health care may disappear. Also, old private health care plans, which might have been trimmed down or specialized for a specific group, will wither away since they can't get any new members and as people change jobs.

I'm just starting to read a bit, so I could be all wrong about this. It's difficult to understand.

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

I read about that, too. Supposedly, you can still purchase private insurance from an exchange, where it’s presumably competing with the public option.