Health Care Proposal Requires Coverage But Does Not Include Public Option
WASHINGTON
A summary of long expected health care reform proposals was presented Wednesday by the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee. This opens the final stage for a legislative showdown on what most see as President Obama's top domestic priority.
This bill that is being presented by Senator Max Baucus, (Democrat) Montana, is expected to cost $856 billion during the next 10 years and will require insurance coverage for all Americans.
Senator Baucus says that his bill, which has no Republican support, will not add to the federal deficit.
Financing of the plan is through in access of $500 billion in various spending reductions. These include reductions in Medicare, and a call for an additional $350 billion in new taxes and fees.
New fees would be accessed to insurers up to $6 billion, with the medical device manufacturing sector being accessed another $4 billion. Drug makers and clinical laboratories would be required to come up with smaller sums.
The public option has been dropped although it is a favorite of Obama’s along with many Democratic leaders. Instead of this there is a call for the creation of nonprofit health care cooperatives.
Like the other reform proposals, this bill restricts insurance companies from dropping policyholders when they incur an illness, assuming that their premiums are paid up. It includes new protections for those with pre-existing conditions and establishes tax credits to assist low- and middle-income families to buy their own insurance.
The plan also restricts companies from imposing annual caps or lifetime limitations on health coverage. However, individuals can be fined as much as $950 a year for failing to obtain coverage, while the fine for families could reach $3,800.
Those insurance company that offer especially expensive plans that are referred to as "Cadillac" plans would have to pay a tax amounting to 35 percent of the amount that a plan's cost exceeds what is set as a threshold of $8,000 for individuals and $21,000 for families.
To make it easier for groups and individuals to purchase insurance, the plan creates health insurance exchanges.
Certain important issues are included in Baucus' plan and these relate to abortion, illegal immigrants and medical malpractice.
A summary of the plan states that it would not counter state laws that ban or require abortion coverage. As with the current laws, federal tax dollars cannot be used to pay for abortions unless the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest or the mother’s life is at risk.
By requiring each potential beneficiary to submit a range of personal information, the plan is designed to in part prevent illegal immigrants from using health care tax credits or accessing insurance exchanges. They would need to present verifiable Social Security Administration data.
As a way to help reduce skyrocketing malpractice expenses and to appease conservatives, the plan states that it will encourage the development and testing of alternatives to the current civil litigation system.