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Originally Posted by docbungle
There will be many amendments added to this bill once it gets past this initial phase. The idea is that is when these things will get addressed and fixed. I'm not holding out a lot of hope, though.
The bill has been so watered down, it has become meaningless. It includes no "reform".
If the bill passes in its current form, I am not voting democrat in 2012.
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I dont think we will see many amendments at all.
And I'm still trying to understand how these provisions are no "reform"
end the practice of insurance companies denying coverage to anyone with pre-existing conditions.
prevent insurance companies from raising rates or dropping coverage for those who suddenly face a serious illness.
cap annual out-of-pocket expenses so that no one faces significant unanticipated expenses or goes bankrupt as a result of a medical crisis.
drop all copays for preventive care.
ends any existing lifetime caps on what insurance companies will currently pay.
provide affordable choices to the uninsured through an Exchange offering multiple plans with different levels of coverage at different costs.
place limits on the administration costs as percent of premiums, thus limiting premium increases.
end the market monopoly in many states, where choices are currently severely restricted, thus opening those markets to increased competition....and increased competition breeds lower costs for consumers.
I like Kucinich, his extreme positions like Ron Paul on the other end, are important to have represented in Congress, but rarely represent pragmatic solutions that would generate enough support from colleagues to ever be enacted.
And I think he has it wrong on the the legislation allowing insurance companies to increase their rates by up to 25%.
As I understand it, the bills limit annual cost-sharing (deductibles, co-payments, etc., but not premiums) to the current (2010) limits for Health Savings Accounts as established by IRS.
In regard to premiums, the bills require health plans to report the proportion of premium dollars spent on services (as opposed to administrative costs) and provide rebates to consumers for the amount of the premium spent on non-claims costs that exceeds 25%. (perhaps that is where he is getting the 25%).
These bills are far from perfect and rely heavily on the existing private insurance based system....but they absolutely represent reform by any measure.
A single payer system does not have anywhere near the level of support required to be enacted and the Democrats will never get a larger majority than presently exists....IMO, as much as I would like to see it, a single payer system is a pipe dream.
To insist on single payer or nothing will result in nothing.
I know that works for some on the left....but not for me.