Ted Kennedy’s Health Plan
Senator Kennedy released his vision of health care reform. It shouldn't be a surprise – Massachusetts for all (individual mandate, guaranteed issue, and modified community rating). These reforms will increase rates 95% for most of the nation's self-employed and small business workers who have to buy their own coverage [see CAHI cost study here].
Looks bad. But why am I not surprised.
Kennedy won’t let us charge smoker rates, he’s insane.
Can you see Obama saying, “Young healthy non-smoking Americans with children don’t mind paying more because someday they may become smokers too.”
Kennedy has a long track record of selling his own employees employer-based health insurance that they lose if they become too sick to work.
Non-Smokers Unite. Stop the Socialists. Vote Republican.
The CAHI study is wrong because they use ehealthinsurance who is never right for families. I compared the rate increase using the same N. Adams, MA zip code to Lansing, MI. (zip 48901) with [America’s oldest health insurance company], something you can’t do at ehealthinsurance. The cost increase is over 470% in MA and not the 95% that the CAHI reports.
The cheapest Blue Cross plan in MA for the 35-year-old couple and 2 children is $930.54 a month with $10,000 Out-Of-Pocket and only 50% coverage on Rx. My daugher’s MS medication is $30,000 per year so this Blue Cross coverage sucks.
In contrast, the same family can get HSA insurance at http://www.save101.com for $198.08 per month with a 24 month rate guarantee. PLUS, The deductible decreases 10% every 6 months until the family has a maximum $3,000 Out-Of-Pocket then the coverage pays 100%, including Rx.
PLUS, http://www.save101.com coverage is HSA qualifying so all medical, vision and dental expenses can be paid with tax free dollars.
Unions are scamming their workers. UAW employees should be able to choose the security of America’s oldest health insurance company for $198.08 per month and the additional $1,000 a month they are paying should go to the UAW employees’ tax free HSA instead of going to Blue Cross like it does at present. This way the 35-year-old employee will show up at 65 with an extra $1 million HSA balance dedicated to retirement health care expenses.
Got the Blues? Paying 470% too much? Switch to America’s oldest health insurance company at http://www.Save101.com
It’s TIME for your HSA.
Did you notice this plan has a public plan in it — A medicare for young people. It almost certainly will drive the private plans out of the market.
Stephen, Medicare costs $94.50 a month per person for Part B premiums. Then Medicare only pays 80% so another Medicare Sup insurance plan is required. Then Medicare’s Part D Rx program will cost more. If the family pays for all three insurances a family of 4 would have $14,400 out-of-pocket just on RX.
If you read Kennedy’s plan he wants to outlaw low cost individual insurance with medical underwriting. Exactly like they have done in Mass where premiums are 470% more.
I’m guessing the ehealthinsurance rates assume zero pre-existing conditions. Doubling these published rates is probably not far off when estimating average costs across an entire population, whether the insurance is underwritten or not.
Hypothetically speaking, if risk rating and underwriting are an unmitigated good, then wouldn’t it make sense to outlaw guaranteed renewal clauses that prevent rates from rising above class average?
Otherwise, if everyone does what they are supposed to do and purchases renewable health insurance when young and healthy, then over time as people develop chronic conditions, the rates of healthy people will have to rise in order to compensate for those whose rates are capped. Assuming class average can be adjusted for age, the system will eventually begin to look as though it uses modified community rating. If risk rating is good, then this must be bad, right?
You are right Bart, it’s bad. With the above HSA plan if the consumer doesn’t hit the decreasing deductible the renewal premiums are decreased by 10%. This is called HealthyDiscounts and consumers get the discounted rates for 6 years. Health insurance premiums only go one direction, up. Looking backwards in 10 years you will save a chunck of change with 6 years of your premiums being reduced by 10% per year. Some states won’t allow us to give HealthyDiscounts, those losers.
Remember, we have a 24 month rate gaurantee to begin with on HSA insurance. Kennedy’s long and boring plan doesn’t have a 24 month rate guarantee. But it does have your community rating that makes premiums 470% more in Mass.
Mass. Blue Cross doesn’t have HealthyDiscounts or a 24 month rate guarantee. Over 10 years the 470% extra premium to Blue Cross will probably skyrocket to 1,000%. That’s why Ted Kennedy is in bed with Blue Cross of Mass. because charging citizens 1000% extra ends up being a lot of cash over TIME.
The best tax cut is NO TAXES and it’s TIME for your HSA.
Tell Senator Kennedy to take this “you have to buy it” mandate crap and stuff it back up his liberal you-know-what. My money goes for food, rent, and (maybe) gas. There’s no way in hades I’m going hungry and homeless just to give my money to some worthless insurance company so politicians can get kickbacks.