When President-elect Barack Obama presented his National health care plan, red flags went up from a myriad of sources, as was expected in light of such a transformational program. The health insurance industry still has some concerns, even though it has agreed to cover all applicants without regard to pre-existing conditions. It is the National Health Insurance Exchange that still is a significant issue with them.
In this Exchange program, Americans would have a choice between a private plan and a government-sponsored plan. The idea behind the Exchange is that you can combine market forces with government intervention when it comes to reform. According to incoming Health and Human Services Secretary, Tom Daschle, the government plan would be modeled after Medicare, reported The New York Times.
The Medicare-like plan would compete with plans provided by private companies who participate in the Exchange. This would, proponents argue, enable more competition in the market and drive down rates. Not necessarily true, says the insurance industry. Their argument is that the Exchange wont do anything to make health insurance and health care more affordable " in fact, the opposite. The health insurance industry points out that the Medicare-modeled plan would likely underpay doctors and hospitals for their services. This would cause providers to increase their prices for private plans to balance out their loss from the government plans.
A new public program similar to Medicare would exacerbate cost-shifting, which already adds $1,500, or 10 percent, to the average premium for a family of four, said Karen Ignagni, the president of Americas Health Insurance Plans. And it seems as if the president-elect is keeping his word about working across the aisle and giving everyone a seat at the negotiation table.
Stephanie Cutter, spokesperson for Obama's White House transition, recently said, "These are listening sessions. We are trying to find people who share Obama's goal of health care reform, even if they disagree on the specifics." Thousands of meetings have already been scheduled with health care reform as the subject. All parties are being welcomed.
In this Exchange program, Americans would have a choice between a private plan and a government-sponsored plan. The idea behind the Exchange is that you can combine market forces with government intervention when it comes to reform. According to incoming Health and Human Services Secretary, Tom Daschle, the government plan would be modeled after Medicare, reported The New York Times.
The Medicare-like plan would compete with plans provided by private companies who participate in the Exchange. This would, proponents argue, enable more competition in the market and drive down rates. Not necessarily true, says the insurance industry. Their argument is that the Exchange wont do anything to make health insurance and health care more affordable " in fact, the opposite. The health insurance industry points out that the Medicare-modeled plan would likely underpay doctors and hospitals for their services. This would cause providers to increase their prices for private plans to balance out their loss from the government plans.
A new public program similar to Medicare would exacerbate cost-shifting, which already adds $1,500, or 10 percent, to the average premium for a family of four, said Karen Ignagni, the president of Americas Health Insurance Plans. And it seems as if the president-elect is keeping his word about working across the aisle and giving everyone a seat at the negotiation table.
Stephanie Cutter, spokesperson for Obama's White House transition, recently said, "These are listening sessions. We are trying to find people who share Obama's goal of health care reform, even if they disagree on the specifics." Thousands of meetings have already been scheduled with health care reform as the subject. All parties are being welcomed.
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