[Vision2020] Story in Chicago Tribune Oct.15, 2012
Nicholas Gier
ngier006 at gmail.com
Thu Oct 17 10:53:33 PDT 2013
Hi Roger,
*
*
With your example of the one nurse I believe that you have committed the
fallacy of generalizing from a very small sample. See the story from the
Chicago Tribune appended below. Premiums in Illinois under Obamacare will
be lower than the national average.
You speak of employers who will cut their workers hours but do not condemn
them. There will be only one whammy, and it won't be Obama's fault. If
they had a union they would be protected from such arbitrary actions. And
your second whammy would be avoided by subsidies, which could be avoided if
employers didn't cut their hours in the first place.
You forgot to mention that many poor single people will not be eligible for
Medicaid in those states where the GOP has refused to take fed's offer of
extended Medicaid for three years paid at 90%. The result will be that the
Red States will fall further and further behind in general health,
eventually to Third World levels. We are already below Cuba in infant
mortality rates.
Yours for better facts and better arguments,
Nick
*Illinois insurance exchange rates lower than U.S. average*
*Plans under health care law expected to provide 'fairly competitive prices'
*
September 25, 2013|By Peter Frost, Chicago Tribune reporter
Illinois residents will pay slightly less than the national average for
health[image: http://images.intellitxt.com/ast/adTypes/icon1.png]<http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2013-09-25/business/ct-biz-0925-health-rates-20130925_1_health-care-law-health-insurance-federal-tax-credits>
insurance
offered under President Barack Obama's health care law, according to rates
released Tuesday by state and federal officials.
The snapshot provides an early yet incomplete look at how much consumers
might pay in premiums and comes a week before the launch of new insurance
exchanges, the online marketplaces in which individuals, families and small
businesses can compare and buy coverage, often with the help of federal tax
credits.
While state and federal officials released broad details on how much those
plans might cost in certain areas, they did not release exact figures for
each of the 165 health plans being sold in Illinois, explaining that
rates[image:
http://images.intellitxt.com/ast/adTypes/icon1.png]<http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2013-09-25/business/ct-biz-0925-health-rates-20130925_1_health-care-law-health-insurance-federal-tax-credits>
will
not be final until Tuesday. They also did not reveal the specific copays
and deductibles that most consumers will face when they see a doctor, visit
an emergency room or undergo surgery.
Despite that missing information, the new data provide an important
overview of the kind of options consumers will have. The report also
demonstrates that many consumers will likely find an affordable option,
though some may face higher premiums, as critics are quick to point out.
"We are seeing, across the board, fairly competitive prices," said Caroline
Pearson, vice president of Avalere Health, a consulting firm closely
following the rollout of the marketplaces. "The health plans are convinced
that people will buy based on price, and they are working very hard to put
low-cost products in the markets."
The federal analysis also includes specific data only from the 36 states
that have elected to have the federal government run their marketplaces,
including Illinois, which is operating in a federal partnership. (Premium
information from the 14 states operating their own insurance marketplaces,
including California, Maryland and Connecticut, in most cases is available
through state websites.)
In Illinois, the average consumer will be able to choose from 58 health
plans offered by as many as five insurance companies. In all, eight
insurers[image:
http://images.intellitxt.com/ast/adTypes/icon1.png]<http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2013-09-25/business/ct-biz-0925-health-rates-20130925_1_health-care-law-health-insurance-federal-tax-credits>
will
offer plans in the state, though not all will sell coverage in each region.
State officials were hesitant to release even a broad overview of rates
until now because federal regulators were working with insurance companies
to tweak plans and rates as late as last week, said Andrew Boron, director
of the Illinois Department of Insurance.
"We decided to take a conservative approach," Boron said. "But today, what
we're all really excited to announce is that consumers in Illinois are
going to have robust options and affordable options."
According to state and federal data:
•A single 30-year-old who lives in Cook County and has annual income of
$23,000 will be able to buy coverage for as little as $69 a month next year
with the help of $67 in federal tax credits.
•A Cook County couple, both age 55 and with household income of $40,000,
can buyhealth insurance[image:
http://images.intellitxt.com/ast/adTypes/icon1.png]<http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2013-09-25/business/ct-biz-0925-health-rates-20130925_1_health-care-law-health-insurance-federal-tax-credits>
for
$70 a month after a $463 tax credit. If that same couple lived in Peoria,
their monthly premium would be free.
•A family of four in Illinois with household income of $50,000 will be able
to buy coverage for $84 a month after a $400 tax credit.
The health care[image:
http://images.intellitxt.com/ast/adTypes/icon1.png]<http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2013-09-25/business/ct-biz-0925-health-rates-20130925_1_health-care-law-health-insurance-federal-tax-credits>
law
established four broad categories of coverage — platinum, gold, silver and
bronze — where premiums vary based on the amount of out-of-pocket health
care expenses consumers are required to pay.
The above rates are based on a bronze plan, the least expensive, which
requires policyholders to cover 40 percent of the cost of their health
care. A platinum plan has much higher monthly premiums, but the patient
share is only 10 percent.
Illinois insurance officials expect most consumers to choose plans in
either the silver or bronze category.
All plans offered on the exchanges require insurers to cover 10 basic
services called essential health benefits, including maternity care,
prescription drugs, emergency services, mental health, laboratory services
and hospitalization. Insurers also must offer plans to all applicants, even
if they have a pre-existing medical condition like cancer, diabetes or
hypertension.
"There have been a lot of products on the market where people would find
out that they thought they had health insurance, but then they would find
out that it wouldn't cover hospital visits, for example," said Gary Cohen,
who oversees the online marketplaces for the federal Department of Health
and Human Services. "It's important to understand that, because of the
Affordable Care Act, the health insurance that people will be buying will
actually cover them in the case of them getting sick."
Premiums also vary by family size, income, where people live and whether
they smoke.
Some plans offered in Chicago, for example, are less expensive than
identical coverage in Peoria and other parts of Illinois, largely because
Cook County has more so-called narrow-network plans, which limit the number
of doctors and hospitals available to consumers and tend to be less
expensive, state officials said.
A 40-year-old tobacco user in Cook County would pay $196 for the lowest
level of coverage, versus $152 for a nonsmoker.
Illinoisans who make between 138 and 400 percent of the federal poverty
level — up to $94,200 for a family of four — and aren't offered qualified
insurance through their employer are eligible for federal tax credits to
help offset the cost of insurance premiums.
To receive those subsidies, which vary on a sliding scale based on income
and age, they must buy a plan offered on the exchange.
Those whose income falls below that range will be newly eligible for
Medicaid, the state-federal health insurance[image:
http://images.intellitxt.com/ast/adTypes/icon1.png]<http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2013-09-25/business/ct-biz-0925-health-rates-20130925_1_health-care-law-health-insurance-federal-tax-credits/2>
program
for the poor and disabled.
The marketplace, or exchange, is scheduled to open Oct. 1; coverage begins
Jan. 1 for those who buy plans before Dec. 15. Open enrollment lasts until
March 31. Consumers who do not have health[image:
http://images.intellitxt.com/ast/adTypes/icon1.png]<http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2013-09-25/business/ct-biz-0925-health-rates-20130925_1_health-care-law-health-insurance-federal-tax-credits/2>
insurance
in 2014 will pay an income tax penalty next year, starting at $95 or 1
percent of household income, whichever is greater.
Of nearly 1 million in the state eligible for federal tax subsidies to help
offset the cost of buying insurance, state officials expect only about
337,000 to purchase subsidized coverage in 2014.
While both reports lay out the broad strokes of how much coverage will
cost, the data do not include the size of an insurer's[image:
http://images.intellitxt.com/ast/adTypes/icon1.png]<http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2013-09-25/business/ct-biz-0925-health-rates-20130925_1_health-care-law-health-insurance-federal-tax-credits/2>
network
of providers like doctors, specialists, health centers and hospitals.
"Everyone wants to do the political thing and talk about rates[image:
http://images.intellitxt.com/ast/adTypes/icon1.png]<http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2013-09-25/business/ct-biz-0925-health-rates-20130925_1_health-care-law-health-insurance-federal-tax-credits/2>,
but no one knows what you're buying yet," said Rich Fahn, president of
Excell Benefit Group in Northbrook. "Just providing the premium is giving
an incomplete picture."
Fahn and Jim Smith, a senior vice president at the health care[image:
http://images.intellitxt.com/ast/adTypes/icon1.png]<http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2013-09-25/business/ct-biz-0925-health-rates-20130925_1_health-care-law-health-insurance-federal-tax-credits/2>
consulting
firm The Camden Group, said the lower premiums on the exchange-based
insurance products likely indicate consumers will have more limited access
to certain physicians and hospitals than those covered under more
expensive, employer-based plans.
"Carriers are putting together smaller networks to squeeze bigger discounts
out of providers," Smith said.
While state and federal officials acknowledge those concerns and said some
of the plans offered on the exchanges will have narrow networks, they say
all plans were subject to state and federal requirements that ensure an
adequate selection of providers.
"We feel comfortable, as do the feds, that the networks are sufficient,"
Boron said.
*Tribune Newspapers reporters Ameet
Sachdev<http://bio.tribune.com/ameetsachdev> and
Noam Levey contributed.*
*pfrost at tribune.com*
*Twitter @peterfrost*
On Thu, Oct 17, 2013 at 10:24 AM, lfalen <lfalen at turbonet.com> wrote:
> Sunil
>
> I think you are right. All government employees(Federal, State and local)
> have employer sponsored health insurance. So do most of those who work for
> larger companies. Obamacare would cover those who cannot afford insurance
> and those in the low income brackets. The potential problems are that some
> companies will convert some employees to part time. They will be hit with a
> double whammy. Getting insurance on their own will is most cases cost them
> more and they will have a reduced income to pay for it because they are now
> part time. Older folks and the disabled can get Medicare. the Indigent get
> Medicaid. Some of the money to pay for Obamacare is to come out of
> Medicare. Just how or where, I do not know.* *I pay a little over
> $100.00 per month for Medicare and $66.33 to the University for Part D and
> Dental, which Medicare does not cover. My doctor and has just quit taking
> Medicare. I assume this means I will have to change doctors.
>
>
>
> Roger
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
> -----Original Message-----
> From: "Sunil Ramalingam" <sunilramalingam at hotmail.com>
> Cc: "vision 2020" <vision2020 at moscow.com>
> Date: 10/15/13 17:27
> Subject: Re: [Vision2020] Story in Chicago Tribune Oct.15, 2012
>
> Wayne,
>
> If they are not covered under the Act, isn't it because their insurance is
> covered as an employment benefit? Isn't the same true for University of
> Idaho employees?
>
> Or am I wrong about this?
>
> Sunil
>
> ------------------------------
> From: bear at moscow.com
> Date: Tue, 15 Oct 2013 17:15:59 -0700
> To: lfalen at turbonet.com
> CC: vision2020 at moscow.com
> Subject: Re: [Vision2020] Story in Chicago Tribune Oct.15, 2012
>
> Roger,
> And this is a surprise ?
> Why do you seriously think that neither the White House nor Congress is
> part of "Affordable Health Care"?
>
> Wayne
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> On Oct 15, 2013, at 5:08 PM, lfalen wrote:
>
>
>
> Adam Weldzius, A Nurse Practitioner is privately insured. His monthly
> insurance premium of $233(deductible of $3,500) will more than double.
> For the same coverage his deductible will be $12,500.
> A Tribune analysis shows that 21 pf the 22 lowest plans on the Illinois
> health exchange for Cook County would have annual deductibles of over
> $4,000 for individuals and $8,000 for family coverage.
> People who have health insurance threw their employer have an average
> deductible of $1,100 according to The Kaiser Family Foundation.
>
> This is from a story in the Chicago Tribune. They are not my figures.
> Roger
>
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> serving the communities of the Palouse since 1994.
> http://www.fsr.net
> mailto:Vision2020 at moscow.com
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