[Vision2020] Story in Chicago Tribune Oct.15, 2012

Fri Oct 18 10:37:38 PDT 2013

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Very foggy here this morning. My wife just got back from putting on the State Soils Contest at Burley. She said that there was a major wreak just south of Genesee.

On your post. These are two different stories in the same paper. Who is to say which is right. Maybe both to some extent. There are a lot of opposing arguments out there. We will have to wait and see who is right. Maybe neither. It is like religion. Everyone has their version of the gospel. Kind of like the Canadian system. Some swear by it, but a lot of those with money come to the states for treatment.
Roger
Incidentally I am mostly in agreement with Saundra's last two posts. For your information I also supported Otter's Heath Insurance Exchanges.

-----Original Message-----
From: "Nicholas Gier" <ngier006 at gmail.com>
To: lfalen <lfalen at turbonet.com>
Cc: "Sunil Ramalingam" <sunilramalingam at hotmail.com>, "vision 2020" <vision2020 at moscow.com>
Date: 10/17/13 10:53
Subject: Re: [Vision2020] Story in Chicago Tribune Oct.15, 2012

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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 network of providers like doctors, specialists, health centers and hospitals.
"Everyone wants to do the political thing and talk about rates, 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 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 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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======================================================= List services made available by First Step Internet, serving the communities of the Palouse since 1994. http://www.fsr.net mailto:Vision2020 at moscow.com =======================================================

=======================================================
List services made available by First Step Internet,
serving the communities of the Palouse since 1994.
              http://www.fsr.net
         mailto:Vision2020 at moscow.com
======================================================= 

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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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