Health Insurance Reform : EasyToInsureMe

September 16, 2009
This Week in Health Reform

EasyToInsureME.com offers clients the easiest way to buy individual health insurance. Free services include instant online health insurance quotes,custom proposals for each client, free phone consultation, and 10-minute application by phone. Nobody does what we do for our clients!

Federal Legislative Overview:
Last week Congress returned from its August recess with an incredibly busy schedule on health care reform. Max Baucus (D-MT), Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, released the Finance Committee's $856 billion health care reform bill and will proceed with amendments due no later then this Friday, September 18, and opening statements and markup beginning September 21.
The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee also released the final legislative language for its health care reform bill, “Affordable Health Choices Act” initially approved by the Committee on July 15
Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) will assume the Chairmanship of the Senate HELP Committee vacated by Senator Edward Kennedy (D-MA) upon his death late last month. Former Acting Chairman, Christopher Dodd (D-CT) will continue to lead the Committee’s health care reform efforts over the next few months.
Overview: President Barack Obama Addresses a Joint Session of Congress on Health Care Reform
President Obama delivered a speech to the full Congress on Wednesday, September 9 laying out his goals for health care reform and reiterating that reform measures must happen this year and that it would take the combined efforts of both sides of Congress to make it happen. President Obama called for more stability and security for people who have health insurance; access to quality, affordable insurance for those who don’t by creating a new health insurance marketplace exchange; and control of the cost of health care by ending existing waste, implementing reforms and adding employer responsibility requirements.
BCBSTX’s statement on President Obama’s remarks is below:
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas (BCBSTX) shares President Obama’s desire to achieve bipartisan health care reform. That is why we joined with other health insurers last year to support guaranteed coverage to all Americans including those with pre-existing medical conditions, coupled with an effective coverage requirement. Additionally, we were pleased to hear the President say that reform should build on what already works in the health care system and fix what doesn’t. That has been our position since 2006.
However, we do not agree that a new government-run health plan is necessary to achieve health care reform. In fact, it will have unintended harmful consequences to reform goals. We also would like to see a greater emphasis on wellness in all the reform proposals. With 75 percent of the health care spending in the United States going to chronic disease treatment, we must pay more attention to the main drivers of these diseases by encouraging all Americans to eat better, exercise more and smoke less.
We also believe there should be greater emphasis on using health information technology to help doctors and hospitals improve the delivery of care, and employers, individuals and government spend their health care dollars more wisely.
Finally, we agree that this historic opportunity to improve our health care system should not be lost. And so we urge the President and members of Congress from both parties to find common ground and move ahead on health care reform.
Fact vs. Fiction: Health Insurance Reform
Claim: There is inadequate competition in the insurance market and insurer profits are high
Fact: There is significant competition in local health insurance markets. There is a median of 27 carriers serving the small group market in each state, with a range varying from four insurers in Hawaii to more than 300 in Indiana (GAO, 2009). Moreover, health plan profits are much lower than most other industries – averaging 2-3 percent per year. Health plan profits have declined in 2009.

Claim: A high percentage of premium dollars go towards private plans’ administrative costs.
Fact: Private health plans’ administrative expenses are much lower than commonly perceived. Based on 2007 data from Sherlock Co., administrative expenses represented 9 percent of premiums and costs for small employers and individual insurance were 11 percent and 16 percent of premiums respectively, amounts that are two to three times lower than commonly cited.
Additionally, according to a PriceWaterhouse Coopers report, the health care premium increases between 2004 and 2005 were driven by increased utilization (43 percent), general inflation (27percent) and health care price increases in excess of inflation (30 percent). The last category was driven by increased costs of labor, higher-priced technologies, provider consolidation and movement among purchaser toward broader-access health plans. Administrative costs are not cited as a cost driver.