Will healthcare reform give us a public health option?
Have you done your research on what is being proposed on healthcare reform and the possible public health option or do you believe what you hear on the radio and see on the TV?
Read the information below and see if it gives you a clearer picture on what is truly being proposed. We at Texas Health and Life do have an obvious interest in keeping health insurance in the private market but we also agree that we need the health insurance companies to develop better ways to control premiums from year to year. It makes our job much easier when we can keep a customer with a carrier for 3 to 4 years rather than moving them every year because the premium has gone up over 20%–ridiculous! We are not supporting either side of a political view in our blog but just the position that healthcare reform needs to be a complete overhaul of our current system and not the public health option.
Read some interesting information below about the bad and some good of the proposed healthcare reform:
The large proposed cuts of federal reimbursements to hospitals are also of particular concern. Hospitals are required to provide millions of dollars in uncompensated care to uninsured residents. Our rural hospitals, which serve a low number of patients, operate with little to no profit margin. Reducing these hospitals’ badly needed federal reimbursements could result in reduced services, or even worse, the closure of entire facilities. Additionally, to keep their doors open, hospitals may be forced to pass these cuts to patients with private insurance, resulting in even higher premiums and driving up health care costs further in Texas.
The proposals being put forward will reduce patient choices, drive insurance companies out of business and have minimal impact on the uninsured population. Further, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office has repeatedly stated that both House and Senate bills will not bend the curve on cost growth over the long term.
Reform must provide an opportunity for everyone who wants health insurance to obtain it. The insurance market must be one in which competition is encouraged between insurance providers based on transparency and value, making health insurance a buyer’s market in which patients have affordable choices and know what plans cost and offer. The Health Care Freedom Plan would provide a $2,000 voucher for individuals and $5,000 voucher for families to purchase health insurance on the private market. Increasing the number of insured will increase competition in the market place and bring down costs. This bill ensures individuals receive the same tax benefits that businesses receive for health insurance coverage, allows individuals to keep their insurance policy, and lets them keep the doctors they trust even if they change jobs. By enacting these reforms, and by simultaneously containing skyrocketing costs through payment reform, prevention initiatives, and the provision of adequate care for those with chronic conditions, we could achieve quality health care reform.
Thanks for reading and be well!
To learn more about health insurance, visit http://www.texashealthandlife.com.
Tags: Government Healthcare, health insurance reform, healthcare reform, Public Health Option, Texas Health Insurance
