Washington, D.C. - Late Tuesday evening, Senate Democrats reached a tentative agreement on the health care reform bill which could replace the public insurance option with a non-profit insurance plan which would be run by the private insurance companies, but regulated by the government. In addition, the changes would also lower the eligibility age for Medicare from 65 to 55.
The proposal was created by the “gang of ten,” an even mix of liberal, moderate and conservative Democratic Senators created to find a resolution to the issues with the public option, and appears to have gained consensus within that group.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) stated of the compromise, “It goes without saying it's been kind of a long journey.” He continued, “Tonight we've overcome a real problem that we had. I think it's fair to say the debate at this stage has been portrayed as a very divisive one.”
In regard to the competition and choice role that the public option represented to health insurance reform, Reid remarked of the new proposals, “Insurance companies will certainly have more competition. The American people will certainly have more choices.”
Wary of a purely private approach, Senator Russ Feingold (D-WI) stated of the proposal, “We need to have some competition for the insurance industry to keep rates down and save taxpayer dollars. I will base my vote on the bill on the entirety of what is in the bill, and whether I think the bill is good for Wisconsin.”
Although exact details are yet to be released, instead of creating what was becoming a very limited public insurance option, the bill would create a non-profit insurance plan run by the private insurance companies, but regulated by the Office of Personnel Management. This would be similar to the insurance program presently open to government employees, including Congress. In addition, Medicare would be opened up to those of age 55 and higher so those of that age would have the option of buying Medicare coverage rather than coverage from private insurance companies.
Two possibly crucial votes, Senator Joe Lieberman (I-CT) and Senator Olympia Snowe (R-ME) await further details before deciding on the measure. Although an independent, Lieberman is a member of the Democratic caucus and could be the 60th vote that would be needed to bring the bill to cloture. Snowe, though opposed to a public insurance option, is the only Republican who has shown a legitimate willingness to work with the Democrats on health care reform.
Concerning the non-profit plan, Snowe stated, “It can be an innovative approach. I just would need to understand more about how it would work.”
Lieberman was cautious, yet said that the idea for a non-profit insurance plan was “an idea worth considering, so long as it remains private insurance companies that would be essentially regulated by OPM.” He also seemed open to the change in Medicare age requirements, though again, he gave a guarded response, “I want to make sure we're not adding a big additional burden to the Medicare program which we need to figure out how to save because it's going bankrupt.”
The proposed changes have gone to the CBO (Congressional Budget Office) for an analysis of the cost.
Additional expansions to Medicaid are also being discussed in order to help those of low income who cannot afford health insurance. It has been argued that the costs for such an expansion would partially pay for themselves due to reduced government cost in uninsured emergency room visits, as well as due to the application of preventive care. Medicaid is a government sponsored program similar to Medicare, designed to help those with low incomes. However, the program at present is selective; it is not open to all in a low income bracket. It only applies to those of low income who also meet other requirements.
Republicans submitted their own limited health care bill in November which would actually increase the number of uninsured by the year 2019.
The House of Representatives passed its version of health care reform at the end of October.
Copyright © 2009 by Raymond Gellner
Comments
I am a self-employed person (and Examiner writer) who cannot afford $400+ a month for mediocre health insurance. Yet our Senators and Congressman get free and excellent health care for life, paid for by my taxes! All Americans deserve equal health care. It is shameful that some Americans die of curable diseases simply because they cannot afford health insurance. Yes, I do feel like a slave who is exploited by the very representatives I elected to look out for my best interests!
Sometimes it is better to do nothing than go down the wrong path. This health care bill would be a perfect example.
Doubling the size of medicare when it is going backrupt in just a few short years will only make things worse. Many doctors already refuse to take additional medicare patients.
There are just too many holes to plug in this health care bill. The bill is just too intrusive to start with. The original problem was the uninsured but it has turned into a monster that wants to tamper with everyones health care, even if you don't want it to.
Eve, if we could do the things the Republicans are suggesting you would have the best chance to get what you need. This one size fits all monster the Democrats are pushing is going to bleed our country dry.
Any news on Climate Gate Ray?
Any news on ACORN Ray?
Any news on Honduras Ray?
SilverBuzzCafe:The Medicare Buy-In Compromise
A Senate working group is considering a Medicare buy-in option as an alternative to the hotly contested public option, which would provide an alternative insurance exchange in competition with the private insurers. Although full details aren’t available yet, it appears that it would allow people aged 55 and over to buy-in to Medicare at reasonable cost.
That sounds good at first, until you consider how many people might actually be able to use the new benefit and why the public option was needed. It looks suspiciously like a “feel-good” provision that will be largely useless at fixing the problems with the current system. Remember that half of the population is covered by private plans, a third by government run plans, and one sixth (around 44 million) have no health insurance.
Let’s look at the demographics a bit closer. The over-55s who might become eligible for the new option can be broken into various groups:
a) Single individ
Originally, I was most worried that each state would be able to opt out of the public option and that Georgia, the state in which I reside, would opt out, leaving me without ANY option. I am one of those "pre-existing condition" people that the Republicans say "really don't exist." I have been denied healthcare, then finally given healthcare, but at a gouged price. I am still not covered for my pre-existing condition, the reason for which I am paying the gouged price. Sound ridiculous? It is! The public option was to be my only option for affordable and useful healthcare. Without a public option, there will continue to be millions of Americans like me, who are being extorted on a daily basis by the insurance industry. We are paying dearly for something we're not getting, and they're allowed to drop us at any time. It should be a crime to be denied coverage, to be gouged for pre-existing conditions, and to be dropped for no "real" reason.
HEALTHCARE REFORM = GOVERNMENT CONTROL = REDISTRIBUTION OF WEALTH
Any news on Robert Creamer or George Soros Gellner?
"really don't exist."
Republicans never said any such thing. I think you are repeating something a Democrat said.
The problem we are getting into here is that People like Alisa think the government owes them something. The only problem is that the government has nothing unless it takes it from someone else.
Put yourself in the companies position, would you insure your neighbor if they had the same condition as you? Probably not because you know they would be a money pit and out strip any premiums they would pay. So dont think the insurance companies are ripping you off. They would probably rather not have you on their roles at all.
Insurance is to protect against UNFORSEEN accidents and such. Pre-existing conditions obviously do not fall under this category. What you need is a charity organization not an insurance company.
Republicans want to address the pre-existing condition without destroying everyone elses current insurance unlike the Democrats.
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