obamacare: improving reform’s bill of health presented by keith wilkerson, jordaan williams, &...
TRANSCRIPT
ObamaCare: Improving Reform’s Bill of Health
Presented by Keith Wilkerson,
Jordaan Williams, & Timothy Wirth
February 8, 2010
Introduction
President Obama and Congress are attempting to push through healthcare reform legislation
Despite having many supporters early on, effort has lost steam in the people
Since lawmakers continue to push healthcare reform, the content of the legislation must be helping a lack in popularity
History of Healthcare Reform
1912 – Theodore Roosevelt runs for President with social insurance on platform
1915 – American Association of Labor Legislation publishes draft bill of health insurance
1934 – President Franklin D. Roosevelt pushes for national healthcare as part of the New Deal
1939 – First Blue Shield plans for physician care
History of Healthcare Reform
1948 – National Health Assembly encourages universal health coverage
1965 - Medicare and Medicaid signed into law
1993 – President Clinton’s Health Security Act Introduced to Congress
2006 – Massachusetts provides for healthcare coverage to nearly all residents
2009 – Reform Efforts by President Obama
Current Healthcare Reform Bill
For Those Already With Health Insurance:
No more discrimination for pre-existing conditions
Limit of discrimination based on gender and age
Insurance companies cannot “drop” you if you get sick
Cap of Out-of Pocket Expenses and no extra fees for preventive care
Current Healthcare Reform Bill
For Medicare Beneficiaries:
Protection of Medicare for Seniors
Elimination of “the donut-hole” coverage gap
Current Healthcare Reform Bill
For Those Without Insurance:
New Insurance marketplace
Tax credits for insurance
Public health insurance option
Current Healthcare Reform Bill
For Everyone:
Won’t add to the deficit
Additional cuts to Plan if savings don’t happen
Includes numerous cost-cutting and fraud prevention measures
Coverage requirement of certain employers
Suggestions
The overall cost to government of a healthcare program must be reduced
Improve and/or change elements of the plan so as not to make beneficiaries and the country worse off
Federal Government Needs to Play a Larger Role in Shaping and Overseeing the Healthcare System
The Cost of Healthcare
Total cost of a program would be around $900 Billion over 10 years
If Congress passed a healthcare bill, the budget deficit will inflate to $239 Billion over the same 10 year period
Reducing the Cost of Healthcare
Ways of Securing Money to cover the cost:
Squeeze Savings out of Medicare and Medicaid$465 Billion over 10 years
Tax the Wealthy$544 Billion over 10 years
Tax Employee Health Insurance Benefits$418.5 Billion over 10 years
Reducing the Cost of Healthcare
Ways of securing money to cover the cost:
Limit itemized deductions of the wealthy$267 Billion over 10 years
Penalize employers who do not offer health insurance$163 Billion over 10 years
Changing the Scope and Coverage of the Plan
Least Popular Elements of the Plan:Mandate for Individual Insurance or Penalty
Government Defined “Basic” Package
Late Effective Date
Limited Increase in Medicare Payments to Providers
Changing the Scope and Coverage of the Plan
Individual Plan MandatePatients don’t mind having health insurance because it
is often cheaper to have as compared to paying out-of-pocket
Patients don’t want to be charged, however, for NOT having health insurance
Government Defined “Basic” PlanAs always, patients would prefer not to be told what to
have in a plan Insurance companies are the sameGovernment should provide guidelines for plans, but
should not mandate a specific set of benefits
Changing the Scope and Coverage of the Plan
Late Effective DatePatients do not wish to wait until after Obama leaves
office for legislation to take effectEffective date needs to be moved closer to the
present so patients can begin to be covered or save money
Limited Increase in Medicare Payments to ProvidersPhysicians and Pharmacists are already being paid
very little for services rendered to Medicare patients Increases in Medicare payments are necessary for
providers to stay in business and control costs
Healthcare Regulation
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is really the only government agency that regulates healthcare
The FDA regulates drug trials, pharmaceutical research and development, and determines which technologies are available to be used for research
Healthcare Regulation
There can be no real market for healthcare unless the government sets the rules for one
The government would need a large role in shaping and overseeing the system
Healthcare Regulation
Possible ideas include:
Set up a national technology assessment board
Create an ethics board to review hospitals and insurance companies
Discussion Points
Reducing the Cost
Americans already pay higher taxes, and increasing government spending may result in higher taxes
Employers that do not offer health insurance should still be required to help in paying for their employee’s insurance
Obama said he plans to tax the wealthy…why not a better way to start!
Discussion Points
Changing the Scope and Coverage of the Plan
Patients shouldn’t be penalized for a lack of health insurance while paying higher taxes for it
By having legislation become effective earlier, patients are sure to be covered by insurance and saving money earlier
Although the government might find an advantage to controlling the benefits in a health plan, it is to the patient’s advantage to have differences in plans
Increased payments by Medicare to providers will help keep high-quality care in the United States
Discussion Points
Healthcare Regulation
Healthcare is relatively unregulated
Costs become unnecessarily high and patients are stuck paying the difference in their co-pays and out-of-pocket expenses
Since there is really no market in healthcare, there is comparatively little competition, and costs are allowed to skyrocket
Review Boards can be sure that technology is state of the art
Conclusion
Changes in cost, coverage, and regulation are requisite to having President Obama’s healthcare plan regain support from voters
With these changes, constituents will most likely support national healthcare
Having a reformed healthcare system will improve one of the more sophisticated systems in the world
References
Feldman, R.D. (Ed.). (2000). American Health Care Government, Market Practices, and the Public Interest. New York: Transaction.
Kaiser Family Foundation (n.d.). Timeline: History of Health Reform Efforts in the U.S. Retrieved February 6, 2010, from http://healthreform.kff.org/flash/health-reform-new.htm
Kaiser Family Foundation (2009, September). Kaiser Health Tracking Poll: September 2009. Retrieved February 6, 2010, from http://www.kff.org/kaiserpolls/upload/7989.pdf
Kaiser Family Foundation (2010, January). Kaiser Health Tracking Poll: January 2010. Retrieved February 6, 2010, from http://www.kff.org/kaiserpolls/upload/8042-C.pdf
Terry, K. (2007). Rx for Health Care Reform. New York: Vanderbilt UP.
The White House (n.d.). The Obama Plan: Stability and Security for All Americans. Retrieved February 7, 2010, from http://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/health-care/plan