The NYT today has a good story and potent reminder of a very central fight here on healthcare reform. Its called subsidies. The more generous subsidies that are provided the more access and less hardship Americans will have in attaining healthcare.
Interesting information-and worrisome information here. The AARP and Amer Cancer Soc are protesting both House and Sen proposals saying they do not provide enough subsidies esp for the middle class.
Senators Wyden and Snowe express great concern that there are not large enough subsidies here for meaningful reform. Wyden says struggling middle class families may wonder where is OUR HELP. Perhaps Wyden and Snowe could work together to increase subsidies instead of slowing the bill,no?
HCAN is alarmed by Blue Dog proposals to limit subsidies at 300pct over FPL. They want a cap. That will severely harm the reform bill and deprive many of healthcare. We must resist Blue Dog compromises such as this.
Caps of out of expenses are in the House and HELP bills. But some of these orgs say the caps do not include premiums or out of network specialty care. The fact that AARP and Cancer Soc are telling Congress to boost relief for families are critical. We must make sure they get this right.
Interesting information-and worrisome information here. The AARP and Amer Cancer Soc are protesting both House and Sen proposals saying they do not provide enough subsidies esp for the middle class.
Senators Wyden and Snowe express great concern that there are not large enough subsidies here for meaningful reform. Wyden says struggling middle class families may wonder where is OUR HELP. Perhaps Wyden and Snowe could work together to increase subsidies instead of slowing the bill,no?
HCAN is alarmed by Blue Dog proposals to limit subsidies at 300pct over FPL. They want a cap. That will severely harm the reform bill and deprive many of healthcare. We must resist Blue Dog compromises such as this.
July 27, 2009
Reach of Subsidies Is Critical Issue for Health Plan
By ROBERT PEAR
WASHINGTON — The major health care bills moving through Congress would require nearly all Americans to have health insurance. But as lawmakers struggle to achieve the goal of universal coverage, a critical question is whether the plans will be affordable to those who are currently uninsured.
All the bills offer some kind of assistance to lower-income people who do not get health benefits through the workplace. The bills would provide premium subsidies to millions of people and would establish limits on consumers’ out-of-pocket costs. But lawmakers and consumer groups say insurance could still be out of reach for many families with modest incomes who receive small subsidies or none at all.
"We have to make sure that the health plans are affordable to average Americans, and to low-wage workers who are not eligible for Medicaid, because they would confront a penalty if they do not have health insurance," said Senator Olympia J. Snowe of Maine, a Republican who is leading efforts to forge a bipartisan bill.
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...Senator Ron Wyden, Democrat of Oregon, acknowledged that "there are some questions" about whether insurance would be affordable. "People who are making $50,000 or $60,000 a year and are spending $13,000 on health insurance may not get much of a subsidy," said Mr. Wyden, a member of the Finance Committee. "Those people will ask, ‘How am I going to make this work for me and my family?’ "
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In a letter to Congress last week, advocates for patients — including AARP, the American Cancer Society and the American Heart Association — said the affordability of insurance was "of paramount importance."
After analyzing the leading House and Senate bills, Stephen E. Finan, a health economist at the cancer society, said, "Subsidies do not appear to be adequate even for coverage in the lowest-cost plans." ..."Under the bill approved by the Senate health committee," Mr. Finan said, "a family with annual income of $40,000 could obtain subsidies, but would still have to pay premiums of $1,760 a year and might have to pay as much as $2,320 in co-payments and deductibles, for a total of $4,080, or 10 percent of family income. And they might have to pay more if they use specialists outside the network of doctors in their health plan."
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Under the House bill and a similar measure approved by the Senate health committee, premium subsidies would be available to families with incomes up to four times the poverty level, or $88,200 for a family of four. With income at that level, a family could be required to pay as much as 12.5 percent of its income in premiums under the Senate bill and 11 percent under the House measure. ...Lower-income families would receive more help. A family of four with income of $34,000 might pay 1 percent to 3 percent of its income in premiums.
But lawmakers said that federal aid for low-income families could be pared back as Congress struggles to hold down the overall cost ...The Senate Finance Committee is considering proposals to limit eligibility for subsidies, a move favored by some fiscally conservative Democrats in the House Blue Dog Coalition. One proposal would bar subsidies for people with incomes over 300 percent of the poverty level ($66,150 for a family of four.)
http://www.nytimes.com/...