[open question to Michael Moore and to anybody else]
Michael has repeatedly argued that the part of HIR dealing with preexisting conditions will be too weak even after its full implementation in 2014. Mike says [1,2,3,4] that insurance companies will only be fined $100 per day for each person they deny coverage to based on preexisting conditions. If this is the case, then insurance companies will have a financial motivation to deny coverage if somebody's health costs would exceed $36,500 per year...
But somebody please tell me where this fine is located in the Senate bill. What section?
I have been unable to find this clause* and think Michael may be mistaken.
If he is not mistaken, then we (as health activists) must be able to actually point to where this is contained in the legislation. IMO we need another source for this claim (besides Mike) to be able to strengthen the enforcement of the ban on preexisting conditions. He seems to be the only person making this claim!
[The old House bill (HR 3962) did contain a section (423) that set a fine of $100 per day ON EMPLOYERS per employee that they do not help buy coverage. But that had nothing to do with insurance companies and preexisting conditions, and it is not part of the current health reform bill.]
Thank you to anybody who can help resolve this,
distraught
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* Note: I searched the MSM for information on this, and finding none, I went to the actual Senate bill. I scanned all the sections dealing with the word "penalty" or "penalties" and with the number "100". Maybe the $100 fine is buried in the bill somewhere, but I couldn't find it. I did find a section (page 79 of the full bill) that deals with penalties for lack of "certification and documentation of compliance with the standards [of the exchanges]" but those penalties appear to be levied according to the total number of people the health care plan covers, and I just don't understand how an insurance provider would be able to only comply with the standards on a case-by-case basis. (That fine looked like a max of $20 or $40 per person covered...but I didn't understand the legalese regarding the implementation of those penalties).
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Here are some places where Michael has argued this.
[1] DailyKos.com, MichaelMoore.com, CommonDreams, HuffingtonPost. "The Great Thing About the Health Care Law That Has Passed? It Will Save Republican Lives, Too." 22 March 2010.
And if they break the pre-existing ban that was passed last night, they'll only be fined $100 a day!
[2] CNN. video (3:30). "The Situation Room." 17 March 2010.
And this preexisting condition thing you mentioned. You know what the fine is if the insurance company decides to deny you, your preexisting condition? A hundred dollars a day. A hundred, one hundred dollars. Okay, so there going "geez, Wolf Blitzer needs an operation. Uh, that's going to cost us a hundred thousand dollars. Let's take the 100 dollar a day fine; he'll be dead within 3 months." That's exactly what's going to happen.
[3] DailyKos.com, MichaelMoore.com, CommonDreams, HuffingtonPost. "The Green They Steal, The Greed They Wear ...a St. Patrick's Day lament." 17 March 2010.
And how big will the fines be if the insurance companies do deny someone coverage for having a pre-existing condition? Are you sitting down? A hundred dollars a day! That's it! So if you're the insurance company, and Judy is a customer of yours, and Judy needs an operation that will cost $100,000, what do you do? You take the fine! Let's say Judy lives another year after you've sentenced her to death, your $100-a-day fine will only cost you $36,500! That's a savings of $63,500! And trust me, my friends, that's EXACTLY what's going to happen.
[4] MSNBC. "Countdown." 15 March 2010. Transcript
You know what this bill says if they deny you coverage? Let‘s say they deny you coverage because of a preexisting condition. The fine is 100 dollars a day per individual that you‘ve denied. Just think about that. The insurance company is going, so, for a year, that would be 36,500 dollars, but the operation is going to cost 100,000. You know what? I think we‘ll take the fine.