FACT CHECK: Premiums would rise under Obama's plan

[Bev]

Equitable healthcare/healthcare coverage the goal? Don't think so. According to this article, Obama's plan is deceiving, he has misquoted it several times, and the meat of the benefit is for people who are already buying healthcare insurance. Save your excitement, Da-Rufe. There's nothing remarkable about what Obama's trying to do, other than leave Washington and be able to say he was the first President to really reform healthcare in America. That and the one-step-closer-to-socialism thing, of course. Read on:

WASHINGTON – Buyers, beware: President Barack Obama says his health care overhaul will lower premiums by double digits, but check the fine print.

Premiums are likely to keep going up even if the health care bill passes, experts say. If cost controls work as advertised, annual increases would level off with time. But don't look for a rollback. Instead, the main reason premiums would be more affordable is that new government tax credits would help cover the cost for millions of people.

Listening to Obama pitch his plan, you might not realize that's how it works.

Visiting a Cleveland suburb this week, the president described how individuals and small businesses will be able to buy coverage in a new kind of health insurance marketplace, gaining the same strength in numbers that federal employees have.

"You'll be able to buy in, or a small business will be able to buy into this pool," Obama said. "And that will lower rates, it's estimated, by up to 14 to 20 percent over what you're currently getting. That's money out of pocket."

And that's not all.

Obama asked his audience for a show of hands from people with employer-provided coverage, what most Americans have.

"Your employer, it's estimated, would see premiums fall by as much as 3,000 percent," said the president, "which means they could give you a raise."

A White House press spokesman later said the president misspoke; he had meant to say annual premiums would drop by $3,000.

It could be a long wait.

"There's no question premiums are still going to keep going up," said Larry Levitt of the Kaiser Family Foundation, a research clearinghouse on the health care system. "There are pieces of reform that will hopefully keep them from going up as fast. But it would be miraculous if premiums actually went down relative to where they are today."

The statistics Obama based his claims on come from two sources. In both cases, the caveats got left out.

A report for the Business Roundtable, an association of big company CEOs, was the source for the claim that employers could save $3,000 per worker on health care costs, the White House said.

Issued in November, the report looked generally at proposals that Democrats were considering to curb health care costs, concluding they had the potential to significantly reduce future increases.

But the analysis didn't consider specific legislation, much less the final language being tweaked this week. It's unclear to what degree the bill that the House is expected to vote on within days would reduce costs for employers.

An analysis by the Congressional Budget Office of earlier Senate legislation suggested savings could be fairly modest.

It found that large employers would see premium savings of at most 3 percent compared with what their costs would have been without the legislation. That would be more like a few hundred dollars instead of several thousand.

The claim that people buying coverage individually would save 14 percent to 20 percent comes from the same budget office report, prepared in November for Sen. Evan Bayh, D-Ind. But the presidential sound bite fails to convey the full picture.

The budget office concluded that premiums for people buying their own coverage would go up by an average of 10 percent to 13 percent, compared with the levels they'd reach without the legislation. That's mainly because policies in the individual insurance market would provide more comprehensive benefits than they do today.

For most households, those added costs would be more than offset by the tax credits provided under the bill, and they would pay significantly less than they have to now.

The premium reduction of 14 percent to 20 percent that Obama cites would apply only to a portion of the people buying coverage on their own — those who decide they want to keep the skimpier kinds of policies available today.

Their costs would go down because more young people would be joining the risk pool and because insurance company overhead costs would be lower in the more efficient system Obama wants to create.

The president usually alludes to that distinction in his health care stump speech, saying the savings would accrue to those people who continue to buy "comparable" coverage to what they have today.

But many of his listeners may not pick up on it.

"People are likely to not buy the same low-value policies they are buying now," said health economist Len Nichols of George Mason University. "If they did buy the same value plans ... the premium would be lower than it is now. This makes the White House statement true. But is it possibly misleading for some people? Sure."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100317/ap_ ... fact_check


I wonder how many items on his agenda will be passed because of the Kool-Aid-drinkin' people who elected this unqualified snake oil salesman, thinking he would be their personal panacea, and would never suspect a wolf beneath the sheep's clothing. He can always retract his promises later by saying he "misspoke." Oopsie. Bygones, right?

When is this country going to hold that idiot accountable for what he says and does, and how long does he get to gas on about "the mess he inherited?"

Dear Obama: You got yourself elected by the fools who believed your claims of having all the fixes...so fix it; it's your mess now.

Even some of the die-hard Dem's are bailing right and left because even they don't want to be associated with this Democratic Debacle. You know it's bad when Evan Bayh, the spawn of that borderline Communist Birch Bayh, would walk away from public office under his own volition. I never thought I'd see it in my lifetime. If he comes back to Indiana, I hope he limits his endeavors to a Dairy Queen or some such, and calls it a day, lol. Although he wasn't quite as revolting as his dad.

[bluegrass]

Bev, I read this story this morning too and not only will premiums go up but watch UNEMPLOYMENT skyrocket in the years immdediately following implementation of so called health care reform. Once employers are mandated to provide a certain level of coverage (one that the government KNOWS already that most small business owners cannot comply with) they will be compelled to release their workers into the government ran fiasco or cut them loose to avoid fines for NOT providing a certain level of coverage. The days of PRIVATE insurance are numbered if this passes.

Ever wonder WHY the pharmaceutical companies are so much IN FAVOR of this bill??? Its because they will be able to charge the GOVERNMENT outrageous prices for their products. When our idiotic government pays 700.00 for a toilet seat you KNOW the pharmacy suppliers are foaming at the mouth to get a piece of THAT action.

Imagine that Rufus and Hippee...you have something in common with BIG BUSINESS...at least the Pharmaceutical Sector. Must gall you to no end to know you are in bed with THEM!!!!!!!


Sarah Palin 2012
Long Live Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck



Tony

[Bev]

Bev, I read this story this morning too and not only will premiums go up but watch UNEMPLOYMENT skyrocket in the years immdediately following implementation of so called health care reform. Once employers are mandated to provide a certain level of coverage (one that the government KNOWS already that most small business owners cannot comply with) they will be compelled to release their workers into the government ran fiasco or cut them loose to avoid fines for NOT providing a certain level of coverage.

Yup, and it will be the straw that pushes some businesses to close their doors altogether.

[tommyg]

Bev- Bluegrass this is the plan.The more ppl that are beholden to the Government the more they control votes. After all who would vote against free money and not having to work? The Liberals say they care but if they cared about the US they would provide jobs and follow the Constitution. The Way things are going the ppl that work will provide for more and more entitlements. What happens when no one works? What happens when 40% takes care of 60%? The Liberals want power they are willing to destroy the very fabric of America to get it. If this is not evident to the American ppl by now it never will be. Watch what happens when they take over HC by going around the Constitution,Doctors will quit,health care will go way down hill,jobs will be lost. The Unions will get a sweetheart deal because they support corruption. Unions are the single most damageing thing to ever happen in the US,they are nothing but the Socialist party of America. Maybe one day they will be broken forever,hopefully.

[Pine Mt Beagles]

By Janet Adamy
An opening tussle at the White House health summit centered on one of the most vexing aspects of the health overhaul: will the Democrats’ bill lower insurance premiums?

Sen. Lamar Alexander (R., Tenn.) touched off a debate with President Barack Obama, saying that the Democrats’ bill wouldn’t actually lower most consumers’ insurance costs. The president replied that the Congressional Budget Office, the nonpartisan scorekeeper on Capitol Hill, had found the Senate bill would lower insurance premiums by 14% to 20%. As to the criticism that it could send premiums up, he said, that’s only because certain consumers would be buying more-comprehensive coverage. “They didn’t say that the actual premiums would be going up,” Obama told Alexander.

The actual impacts of the bill are more complicated. Overall, the report that the president cited found that, for most Americans, the Senate bill would keep their insurance premiums roughly the same. Employees of small firms would effectively see their insurance premiums unchanged, while workers at large firms would see something between unchanged and slightly lower premiums under the bill, according to the analysis, which was released in late November.

More than half of people buying their own coverage would qualify for the new insurance tax credits, available to families of four earning up to $88,000 a year. Those credits would significantly lower their health-insurance costs, leaving them paying 56% to 59% less than if no bill were passed.

The wrinkle in whether this would actually increase premiums is that consumers buying policies on their own with a new insurance exchange would be required to buy plans that, on average, are more generous than the ones they currently have. Because of that, they would pay higher premiums, the report found.

So overall, the bills would mean that more consumers would pay less for their insurance.
==
==OPINIONS VARY====WHO DOES THE GOVERNMENT REALLY =TAKE CARE OF= THE VERY= RICH OR THE POOR AND MIDDLE CLASS.==YOU ARE GOING TO SAY THE= POOR BECAUSE THE= RICH PAY'S MORE TAXES,AND THE GOVERNMENT GIVES ALL THESE= SOCIAL PROGRAMS TO THE POOR===BUT==THE GOVERNMENT GIVES MORE IN TAX INCENTIVES AND BREAKS=TO THE RICH==THE TOP 1%= AND BIG BUSINESS=IN ONE YEAR THAN HEALTH CARE WOULD COST FOR SEVERAL YEARS==

[bluemouse]

Not trying to hi-jack but though this would also drive home this point of dicussion. For the first time in history goverment workers are being paid more than people in the private sector. Goverment does not produce one red cent and their wages are going up with bigger goverment to support.

[Rabbithoundjb]

I guess the rich do get more tax breaks than than the poor, a lot of the poor don't pay any taxes so who is the government helping more, it's not the rich or they wouldn't be paying more.

If one preson is paying little to none than its fair for the rest to pay little or none. MY POINT IS EVERYONE SHOULD PAY THIER FAIR SHARE NOT ROB ONE GROUP TO SUPPORT ANOTHER.

[Pine Mt Beagles]

FACT CHECK: Premiums would rise under Obama's plan
by bluemouse on Thu Mar 18, 2010 7:31 am

Not trying to hi-jack but though this would also drive home this point of dicussion. For the first time in history goverment workers are being paid more than people in the private sector. Goverment does not produce one red cent and their wages are going up with bigger goverment to support.bluemouse

---
==Goverment does not produce one red cent and their wages are going up with bigger goverment to support.bluemouse
==
==JUST WHO IS THE GOVERNMENT=THE GOVERNMENT IS MADE UP OF PEOPLE= JUST LIKE US= THEY GO TO WORK DO THEIR JOB GO HOME=THEY CONTROL THE MILITARY =LAW ENFORCEMENT=CONSTRUCTION OF ROAD'S=TRANSPORTATION=MONITOR PLANES= TRAINS= AUTOMOBILES=SCHOOL'S=WATER SUPPLY ETC.A LOT OF THING'S EVERY DAY PEOPLE TAKE FOR GRANTED===WHEN I'AM TALKING ABOUT THE ==GOVERNMENT I'AM TALKING ABOUT=== POILTICIAN'S===ON BOTH SIDES=NOT EVERY DAY WORKERS.==I DON'T NOW IF THEY GOT A COST OF LIVING RAISE THIS YEAR OR NOT,BUT I THINK MOST OF YOU DID=
==-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

by Rabbithoundjb on Thu Mar 18, 2010 7:37 am

I guess the rich do get more tax breaks than than the poor, a lot of the poor don't pay any taxes so who is the government helping more, it's not the rich or they wouldn't be paying more.

By Rabbithound
If one preson is paying little to none than its fair for the rest to pay little or none. MY POINT IS EVERYONE SHOULD PAY THIER FAIR SHARE NOT ROB ONE GROUP TO SUPPORT ANOTHER.
==
===MY OPINION
==I WOULD SUPPORT A 10% FLAT TAX ACROSS THE BOARD===AND THE POOR DO PAY TAXES IT'S JUST NOT INCOME TAXES=AND A LOT OF POOR PEOPLE DO PAY INCOME TAXES=

[bluegrass]

If one preson is paying little to none than its fair for the rest to pay little or none. MY POINT IS EVERYONE SHOULD PAY THIER FAIR SHARE NOT ROB ONE GROUP TO SUPPORT ANOTHER.




Uh....WHAT?????????????????????????



Nice statement Sybil.

[Chief Long Hair]

THE SKY IS FALLING !!!!! THE SKY IS FALLING!!!!!

Do you like my big blue crayon better?

[Bev]

So did you go to the meeting, or did you punk out?

[Pine Mt Beagles]

THIS IS BEFORE THE HEALTH CARE IS PASSED.

Premiums Rise, Insurance Industry Profits Increase, Health Care Costs Cripple Working Families
Anthem Blue Cross of California announced that its individual market premiums would rise by as much as 39 percent in the coming months. After Secretary Sebelius and state officials asked for a public justification for these increases, Anthem Blue Cross delayed raising its rates for two months.2

Anthem Blue Cross isn’t alone in insisting on premium hikes. Anthem of Connecticut requested an increase of 24 percent last year, which was rejected by the state.3 Anthem in Maine had an 18.5-percent premium increase rejected by the state last year as being “excessive and unfairly discriminatory”4 – but is now requesting a 23-percent increase this year.5

In 2009, Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Michigan requested approval for premium increases of 56 percent for plans sold on the individual market.6 Regency Blue Cross Blue Shield of Oregon requested a 20-percent premium increase.7 UnitedHealth, Tufts, and Blue Cross requested 13- to 16-percent rate increases in Rhode Island.8 And rates for some individual health plans in Washington increased by up to 40 percent until Washington State imposed stiffer premium regulations.9

Leading experts have predicted that, without reform, these increases will continue, and the federal government and most states don’t have the legal authority to block or reduce health insurance rate increases.10

WellPoint and others claim that the premium increases are necessary given the rise in health care costs. While rising health care costs is a known problem with our broken health care system, some of the premium increases requested by insurance companies are 5 to 10 times larger than the growth rate in national health expenditures.11 All the while, insurance companies and their CEOs continue to thrive.

Recent economic data show that profits for the ten largest insurance companies increased 250 percent between 2000 and 2009, ten times faster than inflation.12,13 Last year, as working families struggled with rising health care costs and a recession, the five largest health insurance companies – WellPoint, UnitedHealth Group, Cigna, Aetna, and Humana – took in combined profits of $12.2 billion, up 56 percent over 2008.14 These health insurance companies’ profits grew even as nominal GDP decreased by 1 percent over this same time period.15 WellPoint accumulated more than $2.7 billion in profits in the most recent quarter alone.16

And recent data show that the CEOs of America’s five largest insurers were each compensated up to $24 million in 2008.17

Now, while insurance companies enjoy increasing profits and CEOs take in millions, American families struggle to find and maintain affordable, quality insurance coverage.===== A recent study found that almost 75 percent of individuals looking for coverage on the individual market never bought a plan, with 61 percent of those who did not purchase insurance citing premium costs as the primary reason.
==
==NOW IF YOU CAN READ THIS= AND THINK= WE DON'T NEED HEALTH CARE REFORM==GOOD LUCK TO YOU===
==
==AND UNDER THE NEW BILL SMALL BUSINESS= WILL GET A BIG ENOUGH BREAK= TO ACTUALLY HIRE PEOPLE AND FURNISH=THEM HEALTH CARE=
=
=BUT ON ANOTHER NOTE UNEMPLOYMENT IS GOING TO GO UP =A LOT THIS YEAR =MOSTLY BECAUSE THE BIG BANK'S ARE SITTING ON THE STIMULAS MONEY= AND NOT GETTING IT TO SMALL BUSINESS=AND YES THERE IS A POLITICAL REASON FOR THIS==MUCH LIKE= WHY COAL MINES ARE HAVING TROUBLE GETTING PERMIT'S TO MINE==

[2500 HD]

Excuses and opinions.......... Still no facts!!!!!!!!!

[Rabbithoundjb]

Wrong PMB, most of the banks have paid back the loans, your democrats are sitting on the stimulas money so they plan their next pork spending orgy or maybe buy a few votes from their own party.

[bluemouse]

Pinenut if you get any dumber they might make a movie about you. great answer who is the goverment the people, well next time you ride by and see five leaning on a shovel while one digs a hole, holler out the window about the great job they are doing.