Little Known Provision in ObamaCare A Boon to Consumers ... I don't need a teleprompter with these tikes .... do I?
I have long argued that the impact of the Affordable Care Act is not nearly as big of a deal as opponents would have you believe. At the end of the day, the law is – in the main – little more than a successful effort to put an end to some of the more egregious health insurer abuses while creating an environment that should bring more Americans into programs that will give them at least some of the health care coverage they need.
There is, however, one notable exception – and it’s one that should have a long lasting and powerful impact on the future of health care in our country.
That would be the provision of the law, called the medical loss ratio, that requires health insurance companies to spend 80% of the consumers’ premium dollars they collect—85% for large group insurers—on actual medical care rather than overhead, marketing expenses and profit. Failure on the part of insurers to meet this requirement will result in the insurers having to send their customers a rebate check representing the amount in which they underspend on actual medical care.
NOW FOR THE RUB ... A LITTLE SALT IN THE WOUND!!!
As POTUS requests even more money, we learn that the completely "paid for" health care plan has even more "little known" provisions.
Starting in 2012, the government will charge a new fee to your health insurance plan for research to find out which drugs, medical procedures, tests and treatments work best. But what will Americans do with the answers?
The goal of the research, part of a little-known provision of President Barack Obama's health care law, is to answer such basic questions as whether that new prescription drug advertised on TV really works better than an old generic costing much less.
It'd be so great to have biking paths everywhere!
That's in the health care bill.
And it'd be so great to have calories on every menu!
That's in the health care law.
And it'd be so great to have gyms and healthy alternatives in businesses!
That's in the health care law.
Breast feeding rooms in businesses.
National health education programs.
"Free" school clinics.
Easier lawsuits against nursing homes.
A requirement that insurers spend at least 80% on patients (NOTED ABOVE!).
Sound great?
Who's going to want to run a company that can't make a profit?
The government, of course.
Which gets to determine who gets treatment.
This is why doctors, silent for so long, are against Obamacare:
That increase is in large part thanks to Obamacare. Instead of relieving high insurance premiums, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates that American families in the non-group market will see their premiums rise $2,100.
They’re already trending higher. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, average family premiums in 2011 topped $15,000 — a 9 percent increase from 2010. Prior to Obamacare’s passage — from 2009 to 2010 — premiums went up just 3 percent.
NOW FOR THE RUB ... A LITTLE SALT IN THE WOUND!!!
As POTUS requests even more money, we learn that the completely "paid for" health care plan has even more "little known" provisions.
Starting in 2012, the government will charge a new fee to your health insurance plan for research to find out which drugs, medical procedures, tests and treatments work best. But what will Americans do with the answers?
The goal of the research, part of a little-known provision of President Barack Obama's health care law, is to answer such basic questions as whether that new prescription drug advertised on TV really works better than an old generic costing much less.
A law as far-reaching as last month's health care reform legislation with 2,407 pages and a $940 billion price tag is bound to contain programs and grants that are overlooked.
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA H.R. 3590) includes millions in spending on a smorgasbord of programs designed to improve your health outside the doctor's office. With grants for everything from revamping school clinics, to designing sidewalks to encourage walking, health care reform could be a gold mine if you're looking to improve your family's health without spending your own money to do it.
It'd be so great to have biking paths everywhere!
That's in the health care bill.
And it'd be so great to have calories on every menu!
That's in the health care law.
And it'd be so great to have gyms and healthy alternatives in businesses!
That's in the health care law.
Breast feeding rooms in businesses.
National health education programs.
"Free" school clinics.
Easier lawsuits against nursing homes.
A requirement that insurers spend at least 80% on patients (NOTED ABOVE!).
Sound great?
Who's going to want to run a company that can't make a profit?
The government, of course.
Which gets to determine who gets treatment.
This is why doctors, silent for so long, are against Obamacare:
That increase is in large part thanks to Obamacare. Instead of relieving high insurance premiums, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates that American families in the non-group market will see their premiums rise $2,100.
They’re already trending higher. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, average family premiums in 2011 topped $15,000 — a 9 percent increase from 2010. Prior to Obamacare’s passage — from 2009 to 2010 — premiums went up just 3 percent.
