Thursday, November 26, 2009
All the bills presently in play the house bill and the two in the senate contain employer mandates, but differ to what degree. This has provoked a few layers of questions.The Senate Finance Committees bill penalize employers who dont propose their workers any kind of coverage, but stops short of making any requirements whereas the bills from the House and the Senate Health Committee flatout require employers offer their employees coverage. As a matter of fact, they go one step further: They require employers to contribute a significant share of the cost (except for small businesses) or pay a fine.
Thats a big difference. And its hard to tell which way Majority Leader Harry Reid will lean in his reconciliation of the two Senate bills alone.
Now, its true that for about 60 percent of Americans at big firms, the point is moot since they get their health insurance through their jobs, where they are covered at about 75 percent। But it isnt for those who work at smaller companies where coverage and employer contribution arent considerable
Its also important to note that anywhere from 2.3 to 2.6 million businesses are expected to opt to pay the penalty rather than offer group health insurance should that version of the mandate go into law.
It will be interesting to see which provision ends up in the final bill, and even more interesting to see how it pans out.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
The recent debate around how to best control burgeoning health costs, has pushed the issue of prevention to the forefront. That's right where it should be. By shifting our health care to be more pro-active and prevention-oriented, we can make a major impact on common and costly chronic diseases such as diabetes. In turn, this will help to secure the financial stability of our health care system and continued economic growth and prosperity.Over the past century, the burden of disease among Americans has shifted from delicate and infectious illness to chronic disease. With more than 75 cents of every dollar in this nation spent on patients with chronic disease, prevention offers the opportunity not to spend more money -- but spend smarter. By embracing prevention, we can help more Americans lead healthier, active lives free from disease, so that they can avoid costly complications and hospitalizations, and remain productive in their communities and workplaces by prevailing Health Insurance.
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