Even though the health insurance industry has backed a plan which will require them to accept all applicants regardless of pre-existing health conditions, they still have their doubts about the incoming presidents health reform proposal. One part of President-elect Barack Obamas proposal isnt sitting so well with health insurance companies ” the National Health Insurance Exchange.
The National Health Insurance Exchange would give Americans a choice between a private plan and a government sponsored plan. The premise is that by combining government sources and open market options, the insured will have more resources with which to tailor a custom plan. The New York Times reports Tom Daschle, the incoming HHS Secretary, as stating that the government’s plan is designed around the Medicare model.
The Medicare-like plan would compete with plans provided by private companies who participate in the Exchange. This would, proponents argue, enable more competition in the market and drive down rates. Not necessarily true, says the insurance industry. Their argument is that the Exchange wont do anything to make health insurance and health care more affordable ” in fact, the opposite. The health insurance industry points out that the Medicare-modeled plan would likely underpay doctors and hospitals for their services. This would cause providers to increase their prices for private plans to balance out their loss from the government plans.
A new public program similar to Medicare would exacerbate cost-shifting, which already adds $1,500, or 10 percent, to the average premium for a family of four, said Karen Ignagni, the president of Americas Health Insurance Plans. And it seems as if the president-elect is keeping his word about working across the aisle and giving everyone a seat at the negotiation table.
All parties are being welcomed to the thousands of meetings which have already been scheduled to discuss the issue of health care reform. Obama’s team has noted that the meetings are designed to bring all parties to the table, regardless of whether or not they agree, to participate in an open forum on the subject.
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