EasyToInsureME This Week in Health Reform: November 20, 2009

This week focused on the unveiling of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's (D-NV) proposed health care reform legislation.

Quoting & Saving just got easier...EasyToInsureME Health Insurance Quotes... Quote all carriers in seconds

Individual health insurance
Health insurance quote

House and Senate Negotiations

Reid
Unveils Senate Bill: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid unveiled his
version of health care reform legislation on Wednesday night after
receiving cost estimates from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO).
With a price tag of $849 billion over ten years, the bill will reduce
the deficit by $127 billion over a decade and cut Medicare spending by
$500 billion, while increasing taxes by $500 billion. In addition, the
bill will:

* Provide coverage for 31 million Americans who
currently lack health insurance - accounting for 94 percent of eligible
Americans
* Offer a government-run option of which states can opt out
* Expand Medicaid
* Require most Americans to carry health insurance, providing subsidies
for those who cannot afford it and imposing weak penalties for
violations
* Bar insurance companies from denying coverage based on
pre-existing conditions or dropping coverage for those who become sick
* Impose penalties on medium and large sized employers for not providing health insurance to employees
* Increase the Medicare payroll tax on higher-income workers
* Imposes fees totaling $101.9 billion on insurance companies, drug makers, and medical device manufacturers over ten years
* Impose a tax on high-cost health insurance plans provided by employers to their employees.

While
Democrats remain committed to passing the legislation, it is not
certain that Reid has the 60 votes needed to bring the measure to the
floor for debate. Several moderate democrats, including Sens. Mary L.
Landrieu of Louisiana, Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas and Ben Nelson of
Nebraska have expressed concerns over the inclusion of a government-run
plan. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), however, expressed in a meeting Monday
night with Reid that liberal lawmakers had conceded enough ground on
the government-run plan and that he should push forward with the bill.

Members
of the Senate will convene on Saturday for a rare weekend session to
hold a procedural vote, deciding whether or not to bring the
legislation to the Senate floor for debate.

Immigration and
Abortion Remain Central to the Debate: Access to care for illegal
immigrants will continue to be contentious as lawmakers work to
reconcile the health care legislation passed by the House and pending
in the Senate. Under the bill approved by the House, illegal immigrants
would not be barred from using their own money in the newly-created
insurance exchanges. White House officials and members of the Senate
Finance Committee, however, pledged that undocumented workers be barred
not only from receiving subsidies but also from buying insurance
through federally sponsored exchanges - even with their own money.

As
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid works to finalize the legislation, he
will also need to address the question of federal funding for
abortions, an issue that has proved starkly divisive. Because of
pressure from the Catholic Church and anti-abortion groups, the
House-approved bill restricts the use of taxpayer funds for abortions,
a decision that has sparked a heated debate among pro-choice and
pro-life advocacy organizations. In contrast, the Senate's proposed
bill would allow the use of federal funds for abortion in cases of rape
and incest, requiring insurers that cover elective abortions to
segregate money from Americans who get government subsidies.

Public Opinion

Polls
Continue to Show Deep Divisions: A new Washington Post-ABC News poll
shows that Americans are deeply divided over the current health care
proposals and that the majority believes costs will rise. Forty-eight
percent say they support the proposed changes to overhaul the health
care system, whereas 49 percent are opposed. In addition, 52 percent
say an altered system would probably make their own care more
expensive, and 56 percent see the overall cost of health care in the
country going up as a result of the reform.

Furthermore, a
recent Associated Press (AP) poll shows that Americans are split (43
percent opposed; 41 percent support) over the health care plans being
discussed in Congress. The AP poll also suggests that the public is
becoming more attuned to the details of the proposals, including the
cost implications and the public option. And, according to a Quinnipiac
University poll released Thursday, 53 percent of voters disapprove of
President Barack Obama's handling of health care reform.

However,
a new CBS News poll shows that only one in four Americans prefer to
have no health care legislation at all, while 51 percent support a bill
with a public option.

Other Activities

CMS Report
Indicates Costs Would Rise Under House Bill: According to a report
issued by Richard Foster, the chief actuary at the Centers for Medicare
and Medicaid (CMS), overall spending on health care would rise as a
result of the legislation approved by the House. Specifically, the
measure to reduce more than $500 billion from future Medicare spending
would sharply reduce benefits for some seniors and may jeopardize
access to care for millions of others.

Drug Makers Increase
Price, Anticipating Health Reform: The media has reported that the drug
industry has been raising prices at its fastest rate in years, in
anticipation of the costs associated with health care reform. These
costs include the $80 billion in fees over the next decade that the
industry agreed to in order to help pay for coverage of the
uninsured.On Wednesday, Democrats in Congress asked for two separate
investigations of drug industry pricing.

Economists Endorse
Health Care Reform Bill: Twenty-three high profile economists from
universities and think tanks sent a letter to President Obama on
Tuesday to support four important elements of health reform legislation
critical to its success: deficit neutrality, an excise tax on high-cost
insurance plans, an independent Medicare commission, and delivery
system reforms.

Looking Ahead

The Senate will convene on
Saturday for a procedural vote, deciding whether or not to bring the
legislation to the Senate floor for debate. Debate could continue
throughout the weekend.