Barack Obama’s ambitious health care plan is fairly simple and straightforward. His plan seeks to dramatically and swiftly increase the number of people that have health insurance. He insists that this plan will save the typical American family approximately $2500 in annual costs. Since the average Ohio premium is less than most other states, savings to Ohio residents may average less than $2500.
The plan is designed to give the federal government more control over medical decisions and dollars, a major difference from the current decentralized system of employer-based insurance and state-based insurance regulation. Here in Ohio, health insurers have been effectively held in check by the Ohio Department of Insurance. This, however, is not the case in many other states.
The Obama Plan
Many parts of the Obama plan resemble initiatives from the Clinton health plan of 1994 and the Kerry Health plan of 2004.
Essentially, Obama’s health care plan is divided into three sections:
1. Modernizing the US health care system to lower costs and improve quality
2. Promoting prevention and strengthening public health
3. Quality, portable and affordable health coverage for every person
The “Savings”
The $2500 in savings will come from health care reform, using some of the following initiatives:
*Making medical insurance universal, which may reduce spending on uncompensated care.
*Improving management and prevention of chronic conditions.
*Increasing insurance industry competition and reducing underwriting costs and profits.
*Providing reinsurance for catastrophic coverage, which will reduce insurance premiums.
Shifting Cost Burden
While all of these ideas are feasible, the underlying theme seems to be simply shifting some of the cost burden from the private sector to the government. And of course, much more control of our health dollars and decisions would come from Washington D.C and not Anthem or UnitedHealthCare.
The plan will actually compete directly with Ohio private insurance companies in a “National Health Insurance Exchange.” The federal government (not health insurance carriers) would determine the quality of benefits that Americans would receive. And these new rules would apply to both the new national health plan and all participating private health plans.
Preventative Coverage Would Be Emphasized
Obama’s health care plan will encourage “healthy lifestyles” with specific emphasis on wellness. Employer wellness programs will be increased, and cafeterias and vending machines in the workplace may see healthier food.
School-based health screening programs may increase along with increased support for physical education.
For Ohio individuals and families, the Obama plan would require preventative services on many federally-supported programs such as Medicare, Medicaid and SCHIP. One benefit may be possible discounts to on health insurance premiums for enrollment in wellness and prevention programs.
Currently, some Ohio individual health insurance policies offer a similar discount, such as Anthem’s Lumenos Health Incentive Account (HIA).
Ohio Group Health Insurance
Employer-based health insurance would radically change under the Obama plan. Here in Ohio, both small and large employers are able to choose among many different plans for their employees. The Obama plan would force employers to offer a specific level of health benefits to their employees or pay a tax to finance a national health program. Currently, the amount of provided health benefits and the size of the tax have not been specifically discussed.
Perhaps the best and most economical health insurance plan for Ohio residents would be a concept already in place…HSAs (Health Savings Accounts). Thus, instead of imposing a top-down change on the health care system, it would seem to be prudent to transfer direct control of medical dollars to individuals and families. This would allow Americans to choose their own health plans and benefits, while making health insurance companies compete directly for consumer’s dollars by providing a real value to patients.
All of this could be accomplished by specific tax and regulatory changes designed to utilize the power of free-market competition. Health care spending could be reduced, preventative treatment could be emphasized and portability could be promoted. Reforming the tax treatment of health insurance and aiding employers that help their employees buy health insurance would help quite a bit.
For now, Ohio health insurance rates are remarkably low compared to many other states. There are many reputable insurance companies that offer a wide array of policies, including Health Savings Accounts. That shouldn’t change much for the next two years. In 2011, things might change…hopefully, for the better.
By: Ed Harris
Posts Tagged ‘Health Care Plan’
The Best Health Insurance Plans
March 6th, 2010
The Short Term Health is meant to be a temporary solution to your health. There are numerous reasons to go for Short Term Healthcare. One of the common reasons among these is those persons who have recently finished their college and do not fall in the purview of their parents’ medical insurance. In addition, you do not have any immediate jobs available that would take care of your health insurance with the employer’s health care plan.
Again, those who have just joined in their new job where the employer health care plan requires you to work for some time before becoming eligible, you can try short term health insurance. This intermediary time could be for some few weeks or it could be some months. Or else, you are about to join our new job after leaving the previous one and there is a gap of some time. All these interim period are ideal for going for Short Term insurance that are often provided by the employer of your previous company. A different reason is when the present health plans has elapsed and you are about to renew it or going for some other plan.
The duration of these plans can be from one month and can go up to one year. Nevertheless, the common period for this plan is six months that could be later extended or renewed to one year. Anybody below the age of 65 can opt for this kind of plans. The premium for this plans are also minimum. There are some plans where one can payout all the premiums at a time or else on a monthly basis. Both individuals and groups can go for these kinds of plans. Some companies provide credit card payment facilities. However, the Short Termcare are generally indemnity policy and do not cover your preventive treatments including medical check-up or preventive immunizations. All you need to do is ask for the free insurance quotes from the different companies.
Group Health Insurance plans can be obtained from the employers that are provided to the employees. There are many such plans where your spouse and children can be included in the policy. Again, there are different organizations as well as associations, which provide this kind of policy to its members as benefits. There are businesses like credit card companies, which also provide group health insurance plans to its customers as benefits.
However, the employer is not bound to provide its employees Group Health plans. In such cases, go for an individual health plan. The many companies dealing with health insurance can provide you with a free individual plan. Search among the plans that meet all your health requirements and at the same time comes within your budget. But, if you cannot go for either Group Health plans as your employer do not support such plans or the individual plan as you cannot afford it, you can opt for the affordable health insurance which are state sponsored. This State-sponsored Health Insurance plans could be availed for a low premium or completely free insurance plans depending on you as well as your family.
By: Jeff H McClendon
Health Insurance Covering Families in Michigan
February 4th, 2010
UNICARE health insurance provides individuals and families low rate coverage and comprehensive plans. Few of the UNICARE policies have low cost plans, with “$2,000” yearly deductibles for each family member, thus offering the maximum payout on claims. The plan may offer waivers on deductibles to family members that do not meet the limited doctor visits. In other words, the policy may stipulate that each family member is permitted two doctor visits in 12 months, and if the policyholder does not meet the limits then deductibles may be waived. The plans offer a “$30” Co-payment per member.
Be careful, since some plans charge 100 percent on three or more visits to the doctor. The plan may have low pricing with maximum deductibles of “$5000,” however, the doctor limits are increased. This means the higher the deductible the more visits you can spare, with waiver on deductibles and “$30” Co-payments. There may also be co-payments on prescription drugs, usually around $10 per prescription on generic brands.
It depends on the insurer but few offer low cost plans with higher deductibles and “tax deferred” bargains. The insurance provider may pay 100 percent of each visit to the doctor, which will include procedures, visits, hospital stay, outpatient care, and so forth. If the policyholder meets the deductibles then the company may pay the full price on prescription drugs generic brands.
If you are fall under the low-income guidelines, you may want to inquire about HMO PLANS. Rather, you may want to inquire about other types of HMO plans, since the UNICARE falls under the guidelines of low-income families.
HMO is an abbreviation of Health Maintenance Organization, and the plan is designed to meet the delivery of healthcare. The plan is constructed under a network, meaning that doctors, policyholders, and providers work together to provide coverage at lower cost to families and individuals. It is a managed health care plan that works within a network environment. This means that if you have an HMO plan then you are expected to get healthcare by the participants in the plan. In other words, the doctors have voluntarily agreed to charge less for medical care and have agreed to join the plan. If the doctor is not in the network then you may not be permitted to go out of the networking environment. If you need a specialist then you must ask your doctor for a referral, otherwise you cannot visit a specialist on your own without paying full price out of your own pocket. HMO is a Medicare program that is under rule of the “Federal Government,” following the “Medicare Advantage Program” rule.
At one time policyholders of HMO plans were permitted to go anywhere they choose to get medical treatment under the plan; however, the networking environment has increased restrictions and included exclusions under the plan. If you are in need of specialist care you may want to consider other types of managed care or insurance polices that do not have exclusions or works on a network environment.
If you apply for HMO and are accepted, you will also need to sign up for the “Medicare Part D” to receive coverage for prescriptions. There are two types of plans available, which include the HMO and PPO policies. Thus, if you do not apply for the “New Prescription Drug Benefit” you will need to cover your own medicine costs. Still, you will only get the generic brand with the HMO coverage plans. Furthermore, it depends on the plans, but few HMO plans with prescriptions have no premiums, while others may charge minimal premiums per policy. There are also deductibles in few of the HMO plans, including the D plan.
For more information regarding health insurance, it makes sense to go online and find all information as possible regarding premiums, rates, coverage and so forth. Online you can get several quotes to help you determine cost of health care services. Many insurance policies will include co-payments; however, Michigan is one of the states that offer HMO plans that do not have co-payments. Recently, Michigan HMO plans restored Chiropractic and Dental services to its plan; however, at one time there was no coverage for these services.
By: Michael Bens
