Baucas Plan

[Winter_123]

All the carriers that tried to whore-up with AHIP and Obama are going to regret where they end out here. The price they pay for beating the public option will be ugly. They are used to a normal legislative process where you either win or lose on issues and then you go off and do business for a few years until the next go around comes up. Not so with a socialist government. When they dont get the public option they will just start regulating the carriers right into the ground.

Baucas wants to tax insurers (excuse, I should have said "fee") to pay for reform. This will be on top of the fact that the government is going to require guaranteed issue but also require that they lower premiums. Not a trick the viewing audience should try at home. In the guaranteed issue states when things got goofy most of the carriers would just up and leave the state and let Anthem and Mega have it all. Not as easy to do nationally.

Some variation of this Baucas thing is likely to pass too. If not, it will be something equally goofy. The whole program will blow up a few years in when the claims rates go through the roof and it turns out (surprise, surprise) that none of the cost savings plans worked anywhere near the numbers that were build into the plan.

Let's keep on planning to cut Medicare to pay for it. Yeh, that will work.

What a mess. I dont even want to think about where we are now let alone at the end of even one term with the Kenyan President.

Senator eyes insurer fee for health reform plan | U.S. | Reuters

 

[Rivers1]

Taxing is the answer to solve everything.

This post cost me 1 cent, but since I chimed in with my own 2 cents, it actually cost me 3 cent total.

 

[VolAgent]

Taxing is the answer to solve everything.

Since the personal income tax is the biggest source of revenue for the Federal Government, perhaps we should tax the income tax. That'll really fix things, right?

 

[ins.dave]

All the carriers that tried to whore-up with AHIP and Obama are going to regret where they end out here. The price they pay for beating the public option will be ugly. They are used to a normal legislative process where you either win or lose on issues and then you go off and do business for a few years until the next go around comes up. Not so with a socialist government. When they dont get the public option they will just start regulating the carriers right into the ground.

Baucas wants to tax insurers (excuse, I should have said "fee") to pay for reform. This will be on top of the fact that the government is going to require guaranteed issue but also require that they lower premiums. Not a trick the viewing audience should try at home. In the guaranteed issue states when things got goofy most of the carriers would just up and leave the state and let Anthem and Mega have it all. Not as easy to do nationally.

Some variation of this Baucas thing is likely to pass too. If not, it will be something equally goofy. The whole program will blow up a few years in when the claims rates go through the roof and it turns out (surprise, surprise) that none of the cost savings plans worked anywhere near the numbers that were build into the plan.

Let's keep on planning to cut Medicare to pay for it. Yeh, that will work.

What a mess. I dont even want to think about where we are now let alone at the end of even one term with the Kenyan President.

Senator eyes insurer fee for health reform plan | U.S. | Reuters

You can not believe "The Kenyan" will see a second term?
Buying time for the reps. is all he is doing. Could only stomach Barry for about 5 minutes at the Labour day shindig he was ranting at today in Ohio. Is the American dollar going to be worth anything before they lose this guy?
Nairobian nightmare.

 

[somarco]

require guaranteed issue but also require that they lower premiums.

They won't get any players at this level, especially with the rich benefit levels. MA had to go back to the drawing board more than once before finally getting some carriers to play.

Even then, the price tag exceeded expectations and has only become worse in the 3 yrs since their "reform" went into effect.

 

[Mac1958]

What a mess.

Indeed. And if the Democrats are able to pass anything with teeth (and I'm willing to bet they will) part of the blame will go to the Republicans.

Look, the Democrats are just doing what they always do: They recognized a problem, and the first thought that entered their minds was "what can we do to impose as much bureaucratic control as possible to fix it?" It's not like their health care solution is some big surprise.

And the Republicans?

All they have said is "no". And my guess is that Obama will back them into a corner. He'll extend just enough of an olive branch to make them look foolish for continuing to say "no". Maybe a little phony tort reform here, an easily-reached "trigger" there. And he'll end up getting something through that'll make him look like he joined the two sides.

The GOP had the Democrats on the ropes. All they had to do was write a plan that included their ideas (tort reform, selling across state lines, electronic records) and, heaven forbid, some Democrat ideas too (guaranteed issue, the obvious cost controls), give it a freaking CATCHY NAME, and then shout it with one voice from the mountaintops. "Look, here's a clear alternative, we don't need that much government control."

And they didn't. Too late now.

They deserve what they get.

...

 

[somarco]

The Republicans are mere bystanders, mostly of their own doing. They had their chance in the 90's with the Contract with America and blew it. In the end, they proved to be nothing more than maniacal spendthrift Democrats in Republican clothing.

The American public, tired of the Bush administration (much of it justified) voted against Republicans more so than voting for Democratic candidates. This is from the Prez on down.

Result is a Republican party with no duties and no power.

HR 3400 written mostly by Rep. Tom Price will never see the light of day unless Princess Pelosi allows it (which she won't).

If you are waiting for the Republicans to ride in on a white horse and save the day, it won't happen.

The current administration and Congress is self destructing with each passing day. The economy is a shambles and the worse is yet to come. It will be another 2 years at best before there is any confidence in the economy by the public.

Foreclosures and job losses continue. Stimulus is a joke. Deficits are mounting.

Look for more banks to fail in 2010 putting more stress on the FDIC and economy.

Commercial loans will be the next marble to fall. That will put even more pressure on banks and (mostly) insurance carriers who invest in commercial property.

When they pass health care reform and people discover there is no such thing as affordable health insurance and GI, expect a revolt.

 

[somarco]

The Republicans are mere bystanders, mostly of their own doing. They had their chance in the 90's with the Contract with America and blew it. In the end, they proved to be nothing more than maniacal spendthrift Democrats in Republican clothing.

The American public, tired of the Bush administration (much of it justified) voted against Republicans more so than voting for Democratic candidates. This is from the Prez on down.

Result is a Republican party with no duties and no power.

HR 3400 written mostly by Rep. Tom Price will never see the light of day unless Princess Pelosi allows it (which she won't).

If you are waiting for the Republicans to ride in on a white horse and save the day, it won't happen.

The current administration and Congress is self destructing with each passing day. The economy is a shambles and the worse is yet to come. It will be another 2 years at best before there is any confidence in the economy by the public.

Foreclosures and job losses continue. Stimulus is a joke. Deficits are mounting.

Look for more banks to fail in 2010 putting more stress on the FDIC and economy.

Commercial loans will be the next marble to fall. That will put even more pressure on banks and (mostly) insurance carriers who invest in commercial property.

When they pass health care reform and people discover there is no such thing as affordable health insurance and GI, expect a revolt.

 

[Winter_123]

And the Republicans?

All they have said is "no".
...

Some of that is true and some of it Dem party line rhetoric that has caught hold. True, the repubs have just said no to Obama's plans.

On the other hand, McCain, and the republicans offered long, long, long ago in the campaign to go with guaranteed issue and to have a 5000 per person tax credit or subsidy and then just let the free market work. Right or wrong it was more detail than we have seen from Obama.

This proposal has been classified as "not having any alternative solution" because it is not suffientyly complex, contorted and bureaucratic to count in the dems view. It must be really complex to the point where not even the President or the legislators or pundits understand what the hell is being said in order to count as a solution.

Note, I am not saying McCains/Republicans plan is right or wrong. I am just saying that that is a concrete proposal that has been around for a long time but no, it does not involce co-ops, triggers, pulling the plug on grandma, cutting medicare and complex analysis by the CBO so it does not count. Not sufficiently convoluted and commie. It is not sufficiently "progressive" unless it is so contorted that no one can explain it and it can not be put to words in less than a 1000 pages. Yeh. That is the change we are looking for.

 

[ABC]

This kind of taxation just means higher premiums for everyone. The regional carriers are having a hard time to begin with and a tax like this will give them a slow death.