The federal government, which is hoping to boost low participation in its insurance program that covers people with pre-existing conditions, released new rules and incentives Tuesday that make it easier for people to join, such as cutting premiums in some states by up to 40%.
“That means real savings for people across the country,” Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said during a news conference.
For example, in Florida, the average monthly payment for a person older than 55 is $390. After July 1, it will drop to $234 a month.
And people who would like to enroll in the program, the Pre-existing Condition Insurance Plan (PCIP), no longer need to provide a letter from an insurance company denying them coverage. Instead, they just need a letter from a doctor saying they have a medical condition. The rule that a person may not have had health insurance for the past six months still applies.
The government created the plan as part of the health care law passed last year to act as a bridge until 2014, when insurance companies will not be able to deny coverage to anyone based on a medical condition.
Since it began last summer, only 18,000 people have enrolled. The Congressional Budget Office estimated 200,000 people would sign up each year.
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4 Responses
In other words the Treasury will pick up a larger portion of the tab for people who qualify, suggesting that instead of a complex health care reform what is needed is for the Treasury (i.e. the taxpayers) to subsidize people with serious conditions that render them uninsurable.
“instead of a complex health care reform what is needed is for the Treasury (i.e. the taxpayers) to subsidize people with serious conditions that render them uninsurable”
Yes, and that would be much more expensive than that Affordable Care Act, as nobody would bother to get insurance until they became uninsurable. The entire point is to require everyone to get insurance BEFORE they become uninsurable.
comment 1 shows that he will say anything regardless of not knowing anything about a subject. Amazing. No shame.
Obamacare is already stipping many people of their health insurance. The only real problem are people with preexisting conditions who can’t afford insurance. Instead of demolishing the existing insurance system, which works for 90% of the country, it would be cheaper to address the problem of the 10% who have a problem.
#2 seems to think there is a correlation between not having insurance and getting seriously ill. In fact most uninsured people have made a rational decision to pay medical costs out of pocket, since it usually costs less than buying insurance (a fact that underlies the profitability of the insurance company – if insurance was a good deal for consumers the insurance wouldn’t want to sell it).