Understanding the New Health Care Law
http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2010-05-05/understanding-new-health-care-law
President Barack Obama embraces Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius, left, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi after signing the health insurance reform bill in the East Room of the White House, March 23, 2010
Pete Souza/Official White House Photo via Flickr
Landmark legislation the Congress passed in March transforms America's health care system. What the new law means for young people, seniors, employers, the uninsured and those with pre-existing conditions.
Guests
Mary Agnes Carey
senior correspondent with Kaiser Health News. She most recently served as associate editor for CQ HealthBeat, a daily report on health care policy. She has also served as Capitol Hill Bureau Chief for CQ.
Alec MacGillis
reporter, The Washington Post; co-author, "Landmark: The Inside Story of America's New Health-Care Law and What It Means for Us All."
Susan Dentzer
editor-in-chief of Health Affairs, and an on-air analyst on health issues for The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer on the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS).
Comments
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I would like to know what are the health care options for someone like me who is losing COBRA in August and not eligible for an extension. I live in Florida.
Thank you
I think what is outrageous is that governors would deny coverage benefits to their citizens! These politicians should be called out for their lack of compassion, and it pointed out that having a less healthy citzenry puts their state at an economic diasadvantage. Thank you.
I am concerned about the perfect storm we are having here in Arizona. We have a resistant Governor, an older retired population that must use a higher percentage of health care, and a group of people, illegal immigrants, that use health care in our state but won't be eligible to purchase it. As the wife of a young doctor, I am very concerned that there will be a flight of physicians and medical innovation from states in our situation. I know we are worried about paying his quarter of a million dollars in medical student loans (half a million with interest).
The state is in a dire financial situation. What is being offered to help us as we will be disproportionately tough situation? Any chance for an uninsured fund so that border states don't experience medical flight?
What is the latest work that Congress is doing to address the big problems NOT addressed in the new legislation -- particularly the reimbursement structure for providers, and other cost-control measures?
I hope the answer is not that Congress has put health care behind them. It is not by any means "done" just because this law was passed.
What is the likelihood of H.R 4789 being voted out of the House Ways & Means Committee and on to a full House floor vote? This is Rep. Alan Grayson's simple (4 page) "Public Option Act" that would allow anyone to buy into MediCare at cost and without subsidy by the government. The bill currently has 80 co-sponsors.
What is the Administration's and Speaker Pelosi's position on this bill?
Full bill text available here:
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/C?c111:./temp/~c111TfrOAm
Alexander Rhoads
Des Moines, Iowa
alexander@rhoads.us
* I am not affiliated in any way with Rep. Grayson or any special interest/lobbying group.
Is it true that the new law requires that a person be uninsured for 6 months before being eligible for coverage? We have sacrificed by purchasing extremely expensive high risk coverage through the Missouri High Risk Pool in order to not be uninsured. This means we are ineligible for coverage under the new plan. It basically punishes us for being responsible and keeps us locked into a plan that we cannot afford, but cannot afford to be without.
I have health insurance through a small group. My premium is presently $403. per month. We informed that our premiums would be going up 35% in July. I would then pay $546. per month. We are all healthy.
I thought this "reform" was supposed to make health insurance more affordable. Can the insurance companies continue to gouge us?
Not surprisingly, my state - Arizona - has joined in a lawsuit protesting the constitutionality of mandates requiring purchase of health insurance. Unfortunately, Arizona has NOTHING to offer in place of federal reforms; NOTHING in the way of protecting its citizens against unfair practices by giant health insurance companies. What can people do if their state opts out of the federal plans?
It seems to me that the most imminent and impactful issue until 2014 is current premium costs and to what extent will they continue to rise. Is there anything in the legislation that will cap insurance premium costs until 2014?
Thanks
Jon, 28
Denton, TX
My 17-year old daughter has an "uninsurable" pre-existing condition and is currently insured under a COBRA policy which will run out about four months after she turns 18. Should I get her coverage under the new health care provisions while she is still 17 (and then cancel her COBRA)? What happens when children covered under the new provisions become adults before 2014?
Kentucky requires auto insurance to receive drivers license-why is there so much resistance to mandatory health insurance?
also, there is redundant coverage with auto and health insurance in regards to injury- wouldn't we be covered for auto accident injury under health care insurance?
The two "expert" guests were very disappointing when answering the question from Norway- 'Why is health care so much more expensive in the US?' Both avoided the primary answer to the question which is that when you have profit making companies running the show, costs are much higher.
The administrative costs of Medicare, our wonderful public option, are 2 to 3% while in private, profit making insurance companies the admin costs are 20 to 30%, sometimes more.
The other major cost driver in our system is the fee for service model and a minimal focus on public health measures which prevent illness. The market system has winners and losers. That's why it doesn't work for health care, education, or other endeavors where we want everyone to win.
I don't here this argument made for the individual mandate; that even if you are healthy and don't need health care now, you still have a vested interest in the survival of the system.
Also, we can all agree that not all the provisions are going to work. But now that the bill creates a system, it is much easier to make changes to nix the programs that don't work and try programs that might work to lower costs.
I happened to hear the rebroadcast of this program on the morning of May 17th. At one point you asked one of your guests about the use of generic drugs. I don't recall whether you asked if they were equivalent or as efficacious. Her answer was that no one has died from them yet. Her answer begs the issue. The active ingredient in generic drugs are permitted to vary plus or minus 20% from the brand name. That can be quite a bit. I have an adult daughter who has been chronically ill these past nearly 4 year, so we have a great deal of experience in this area. She was taking Lamictal for migraines and all of a sudden her migraines returned. I called the doctor and he immediately asked if she had been given the generic version (she had as it had just come out). He had a blood level drawn to see how much was in her system. Guess what? It did not show at all in her bloodwork. She takes a sleeping pill for which the generic does not work and she has to take twice as many. She also takes sublingual Prevacid and Zofran--neither of which dissolve as easily as the brand name, nor do they taste as good. Taste matters to someone who is taking Zofran to reduce the amount of vomiting that occurs. So, no one has died, but that is not the real issue.