Even though the health insurance industry has backed a plan which will require them to accept all applicants regardless of pre-existing health conditions, they still have their doubts about the incoming presidents health reform proposal. One part of President-elect Barack Obamas proposal isnt sitting so well with health insurance companies " the National Health Insurance Exchange.
In this Exchange program, Americans would have a choice between a private plan and a government-sponsored plan. The idea behind the Exchange is that you can combine market forces with government intervention when it comes to reform. According to incoming Health and Human Services Secretary, Tom Daschle, the government plan would be modeled after Medicare, reported The New York Times.
The Plan would encourage competition between itself and participating private companies. Proponents say the competition that it encourages is likely to drive down market rates. The insurance industry, however, says this is not necessarily true. They argue that the opposite is true, that the government plan would likely underpay doctors for services rendered, causing private providers to raise their prices to cover their losses experienced from government plans.
A new public program similar to Medicare would exacerbate cost-shifting, which already adds $1,500, or 10 percent, to the average premium for a family of four, said Karen Ignagni, the president of Americas Health Insurance Plans. And it seems as if the president-elect is keeping his word about working across the aisle and giving everyone a seat at the negotiation table.
All parties are being welcomed to the thousands of meetings which have already been scheduled to discuss the issue of health care reform. Obama's team has noted that the meetings are designed to bring all parties to the table, regardless of whether or not they agree, to participate in an open forum on the subject. - 15485
In this Exchange program, Americans would have a choice between a private plan and a government-sponsored plan. The idea behind the Exchange is that you can combine market forces with government intervention when it comes to reform. According to incoming Health and Human Services Secretary, Tom Daschle, the government plan would be modeled after Medicare, reported The New York Times.
The Plan would encourage competition between itself and participating private companies. Proponents say the competition that it encourages is likely to drive down market rates. The insurance industry, however, says this is not necessarily true. They argue that the opposite is true, that the government plan would likely underpay doctors for services rendered, causing private providers to raise their prices to cover their losses experienced from government plans.
A new public program similar to Medicare would exacerbate cost-shifting, which already adds $1,500, or 10 percent, to the average premium for a family of four, said Karen Ignagni, the president of Americas Health Insurance Plans. And it seems as if the president-elect is keeping his word about working across the aisle and giving everyone a seat at the negotiation table.
All parties are being welcomed to the thousands of meetings which have already been scheduled to discuss the issue of health care reform. Obama's team has noted that the meetings are designed to bring all parties to the table, regardless of whether or not they agree, to participate in an open forum on the subject. - 15485
About the Author:
Choosing health insurance can be an intimidating chore when you don't know much about the options. Whether you're looking for a family plan or an individual health insurance plan, visit www.GoHealthInsurance.com, the largest repository of health care information available on the net.
