Give us the Chance, and We'll Offer Affordable Health Insurance for Everyone.
May 2009
According to
ABC News, health insurance companies are trying to "scuttle" President Obama's health care plans. How so? By offering more
affordable health insurance to the public, but under their own terms.
For their part, private health insurance companies are concerned that Obama's health care reform plan will pass in Congress, leading to a government-run plan that "would be open to all Americans under 65" and which would compete with their private insurance plans.
Their bid to offer more affordable health insurance to the public includes increased regulation in their industry, and some key concessions aimed at helping the public obtain coverage under private health insurance companies, and not with a Medicare-like federal plan.
The newer "consumer protections" on the table include lowering premiums for women, who have traditionally been charged more by private
health insurance companies because women tend to use more health care than men during their childbearing years.
Others components include a plan to stop denying coverage to sick people, and no longer charging higher premiums to those with a history of health problems.
Facts on:
Private Health Insurance Companies
Did you know...
Obama's insurance plan would be open to all Americans under 65?
|
Such a plan would offer coverage to millions of Americans currently unable to afford insurance. However, other issues, including the types of procedures covered and to what extent, haven't been addressed. In the balancing act between offering some type of coverage to all, and yet keeping costs down, no one wants to sacrifice the quality of care that makes American hospitals famous.
Still, the debate and competition revealed by these dialogues suggest that change is finally coming to the health care market, and that affordable health insurance may no longer appear as a "pipe dream" to the 46 million Americans struggling to get by without medical coverage.
Current Topic:
Recent Topics:
