79. Up Goes the Health Care Insurance Premiums

The Baucus legislation summary that passed the Finance Committee in the Senate can be accessed here. There are a lot of nice "statements" in this summary that we all need to check when the legalize language comes out and after all bills are merged. Specifically for the Medicare recipients such phrases as the following are encouraging: "Absolutely none of the Medicare benefits will be cut", "aggressively fight fraud", "annual wellness exams...eliminate out-of-pocket for screening and prevention services." Another eye catching phrase was"prohibit illegal immigrants", but in two other places they limit or exclude services for "undocumented individuals." Highlights that may interest you are as follows:

• 2013 - the year insurance companies MUST provide insurance for everybody, i.e., no preexisting conditions or other reasons, and at premiums that are not gender specific.
• For the Medicare people, expect the doughnut hole to be covered at 50%
• Premiums can vary, but only by age (up to 4:1), Family (up to 3:1), and Geographical area (unknown) with a maximum total ratio of 6:1
• HSA's remain in effect but you'll be penalized 20% if you take out other than medical withdrawals before age 65.
• Premiums and coverage is supposed to be standardized and available beginning 2013. However, the States will be doing this through its exchanges and have 5 years to do it. So, sometime between 2013-1018.
• Non-profit co-ops are the plan to compete with private insurance companies through exchanges.
• Get this: "Require members of Congress to but through the same exchanges." Don't get excited though, because they are probably a "company" that offers insurance and covered by the language that you can keep you current insurance. So, fluff words.
• Web-based exchanges, i.e., Internet technology for research, application, etc. at exchanges
• Credits to buy insurance for up to 400% poverty level

The plan improved a little compared to previously evaluated plan, BUT NOW the PAIN:

• Although no new health insurance is available until 2013 at the earliest (conveniently after Obama's first term), the government will start to collect fees and taxes from health care entities in 2010. Guess who gets to pay these! How about an annual fee of $6.7B assessed to the Health Care industry (hidden as the last item in the summary on last page) to be apportioned. Up go your premiums! How about more job losses too!
• Beginning in 2013, the floor for medical on Schedule A Itemized Deductions will become 10% instead of 7.5%. That's a healthy $2000 you will lose in deductions translating to $700 actual loss if you are in the 35% tax bracket. Of course this will be much higher if the tax brackets change from today -- duh, think they will? This new floor applies to under 65 people beginning 2013. The old folk get a reprieve until 2016 before they lose several weeks of lunch money.
• Yes, there are penalties to those not getting insurance, but such a small amount who would ever get insurance if they willingly do not want it today. Might as well wait until something big happens; then get the insurance since the insurance companies cannot deny you.
  

Ok. Enjoy reading the summary. The bill I heard will be about 1300 pages BEFORE it is even merged with the others.