Thursday, June 11, 2009

More Elements from ObamaCare Proposal

These are from the Senate version of ObamaCare. (Although Kennedy and Dodd are the nominal 'writers,' it is generally understood that this plan reflects the Thoughts of Chairman Obama on healthcare.) Hennessey has the first several salient points in another post on the main site.

...The bill gives the Secretary of Health and Human Services authority to limit premiums and profits of health plans by forcing plans to rebate to enrollees premiums above a certain margin

...Employers must offer the same health insurance to all employees, independent of salary

...The Secretary of Health and Human Services shall required that Gateways shall “ensure that [uninsured] individuals are directed to enroll in the program [that she deems] most appropriate.”

...States (through Gateways) shall redistribute premiums from plans with low-risk individuals to those with high-risk individuals.

...States can opt out their state and local employee plans for the first four years [Some animals are more equal than other animals.]

...The bill creates a new $10 B “Reinsurance for Retirees” fund to subsidize costs for those between ages 55 and 64. The bill defines eligible “employers” to include “a voluntary employee benefit association.” This may include the UAW VEBA [And UAW animals are most certainly more equal than other animals.]

Plenty more at the link.

What you see here will inevitably lead to a single-payer (HillaryCare) program. HHS and the State gateways will have the authority to coerce coverages AND to coerce un-profitability onto private insurance companies. Naturally, this authority will not be used immediately; Obama thinks he has 6 or 7 more years left during which he can gradually tighten the screws.

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