Insurance Industry Proposes New Health Plan
A recent poll conducted for the insurance industry found that 80 percent of Americans want Congress to take measures to make healthcare more affordable. This according to a story by WNDU 16 out of South Bend, Indiana.
The insurance industry seems to be responding to said poll, and pitched a plan on Monday which would come with a taxpayer price tag of $300 million. It's worth it, said Jay Gellert, a member of the policy committee for America's Health Insurance Plans. And under the proposed plan, the industry says America's uninsured could have coverage within the next decade. How?
The new plan calls for:
- Expanded state programs like Medicaid, to cover more children and low-income families, including those that exceed the poverty level but can't afford health insurance
- Formation of "universal health accounts" with the government kicking in up to 50 cents for every dollar a low-income family saves
- A $500 tax credit for low-income families that buy health insurance for their kids
- $50 billion in state grants to help insure their residents
Sounds pretty good, right?
The clincher: who's going to foot the $300 billion needed to implement such a plan? The insurance industry doesn't have any suggestions on how to pay for it, but WNDU reports that insurers still plan to market the plan "aggressively" to the new Congress. And despite the fact that plan proponents don't yet have all the answers to get the ball rolling, healthcare advocates support the initiative, saying they're glad to see the insurance industry get involved.
"I think what this initiative does is get us off the dime and stop people from saying this is a problem that's not solvable," said Dr. George Benjamin of the American Public Health Association.
Encouraging, indeed.
We'll keep an eye on this story and post updates here as they come. And, if you're looking for more resources on finding affordable medical insurance in your state, check out our state-specific insurance articles in our resource center!
Comments
Affordable Benefits is oxymoron and yet my partner came up with this clever name for our health insurance agency's name. When we look at any problem we have to identify the root. The root for our broken health care system is a broken monetary system. Until we come up with a different value system, health care will stay broken. After all, what can be better than your health and whether you live or die as a drive for high profits! Fixing health care delivery in the United States will have to bring a positive change in the world's micro and macro economies. Many basic benefits in the world will have to reach an equanimity for all beings. Beyond that achievement a new world economy can be born. Wars, poverty, dieases, mental and physical are expotentially growing. Cessation can only be accompished with social conservative people that realize a new world order on this planet can only happen through compassion. This will increase human awareness and bring more pleasure to beings than what the richest people on the planet now believe they have. No pleasure is greater, than going beyond the petty mind, we have to have, to protect the wealth in this current economy. If we transform our economy into enriching peoples lives rather than making weapons to destroy peoples lives then we will have the best health system on the planet. Finding energy sources other than oil, will end the war that could be the war of all wars that will harm our planet and destroy our health and well being. We won't have to make the mistakes of empires before us and suffer the same consequences. Not one powerful empire in history could protect itself from a rotting inside due to spending all their wealth on the expansion of an idea, that has no reality. So. let us be the that great country with a vision. We can only do this by strenghtening our infracstructure and being an example to the world on how to do this. Health care is a by-product of our willingness to change our ways and respect our power and not to abuse it by hanging onto old ideas with no vision. To have an efficient health care system in America depends on so much more than a good plan but goes deeper in that we need to change our old ways and rediscover our greatness. Fighting wars over a depleting resource is destroying our country from the inside. The enemy is a few bad apples hanging onto old destructive ideas. We won't be able to change our healthcare until we elect leadership with a vision.
Posted by: Stephen P Scarano | November 27, 2006 01:11 AM