President, Congress needs to face duty of health insurance regulation

Meaningful health reform available at little cost

Amidst all the hype, political posturing and rankling over health reform, it seems we have come to a moment of truth.  The President still wants reform, but seems very willing to move on to jobs as his main issue.  The Congress is still engaged, but the Democratic leadership is committed to force feeding their vision down the throat of the American public, which is resisting.  The Republican leadership is more interested in pouting than in making the case publicly and forcefully for their ideas. The past weeks have seen an extraordianary sea change in the movement to Real Health Reform ©.  So then, in light of the changes in the Senate, the willingness of the President and Republicans to exchange ideas, and the statements by the Democratic leadership that they are looking for a way forward, we offer twelve easy, cost efficient ideas to get the ball rolling again.  No 2,000 page bills.  No reams of legalese written by post-pubescent congressional staffers.  No hype.  No political agenda.  Read it and think it over.  Mr. President you could get this page of ideas passed as a bill we bet. You just have to believe.

(1) Eliminate all pre-insurance health related screening.  No pre-existing illness, surgery or health condition can be used to exclude any person from coverage.  DIRECT COST TO TAXPAYER = $ 0

(2) Eliminate ability of any health insurer to drop any subscriber from coverage due to development of illness or injury. DIRECT COST TO TAXPAYER = $ 0

(3) Eliminate any caps on ‘lifetime benefits’ regarding payments by health insurers for costs incurred for approved, legitimate treatment. DIRECT COST TO TAXPAYER = $ 0

(4) Eliminate group rating.  Premiums to be set on total number of persons insured by insurer regardless of group, age, sex etc. DIRECT COST TO TAXPAYER = $ 0

(5) Eliminate waiting periods for coverage under group or individual plans.  When premium is paid, coverage begins. DIRECT COST TO TAXPAYER = $ 0

(6) Eliminate any restriction on national sales of health insurance products (i.e. removal of barriers to interstate sale of health insurance products). DIRECT COST TO TAXPAYER = $ 0

(7) Limit premium increases health insurers are able to make to annually, fixed at cost of health care inflation rate plus 1%. DIRECT COST TO TAXPAYER = $ 0

(8) Standardize health insurance reporting forms for filing of claims by hospitals, surgery centers, doctor’s offices, health clinics etc. DIRECT COST TO TAXPAYER = $ 0

(9) Eliminate ‘timely filing rules’ which are designed to cheat providers out of payment by imposing arbitrary time lines (such as 30-90 days) for a legitimate claim to be filed. DIRECT COST TO TAXPAYER = $ 0

(10) Standardize coverages to that there is full coverage of all medical and surgical conditions, thus eliminating wide variations in coverages from plan to plan. DIRECT COST TO TAXPAYER = $ 0

(11) Allow for expansion of Health Savings Accounts to give consumers choice in regard to premium structure (based off of overall rate as enumerated in #4 above). DIRECT COST TO TAXPAYER = $ 0

(12) Allow for catastrophic coverage options for certain age groups to increase affordability for younger subscribers (based off of overall rate as enumerated in #4 above). DIRECT COST TO TAXPAYER = $ 0

We could go on.  But you get the idea.  Here are 12 (and we have more) basic, easy to understand concepts that could move health insurance reform forward now.  No major government programs.  No direct costs to taxpayers.  No need for increased federal bureaucracy. Seems like this should be an easy, bipartisan, quick method to move health reform forward.  So, are there any takers out there?  Ms. Pelosi, Mr. Reid, are you listening?  Want to get something done for the American people like you say you do.  Mr. Obama, care to lean on the Democratic leadership in Congress a bit?  Republicans, care to get on board for meaningful health reform with little cost to tax payers?  The ball is in your court.  We suggest to you take the field and get moving.  Americans are tired of political games an the unwillingness of either party to practice legitimate oversight of the the health insurance industry.  That is the key to real health reform that we can all believe in . . . obi jo and jomaxx

Health Bill Stalled, Obama Juggles an Altered Agenda – http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/29/us/politics/29cong.html?scp=1&sq=Health%20Bill%20Stalled,%20Obama%20Juggles%20an%20Altered%20Agenda%20&st=cse

Searching for Some Light Amid the Heat – http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/30/health/policy/30check.html?scp=1&sq=The%20Struggle%20Over%20Health%20Care&st=cse

While Confident Health Care Will Pass This Year, Democrats Still Search for a Plan – http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/29/health/policy/29health.html?ref=health

What’s Next for Healthcare Reform? – http://www.thenation.com/doc/20100111/beyerstein

House Democrats Queasy About Health Care Reform Post-Brown – http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/house-democrats-queasy-about-health-care-reform-post-brown

GOP officials: no sign of bipartisanship on healthcare reform – http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/monitor_breakfast/2010/0121/GOP-officials-no-sign-of-bipartisanship-on-healthcare-reform

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