Friday, November 20, 2009
As with most legislation, the “devil is in the details”, this is also true for H. R. 3962: the ‘‘Affordable Health Care for America Act’’ recently passed by the U. S. House of Representatives on November 7, 2009, by a vote of 220-215.
Title I—Immediate Reforms: the ‘‘Affordable Health Care for America Act’’ addresses the creation of temporary “high risk pools” to allow certain uninsurable individuals to purchase health insurance coverage through a state based pooled risk program. The Act provides the Secretary of Health and Human Services the power to form such pools in cooperation with states using existing or newly created pools beginning on January 1, 2010.
To be eligible to participate in such pools, individuals, including dependents, must not be eligible for an employment based plan, any of the various public health care plans (Medicare, Medicaid, … etc.), must have been without employment based coverage for at least 6 months, must have applied for and been denied coverage by a private health insurance carrier, must have applied for private coverage but been rated at a premium higher than the high risk pool rate, and/or “who has an eligible medical condition as defined by the Secretary”.
The Act provides the Secretary with the ability to assess health insurance carriers and employment based plans (i.e., employers) with penalties if the Secretary determines that the carrier and/or employment based plan “discouraged” the individual from remaining enrolled in the prior plan. Would a 25%, 50%, 75% or 100% increase in premiums constitute discouragement? If the premium increase is applied to ALL enrolled individuals, is that considered discouragement?
About Me
- Bob Teal
- A Senior Human Resource leader with demonstrated ability to deliver cost effective solutions in the areas of research, design, implementation, communication, & administration of employee compensation and benefit plans and HR/Payroll systems. A results-oriented professional who skillfully manages interpersonal relationships and partners with a diversity of staff from the Board of Directors to line managers in the insurance, consulting, and healthcare industries. Expertise includes: · Salary Plan Design · Job Evaluation · Job Pricing · Vendor/Carrier Negotiation · Cost Control Strategies · Benefits Communication · HRIS/Payroll Selection/Implementation · Project Management · Workflow/Process Improvement
Thank you so much for your insightful post!
ReplyDeleteBrand Animators - Bringing Your Vision to Life with Innovative Video Solutions. From start-ups to large corporations, every business has a unique story to tell. At Brand Animators, our mission is to help you tell that story in a captivating and memorable way. As a top quality 3d, 2d animation video production company in Houston, Texas and best explainer video company in San Antonio, Texas and professional Healthcare & Medical animation video making studio in Dallas, Texas offer services such as 2d animation videos 3d animation videos, Motion graphics, 3d medical animation, Healthcare videos, Corporate films, Whiteboard animation videos, 3d Architectural walkthrough animation, Marketing and training videos, Product videos. And more! Whether you're looking to promote your brand, educate your audience, or simply convey information in an engaging and visually appealing manner, Brand Animators has you covered. Our video solutions are tailored to your budget, timeline, and company objectives.