If anyone tells you that page 16 (or any other page) of HR 3200 will make private insurance illegal.

[YewNork]

Tell them that's a rumor spread with no basis in fact.

The latest lie that opponents are spreading is that the proposed legislation will make private insurance illegal.
They're doing this by quoting one sentence without taking the whole paragraph into consideration.

People keep referring to a section of the legislation on page 16 which says (and I'm paraphrasing)

... once the new law goes into effect, insurers will not be allowed to enroll anyone new onto an insurance plan that existed before the legislation went into effect.....

People are mistakenly (or perhaps purposely) interpreting that to mean that the only option for new insurance that people would have would be a government run plan, but that's not the case.

The bill sets new standards for accessibility and affordability that ALL insurance policies, public and private, will have to meet.
But, existing private group plans will be grandfathered for 5 years before they have to implement these new standards.

The section of the bill that many people seem to think will prevent people from moving onto anything but a government run plan doesn't do that.
What it does is to require that anyone who enrolls after the legislation goes into effect cannot be enrolled into a GRANDFATHERED plan.
They have to be enrolled into a plan that meets the new standards for accessibility and affordability.

But, it can still be a privately issued plan.

Eventually after five years, there will be no grandfathered plans as all plans, private and public, will have to meet the new standards.

[LiberalAndProud]

1. Thank you. You've explained this very well.

[woodsprite]

2. Bookmarking as a reference, for when my freeper-in-laws

come at me with their spin.

[YewNork]

3. And, they do make an exception for the dependents of people who are already on a grandfathered plan

And there is an exception - A person who is the dependent of someone on a grandfathered plan will be allowed to enroll onto that grandfathered plan even after the new legislation would go into effect

[Hoyt]

4. Good post. I've already run into this lie.

I've been responding to his lie on another political board for close to a week. The opponents quote one line of the proposed Bill, but leave out the rest of the section (Section 102 I think).

Apparently this BS started with the World Net Daily and was picked up by the FOX fool Hannity.

Of course, it doesn't matter what you prove to them -- they refuse to accept anything unless it comes from their trusted source/fool Hannity. Would make me laugh except all this fear could impede passage of decent and much needed legislation.

[YewNork]

5. Yes, it's section 102 - the section that protects a persons choice to keep their current coverage.

The entire bill can be found here: http://edlabor.house.gov/documents/111/pdf/publications/AAHCA-BillText-071409.pdf

The lie that is being spread is that people can keep their existing plan, but they can only switch to a government plan.

What is says is that if they switch, or are newly enrolled after legislation takes effect, they have to be put on a plan that meets
the new standards for accessibility, affordability and coverage. But, there's nothing to prevent a private company from offering
a plan that meets these new standards.

[berni_mccoy]

6. K&R! I'm compiling a list of the current Myths being raised about this bill. It's disgusting

and tragic that many here are falling for it.

[YewNork]

8. Myths

Well here is a list of the most common myths that I'm hearing about the proposed legislation

1) That it will make private health insurance illegal after being enacted because insurers will not be able to enroll anybody after the new law takes effect (ie. the Page 16 myth).
Answer: The text being quoted will prevent private insurers from enrolling new people onto existing plans that do not meet the the new standards for accessibility, affordability, and coverage. However, they will be able to enroll them onto private plans that do meet those standards.

2) Universal Health Care is a failure in every country where it exists
Answer: They why are there not massive movements throughout the world for them to adopt the system as it exists in the US?

3) The Canadian Health System stinks
Answer: It has its problems, but overwhelming majority of people there are satisfied with it.

4) If people have a pre-existing condition then it's their own fault
Answer: While some pre-existing conditions are a result of lifestyle decisions, there are many more which are not (Multiple Sclerosis, certain types of Cancers, Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Down's Syndrome, Epilepsy, etc.

5) The government will be telling me what doctors I can see, what medicines I can see, and when I can see my doctor.
Answer: Your health insurance will still be with a private company. The government doesn't tell your private insurer any of that now, and they won't tell your insurer any of that later.

6) Everyone from countries with universal health care all come to the US for treatment.
Answer: While some do, the majority do not. In the first place, they can't afford it, and in the second place they are able to be treated in their home countries.

Lastly, when people mention the Canadian system, your standard reply might be that Canada uses a single payer system which is not what is being proposed here.

[YewNork]

9. Some more myths......

7) The Government will decide what benefits will be provided, what procedures will be allowed, and what will be covered
Answer: No, the government will decide what, at a minimum, must be covered by a basic health insurance policy. But, insurers will still be able to offer policies that offer more than the minimum.
This is no different than when a state decides what an automobile insurance must cover, at a minimum. Private insurers can sell auto insurance that offers more than the mimimum,
but they can't sell a policy that sells less than the minimum.

8) Everyone is going to be forced to buy their insurance through a new government agency, the health exchange.
Answer: No, they won't. A private insurer will be able to privately sell their insurance directly to customers, with any combination of benefits at whatever premiums the customers are willing to pay,
as long as those policies cover at least the minimum set of benefits. They can provide more and be customized any other way. But they have to at least provide the minimum coverage.

9) But what of all the talk of a health insurance exchange?
Answer: There will be an exchange where private insurers can sell health insurance. There will be several different types of policies sold through the exchange
Basic, Enhanced, Premium, and Premium-Plus. Each category has an exactly defined level of coverage and benefit. So, for example the Basic policy offered by
Aetna, will the the same as the Basic policy offered by Humana, and the premium policy sold by United Healthcare is the same as the premium one sold by Travelers.
It will allow you to compare based on price.

But if you don't want to buy a one of the health exchange policies, a private insurer can still sell you a customized policy, as long as it covers, at least, the minimum.

10) But the president says if I like my current coverage I can keep it, that's not true.
Answer: To be truthful, your current policy will change. Your insurer won't be allowed, anymore, to drop you if you make too many claims, and they won't be able to refuse to cover pre-existing conditions.
Plus, if it doesn't provide at least the minimum amount of benefits required it will have to start covering at least the minimum.
Group health insurance policies won't have to implement these changes for five years. But anyone enrolled onto a group plan AFTER the new law takes effect
will have to be enrolled in a plan that meets these new standards now.

[YewNork]

10. and some more...

11) The public insurance option will provide unfair competition.
Answer: The public option will only sell insurance on the health insurance exchange, and that means they will be selling one of the defined
benefit plans (basic, enhanced, premium, and possibly premium-plus). Private insurers will be able to sell both on the health insurance exchange
and on the open market. So, if a health insurer wants to sell a plan that provides more coverage or benefits than what is sold on the exchange,
they won't have any public insurance competing with them. And if private insurers also want to offer insurance through the exchange they will be
allowed to request to do so.

12) Not everyone will be allowed to use the health insurance exchange.
Answer: Initially, there is going to be a transition period as the exchange is established and gets itself up an running. Initial access to the exchange
will be limited at first to people who don't have coverage through an employer and to smaller employers. The goal is to eventually allow any individual
or employer that wants to buy insurance on the exchange to be able to do so.

13) My employer will stop offering health coverage and tell me to go get it on the exchange
Answer: Employers that don't offer health coverage will have to pay a percentage of their payroll to a trust fund, instead, with exceptions for smaller
businesses, and they'll lose the tax deduction that they get for contributing to your health benefit. So it will be more expensive for them to stop
offering coverage than to continue offering it. Employers won't be able to just dump their employees into the exchange because it will cost them more.
Plus, your employer could stop offering coverage now, but they have to compete with other employers if they want to keep their employees.

14) But if my employer decides to use the exchange I might not have the same insurance coverage that I currently have.
Answer: Your employer is free today to switch to a new insurer or to negotiate with your insurer for different coverage. Again, employers have to
compete with other employers for the best employees.

[GeorgeGist]

7. Ah shucks ...

you got my hopes up for a second.

Non-profit private healthcare could be OK. Mayo Clinic does it better than most, everyday.

[Richardo]

11. Bookmarked.

Excellent.