The Senate Bill -- How does it prevent discrimination & price hikes?

[quantass]

I havent yet started on reading the FULL senate HCR bill. Some say its worthless to destructive while others say it's better than nothing to fantastic.

Can someone please tell me how it eliminates any form of health discrimination by the insurance companies, conclusively controls escalating premium costs, and doesnt put a dent in the budget. A Single Payer system or Public Option open to all would have done this but from the confidence of some apparently the CBO score on this senate bill will positively exceed the other alternatives.

Thanks for the education.

[Clio the Leo]

1. lol, well I dont know about all that but....

... assuming you're being serious ha ha ......... if exchanges and insurance companies are required to meet certain requirements to participate in this exchange they are THEN forced to compete with one another for customers .... be they people currently without insurance or businesses who could switch. Those customers would then give money to those offering the best service/product. Insurance cos would then work to make sure they offered the best product at the lowest price.

Good old fashioned free market consumerism.

At least that's my take.

[Clio the Leo]

2. *

[grantcart]

3. It will eliminate discrimination on preexisting conditions

It will allow significant variations based on age - which is fair.

It does not appear to have any significant cost control mechanism.

[SpartanDem]

4. I think guarantee issue can be a major cost control

right now insurance companies can hold their customers hostage knowing that people are afraid drop coverage for fear that no other company will cover them. Customers will be much more mobile under reform with not having the fear being rejected and companies aren't known to be fans of facing more completion. With being forced to take everyone, not being able to dump the sick and with customers who are able to leave at will, there will be much more incentive to compete based simply getting the most customers based on price/quality. Let's not also forget 90% medical loss ratio which would effectively cap company profits

[grantcart]

8. guarantee issue can control costs but that doesn't control prices

The medical loss ratio is currently 85%

We will see if that is maintained.

[Raineyb]

5. Which means that if you have a pre existing condition

they can charge you multiple times more than someone else and because of the mandates this person has no ability to go elsewhere. I'm not sure how this is an improvement.

[grantcart]

6. no they can only charge more because of age not pre existing conditions

[dkf]

7. With age comes preexisting conditions.

It correlates pretty closely.

[grantcart]

9. your missing the point

everybody in the age will be charged the same rate so they are still spreading the risk among a larger pool.

If you are charging on a specific pre existing condition then only people with that condition would be in that pool and the effect is much greater.

It is reasonable to have a rate "discount" for the young if you want to put it that way.