Kerry plan could cut insurance premiums

[cal04]

At the center of Kerry's ideas is his proposal to have the federal government reimburse employers 75 percent of medical bills over $50,000 that a worker runs up in a year. The reimbursement would, in effect, make the government a secondary insurer and ease costs for employers, workers and private insurers.

In exchange for the benefit, Kerry would require employers to offer insurance to every worker and to provide health programs that detect and manage chronic illnesses such as high blood pressure early enough to prevent the diseases from worsening.

Kerry's catastrophic-illness relief plan is the only new health care proposal -- and the most expensive -- of this campaign season. It marks the first time in 12 years that a political leader has attempted to reorient the insurance market away from dodging the costliest patients and in the direction of implementing higher quality of care.

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/5140357/

[PVnRT]

1. I will be more impressed

if he extends this to part-time workers working more than, say, 20-25 hours per week, otherwise companies will just start doing what Wal-Mart and others do: keep an employee at 38 hours and call them part-time to avoid giving them benefits.

[JI7]

2. make sure we get a democratic house and senate

[JayS]

3. "75 percent of medical bills over $50,000"

So this will only help companies that are big enough to self-insure?

[Sugarbleus]

4. Don't get me started...

What happened to universal health care? What about single payer health insurance for ALL americans regardless of whether they work or not? ALL people need some medical attention now and then.

Preventative medical services will help to avoid catastrophic illness, left untreated, later on down the line. Everyone pay according to their income/ability. Perhaps employers pay something into the pot also. Mainly, healthcare is subsidized, by taxes/government for ALL those that cannot afford insurance otherwise--employed, part time, full time, or unemployed. Additionally, taking the "burden" off the employers might encourage them to pay more in wages and be less likely to terminate people or otherwise "cheat" their employees.

What's the difference between giving companies tax breaks for staying here or paying adequate wages and over time and/or taking the burden of soaring healthcare costs off their backs?

People who feel well, do well. Accessible, transportable healthcare creates less stress for everyone and more freedom to job hop if necessary. :think:

[flaminbats]

5. Repukes who oppose this can be neither compassionate or conservative.

Paying 75% of the costs over $50,000 is a bonus to the upper class because it gives a boost to the shrinking middle class. What happened to trickle-down theory anyway?

I thought without profitable businesses and capital for consumers to spend that the wealthy couldn't benefit from Supply-side economics. Kerry's plan also encourages all businesses and individuals without healthcare coverage to buy into the FEHBP without resulting in huge premium increases because of those who need this coverage the most. But of course with the neocons it's survival of the fittest, and they seek to turn American life into an intolerable battlefield.