Kaiser: "Doctors, Hospitals, Insurers, Pharma Come Out Ahead With Health Bill"

[Ivanka]

http://www.kaiserhealthnews.org/Stories/2010/March/22/winners-losers-health-reform.aspx

[ProSense]

1. Insurers: Pluses - mandate; Minuses:

INSURERS

"In the short term, insurers will gain enrollment but the bill may cost them in the long run if health costs don't come under control," said Peter Kongstvedt, a McLean, Va.-based insurance industry consultant.

Pluses:

-- The individual health insurance mandate, along with subsidies for low-income Americans, will bring insurers tens of millions of new customers.

-- The expansion of Medicaid will also provide new customers; many recipients will be covered by private managed care plans.

Minuses:

-- The bill calls for $132 billion in cuts to Medicare Advantage plans, the private health plans that cover one in five seniors.

-- New taxes on the industry total $70 billion over 10 years, beginning in 2014.

-- Insurers are facing a new requirement to spend 85 percent of their premium dollars on health care, potentially leaving less money for administration, marketing and profits.

-- The so-called "Cadillac" tax on high-cost health plans is aimed at insurers, though it won't take effect until 2018.

-- Lawmakers called for relatively low penalties -- just $95 in 2014 – for not buying insurance, which could encourage many healthy people to skip coverage.

If that's what coming out ahead looks like, I'll take it.

[Donnachaidh]

2. that'a a *no DUH* statement.

Dems got pushed into a bill that will enrich a badly flawed system. It's got nothing to do with actual HEALTH care.