Health care confusion
If you”™re mystified by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010, you”™re not alone.
U.S. Reps. John Hall, D-Dover Plains, and Robert Andrews, Democrat from New Jersey, made several stops in the Hudson Valley July 9 seeking to bring more clarity to health care reform. They met with members of the Orange County Chamber of Commerce in Montgomery in the morning; headed to the Poughkeepsie Grand Hotel for lunch with Greater Southern Dutchess Chamber of Commerce; then down to Cortlandt Manor”™s Colonial Terrace, where Hudson Valley Hospital sponsored the pair”™s meeting with Westchester”™s business community.
If the public is confused about the ramifications of the 2,000 page health care legislation, it comes as no surprise. Said Hall, “Like every other piece of major legislation ”“ from Social Security to the Civil Rights Act ”“ this law will be amended as we see what needs to be changed.”
Medicare supplemental payments are already being sent to seniors to help defray medication costs. Co-pays for their routine diagnostic tests will be eliminated. At the other end of the age spectrum, children will be able to continue to be covered on their parents”™ health plans until their 27th birthday.
No one can be turned down for health insurance if they have a pre-existing condition ”“ Hall said more than 60 per cent of those applying for health insurance have one, declaring asthma to be his own. And insurance companies can no longer put a cap on how much they will pay if an insured client comes down with a catastrophic illness, nor cancel a policy on an individual or family.
Employers will also have a wider range of providers to choose from, even those not affected by the new law. “A ”˜health care exchange,”™ which all members of Congress must themselves be part of, will be fully implemented by 2014,” said Hall. “The exchanges will allow businesses to shop for insurance together. Rright now, two insurance companies have 70 percent of the insurance market. This exchange will open up opportunities for businesses to shop for insurance and bring insurers to the negotiating table.”
For businesses with fewer than 50 full-time employees, it”™s business as usual ”“ they are not impacted by the new health care legislation. Hall pointed out that included approximately 95 percent of Hudson Valley businesses; they can, however, take advantage of the health care exchanges being created. “Small businesses can take part in the health insurance ”˜pool,”™” added Andrews, “with the same purchasing power as an IBM or Lockheed Martin.”
Both praised the creation of health care exchanges, with Andrews saying, “Competition works in the U.S. economy ”“ quality and diversity go up, and prices go down. Right now, 2 percent of health care providers have more than 70 percent of the business. I believe competition will elevate quality.”
To some, the legislation is welcome.
“From a public health perspective,” said Vicky Lucarini, a Dutchess County public health nurse, “the incentive in this bill is that it encourages work-site wellness.”
Similarly, Kathleen Murphy, executive director of the Center for Preventing Child Abuse in Poughkeepsie, said she was “satisfied with what she heard and got her questions answered when it came to how nonprofits are affected.”
Others differed.
Tom Weddell, managing partner of Vanacore, DeBenedictus, DiGovanni & Weddell CPAs in Newburgh, spoke of the “lack of trust the business community has in this legislation. This doesn”™t really seem like health care reform, particularly if insurance premiums are going to continue to increase.”
Hal Teitelbaum, managing partner of Crystal Run Healthcare in Middletown, concurred with the assessment. “Health care costs will be higher,” he said. “Increasing coverage and lowering costs can”™t be done simultaneously.”
Asked if illegal aliens would be covered, Andrews answered, “Undocumented persons are not eligible for this national health care plan.”