Please fill in the required fields.
MelissaSchober re: A public plan. And will it really cost a TRILLION dollars?
Hi Julie! Thanks for asking about a public plan. For now, it seems some sort of public plan will be included along with health reform. That means a plan paid for and perhaps administered by the federal government. We already have some of these -- Medicaid, Medicare, etc. Some work well (the Veterans Administration is touted for being an cost-savings innovator while still providing quality care); some don't (Medicaid reimbursement rates are low, compared to private ins., so it is very difficult in some areas to find a doc and esp. a dentist).
The public plan might only be open to some -- say those making 400% of the federal poverty line (about 88k for a family of 4). And it might not be created unless private insurers fail to meet some obligations (see this for details: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/06/25/kerry-pushes-for-public-o_n_220822.html). It might be a regional system like states that self-insure, or a co-op plan where members (doctors and hospitals) own the system and have subsidies.
But onto the MONEY... That oft-repeated figure of ONE TRILLION sounds scary. But try to think about it like this -- it is $100 billion a year over 10 years. To cover some 45-50 million Americans. A lot of the costs are front-loaded because we need research to know if X treatment works better than Y treatment (comparative effectiveness research). We need loan money or subsidies to train primary care health professionals -- we're short about 500k nurses. We need funds to set up electronic medical records.
Also, think about this the next time you hear someone getting hysterical about costs: Every year, Congress passes a bill to fund the Depts. of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education. That bill? In FY2009 the Senate proposed $626 BILLION for JUST ONE YEAR (including spending on Medicaid and Medicare).
over 2 years ago - Comment
