Health insurance reform – 8 points to repeat and repeat

It will be useful to keep this list at hand and repeat it often …

The White House - Blog Post - The Return of the Viral Email

… 8 ways reform provides security and stability to those with or without coverage

1. Ends Discrimination for Pre-Existing Conditions: Insurance companies will be prohibited from refusing you coverage because of your medical history.

2. Ends Exorbitant Out-of-Pocket Expenses, Deductibles or Co-Pays: Insurance companies will have to abide by yearly caps on how much they can charge for out-of-pocket expenses.

3. Ends Cost-Sharing for Preventive Care: Insurance companies must fully cover, without charge, regular checkups and tests that help you prevent illness, such as mammograms or eye and foot exams for diabetics.

4. Ends Dropping of Coverage for Seriously Ill: Insurance companies will be prohibited from dropping or watering down insurance coverage for those who become seriously ill.

5. Ends Gender Discrimination: Insurance companies will be prohibited from charging you more because of your gender.

6. Ends Annual or Lifetime Caps on Coverage: Insurance companies will be prevented from placing annual or lifetime caps on the coverage you receive.

7. Extends Coverage for Young Adults: Children would continue to be eligible for family coverage through the age of 26.

8. Guarantees Insurance Renewal: Insurance companies will be required to renew any policy as long as the policyholder pays their premium in full. Insurance companies won't be allowed to refuse renewal because someone became sick.

Learn more and get details: http://www.WhiteHouse.gov/health-insurance-consumer-protections/

Personally I want health insurance severed from employment. That was part of McCain’s proposal during the last election; I recall thinking that the overall proposal was quite bad but I liked that bit. If we had a reformed GOP the McCain proposal would be a starting point for a great discussion on health care reform, but since we have the party of Cheney/Palin/Limbaugh we won’t get to have that discussion.

In the absence of a rational discussion on health care I’ll go with these eight items. They will raise premiums for large corporations (I’ll pay more) while shrinking premiums modestly for smaller businesses and by large amounts for individuals. That’s good in my book.

These proposals would also have lots of unexpected consequences, but that’s the nature of policy …