New health care

The replacement plan for Obamacare was released today and will likely change as the conference committee debates the issue. First off it will cover all Americans so it will be more expensive than Obamacare since there are still 33 million people without coverage. Second the subsidies will be replaced with tax credits. I assume these will be refundable meaning that you get the credit even if you own any taxes. Under the old Medicaid the counties and federal government paid the bill but this new plan will send federal money to the states and the states will fund the program. The idea is to move control of health care closer to home. In addition each person will be allowed to purchase the plan that best suits them. The complaint under Obamacare was that a young single man had to buy a plan that included maternity benefits the one size fits all problem. The tax credits range from $2,000 per year to $14,000 per year depending on age and income. States will be given federal dollars to help insurance companies with the cost of covering those will health problems that prevent them from getting standard cost plans. Like the old Medicaid there will be no existing conditions clause but unlike Medicaid there will be a penalty of coverage is dropped and then reapplied for. This was a problem with Medicaid. People would wait until they got sick and then buy insurance and when they recovered they would drop the plan. For those with company plans which includes 150 million people the idea of health savings accounts will be the key point. These plans will have high deductibles and the company and employee will share the premium cost. The companies will also share in the deductible and any funds not used will be carried forward and eventually end up as retirement money. There will be an incentive for individuals to shop for health care and to spend only when necessary. This was one of the weaknesses of Obamacare and I offer one example to illustrate. When a new mom found out she could get a breast pump at no cost she got rid of her old one and got a new one. Then she found out she could get two, one for home and one for work and this is just what she did. The number of small claims will be greatly reduced and thus will the administrative cost (paper work). This will mean the loss of jobs in the insurance industry but to what extent is hard to say at this point. Insurance companies will be able to operate across state lines so competition will be fierce. Health care providers like doctors, and clinics will be relieved not to have to deal so much with insurance companies and will be paid up front for most services. The two benefits from Obamacare that are retained are the no pre-existing conditions clause and children stay on parents plan until age 26. These will be part of the Obama legacy and he will get credit for having moved the country to universal health care.