Monday, March 1, 2010

That health care bill

You know that health care bill? Yeah, you know, the one that is seemingly never going to get passed. The one that is simultaneously a strong people first approach to dealing with health care problems, a total corporate sellout to insurance and pharmaceutical interests, a progressive back-stab of epic proportions, an average timidly incremental bill that does little to seriously move this country's health care system forward, and also an unending dark veil of socialist misery that will enslave our children as it grinds up our elderly into a paste we will be forced to spread onto our sandwiches of government bread and cheese?

Yeah, well according to Kaiser Health News it's also almost completely indistinguishable from Senator John Chafee's (R-RI) GOP counter-proposal to Bill Clinton's failed 1993 health reform effort. One that, at the time, was considered an unacceptable right wing proposal and deal breaker by 1993 Democrats and is now considered the best plan ever by current Democrats; was considered the serious principled conservative solution to health care problems by 193 Republicans and is now considered a grandma liquidating Bolshevik plot by today's GOP.

Funny how that worked out. That is if you happen to find not getting decent health care reform passed in 1993 and 2010 funny.

The full Kaiser chart is after the jump.


Major Provisions Senate Bill 2009 Sen. Chafee (R) Bill 1993 Rep. Boehner (R) Bill 2009
Require Individuals To Purchase Health Insurance
(Includes Religious and/or Hardship Exemption)
Yes

Yes

No (individuals without
coverage would be taxed)

Requires Employers To Offer Health Insurance To Employees

Yes (above 50 employees, must help pay for insurance costs to workers receiving tax credits
for insurance)

Yes (but no requirement to contribute to premium cost)

No

Standard Benefits Package

Yes

Yes

No

Bans Denying Medical Coverage For Pre-existing Conditions

Yes

Yes

No (establishes high risk pools)

Establish State-based Exchanges/Purchasing Groups

Yes

Yes

No

Offers Subsidies For Low-Income People To Buy Insurance

Yes

Yes

No

Long Term Care Insurance

Yes (sets up a voluntary insurance plan)

Yes (sets standards for insurance)

No

Makes Efforts To Create More Efficient Health Care System

Yes

Yes

Yes

Medicaid Expansion

Yes

No

No

Reduces Growth In Medicare Spending

Yes

Yes

No

Medical Malpractice Reform

No

Yes

Yes

Controls High Cost Health Plans

Yes (taxes on plans over $8,500 for single coverage to $23,000 for family plan)

Yes (caps tax exemption for employer-sponsored plans)

No

Prohibits Insurance Company From Cancelling Coverage

Yes

Yes

Yes

Prohibits Insurers From Setting Lifetime Spending Caps

Yes

No

Yes

Equalize Tax Treatment For Insurance Of Self-Employed

No

Yes

No

Extends Coverage To Dependents

Yes (up to age 26)

No

Yes (up to age 25)

Cost

$871 billion over 10 years

No CBO estimate

$8 billion over 10 years

Impact On Deficit

Reduces by $132 billion over 10 years

No CBO estimate

Reduces by $68 billion over 10 years

Percentage Of Americans Covered

94% by 2019

92-94% by 2005

82% by 2019

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