THE DAILY DOSE: TUESDAY, MARCH 16, 2010
Stephanie Lundberg
(202) 225 - 3130
At the Time This Daily Dose Was Sent, Insured Americans Had Paid a “Hidden Tax” of $52,126,860,817 since January 1, 2009 in Additional Premium Costs to Cover Care for the Uninsured. Under the Microscope STRENGTHENING MEDICARE Yesterday in his speech in Strongville, Ohio, the President talked about how health insurance reform would strengthen the Medicare program by taking extra subsidies that insurance companies get and putting them back into benefits for seniors. He talked about how health insurance reform would add almost a decade of solvency to the Medicare program and make preventive care free so seniors wouldn’t have to pay out-of-pocket for tests to keep them healthy. The President also said reform would go after waste and fraud, and would over time reduce the cost of Medicare that seniors pay every month. He talked about how reform would close the prescription drug benefit donut hole over time, starting with an immediate $250 rebate for Medicare Part D seniors who hit the coverage gap this year. Health insurance reform would also incentivize doctors to coordinate care to help eliminate duplicate paperwork and tests for seniors in Medicare. THE COST OF UNCOMPENSATED CARE WITH & WITHOUT HEALTH REFORM A new report from the Urban Institute estimates that under the health insurance reform bill passed by the Senate, the cost of uncompensated care will fall from $62.1 billion in 2009 to $46.6 billion in 2019. If no health insurance reform is enacted, they project that uncompensated care would rise to between $107 and $141 billion in 2019. Without reform, the cost of uncompensated care will place an ever-growing burden on states and localities. TODAY’S HEALTH REFORM NUMBER: 50/50 If you’re an American under the age of 65, there’s roughly a 50/50 chance that you will find yourself without coverage at some point in the next decade. President Obama first highlighted this staggering figure in a weekly address from this past September and detailed how, in our broken health care system, losing insurance can happen to anyone. At yesterday’s rally, the President reminded us of just how fragile the status quo really is. Health Care Headlines President Obama Makes Pitch for Health-Care Reform Bill Gives Insurers a Younger Market About 1 in 4 in California Lack Health Insurance, a UCLA Study Finds EDITORIAL: Hold Your Washington Lawmakers Accountable OPINION: 'The Only Sensible Choice' OPINION: Health Care Bill: Heed the Lessons of 1994 OPINION: The Health Care Letdown OPINION: PAYGO Is Not a Reason to Oppose Health Care Reform | |||||||||
