What if you're a stockholder in some of these companies? Is this legal? How can the government just tell companies they have to chip in to pay for something? These things are just going to cost shift. I am sorry, but I just don't understand how things work anymore. I love how these proposed health insurance plans are going to save money when the government runs them.
Please understand, I don't want to get "political" over this, but I just don't understand how these things work. How can the government take money from public companies that are in the business of making a profit. These companies are owned by individuals, pension funds, institutional investors, etc.
Schumer Vows to Make Insurers Help Fund Health Plan
By Laura Litvan and Kristin Jensen
July 15 (Bloomberg) -- Senator Charles Schumer said the nation’s health insurers should pay at least $75 billion to $100 billion over 10 years to help finance the overhaul of the U.S. health-care system.
Schumer, a New York Democrat and a member of the Senate Finance Committee, said private insurers should “pay their fair share.” He said panel members today discussed assessing a fee on insurers to help offset the cost of the overhaul, which may cost $1 trillion over a decade, and that the proposal likely will be included in legislation.
“We need the insurance companies to step up to the plate to be part of the solution,” he said at a news conference in Washington where he was joined by three other Democratic members of the committee.
Insurers such as UnitedHealth Group Inc. and WellPoint Inc. are the latest target as the finance panel works on a plan to overhaul the health-care system and meet President Barack Obama’s goal of signing legislation this year. Obama today vowed to hold the House and Senate to an August deadline to pass their versions and said a failure to act would threaten the financial stability of families, businesses and the government.
Significant differences between the House and Senate approaches remain unresolved, with much of the split focused on how to pay for the overhaul. Congress and the administration have been pressing health-care industries to help.
‘Not the Time’
America’s Health Insurance Plans, a group that represents insurers, said the industry already is doing its part and will oppose any new fees on it.
“As families and small businesses struggle during the current economic slowdown, now is not the time to impose new fees on health-care coverage that will make coverage less affordable,” Robert Zirkelbach, a spokesman for the group, said in an e-mailed statement.
WellPoint, the No. 1 health insurer by enrollment, also shot down the idea, saying it would “further exacerbate” cost shifting. “This proposal is another way of taxing health benefits for all Americans with private coverage,” the Indianapolis-based company said in a statement today.
Industry Agreement
The industry has already agreed to guarantee insurance for people with pre-existing conditions and to stop basing premiums on an individual’s gender or medical condition, Zirkelbach said. His organization proposed those changes in exchange for a requirement that everyone get coverage.
“Health plans are currently taxed at both the federal and state levels, including assessments that help fund high-risk pools in 30 states,” he said.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 sub-index of six managed-care companies rose 0.2 percent. Members include WellPoint and UnitedHealth, which is based in Minnetonka, Minnesota, and is the largest U.S. provider of health coverage by sales.
Schumer cited both drugmakers and hospitals as industries that have agreed to provide cost-savings. He and other Senate Democrats, including Debbie Stabenow of Michigan, expressed frustration at their news conference that insurers haven’t followed with their own voluntary agreement.
The hospital industry last week agreed to $155 billion in cost savings over 10 years, in a deal reached with the White House and Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, a Montana Democrat.
$80 Billion Deal
Drugmakers announced June 21 they would spend $80 billion over 10 years, with part of the money used to help elderly Americans pay for medicines. In addition to insurance groups, three other sectors -- medical-device makers, doctors, and labor unions -- also are under pressure to cut deals.
Schumer said the 100 biggest U.S. insurance companies have seen their profits soar by more than 400 percent between 2000 and 2007, and they can afford to make sacrifices at a time when they stand to gain even more customers. A goal of the legislation advocated by Democrats is to expand insurance coverage to the 46 million Americans who lack coverage.
He said there is “broad support” among Democrats on the finance panel to include new fees on insurance premiums, and “some of the Republicans” have said they will consider it. While he declined to discuss how the plan might be structured, he said lawmakers want to find a way to prevent insurers from simply passing the fees on to their consumers.
“If there’s real competition, there’s less likelihood and ability to pass it through” to consumers, Schumer said. “Every other industry is kicking in. And for the insurance industry to stand aside is not fair.”
Obama Proposals
Obama has already proposed changes in health-care policy that would have an impact on insurers. His budget plan for this year calls for requiring Louisville, Kentucky-based Humana Inc., UnitedHealth, WellPoint and other companies to offer competitive bids to Medicare Advantage plans, which bundle benefits and add more services than what the elderly get when they obtain coverage directly from the government.
The Medicare proposal would save $175 billion over 10 years, starting with $11.2 billion in 2012, according to the budget plan. The insurance companies are paid on average 14 percent more than it costs Medicare to provide benefits directly, according to government estimates.
Please understand, I don't want to get "political" over this, but I just don't understand how these things work. How can the government take money from public companies that are in the business of making a profit. These companies are owned by individuals, pension funds, institutional investors, etc.
Schumer Vows to Make Insurers Help Fund Health Plan
By Laura Litvan and Kristin Jensen
July 15 (Bloomberg) -- Senator Charles Schumer said the nation’s health insurers should pay at least $75 billion to $100 billion over 10 years to help finance the overhaul of the U.S. health-care system.
Schumer, a New York Democrat and a member of the Senate Finance Committee, said private insurers should “pay their fair share.” He said panel members today discussed assessing a fee on insurers to help offset the cost of the overhaul, which may cost $1 trillion over a decade, and that the proposal likely will be included in legislation.
“We need the insurance companies to step up to the plate to be part of the solution,” he said at a news conference in Washington where he was joined by three other Democratic members of the committee.
Insurers such as UnitedHealth Group Inc. and WellPoint Inc. are the latest target as the finance panel works on a plan to overhaul the health-care system and meet President Barack Obama’s goal of signing legislation this year. Obama today vowed to hold the House and Senate to an August deadline to pass their versions and said a failure to act would threaten the financial stability of families, businesses and the government.
Significant differences between the House and Senate approaches remain unresolved, with much of the split focused on how to pay for the overhaul. Congress and the administration have been pressing health-care industries to help.
‘Not the Time’
America’s Health Insurance Plans, a group that represents insurers, said the industry already is doing its part and will oppose any new fees on it.
“As families and small businesses struggle during the current economic slowdown, now is not the time to impose new fees on health-care coverage that will make coverage less affordable,” Robert Zirkelbach, a spokesman for the group, said in an e-mailed statement.
WellPoint, the No. 1 health insurer by enrollment, also shot down the idea, saying it would “further exacerbate” cost shifting. “This proposal is another way of taxing health benefits for all Americans with private coverage,” the Indianapolis-based company said in a statement today.
Industry Agreement
The industry has already agreed to guarantee insurance for people with pre-existing conditions and to stop basing premiums on an individual’s gender or medical condition, Zirkelbach said. His organization proposed those changes in exchange for a requirement that everyone get coverage.
“Health plans are currently taxed at both the federal and state levels, including assessments that help fund high-risk pools in 30 states,” he said.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 sub-index of six managed-care companies rose 0.2 percent. Members include WellPoint and UnitedHealth, which is based in Minnetonka, Minnesota, and is the largest U.S. provider of health coverage by sales.
Schumer cited both drugmakers and hospitals as industries that have agreed to provide cost-savings. He and other Senate Democrats, including Debbie Stabenow of Michigan, expressed frustration at their news conference that insurers haven’t followed with their own voluntary agreement.
The hospital industry last week agreed to $155 billion in cost savings over 10 years, in a deal reached with the White House and Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, a Montana Democrat.
$80 Billion Deal
Drugmakers announced June 21 they would spend $80 billion over 10 years, with part of the money used to help elderly Americans pay for medicines. In addition to insurance groups, three other sectors -- medical-device makers, doctors, and labor unions -- also are under pressure to cut deals.
Schumer said the 100 biggest U.S. insurance companies have seen their profits soar by more than 400 percent between 2000 and 2007, and they can afford to make sacrifices at a time when they stand to gain even more customers. A goal of the legislation advocated by Democrats is to expand insurance coverage to the 46 million Americans who lack coverage.
He said there is “broad support” among Democrats on the finance panel to include new fees on insurance premiums, and “some of the Republicans” have said they will consider it. While he declined to discuss how the plan might be structured, he said lawmakers want to find a way to prevent insurers from simply passing the fees on to their consumers.
“If there’s real competition, there’s less likelihood and ability to pass it through” to consumers, Schumer said. “Every other industry is kicking in. And for the insurance industry to stand aside is not fair.”
Obama Proposals
Obama has already proposed changes in health-care policy that would have an impact on insurers. His budget plan for this year calls for requiring Louisville, Kentucky-based Humana Inc., UnitedHealth, WellPoint and other companies to offer competitive bids to Medicare Advantage plans, which bundle benefits and add more services than what the elderly get when they obtain coverage directly from the government.
The Medicare proposal would save $175 billion over 10 years, starting with $11.2 billion in 2012, according to the budget plan. The insurance companies are paid on average 14 percent more than it costs Medicare to provide benefits directly, according to government estimates.
