1+ Mil Could Lose Ins. Under CommieCare

This was discussed before the vote, but of course most MSM (lefty) outlets WERE NOT discussing this aspect of CommieCare.  Even if they had, how many drinkng the Obama Kool-Aid would have listened?  REMEMBER that uninsured patients mean loss of income for our employers.

http://capoliticaln ews.com/blog_ post/show/ 5343

Obamacare ends Insurance for one million poor
in September
Written by CA
Political News on June 08, 2010, 04:51 PM

Health law could ban low-cost plans

By: Jennifer Haberkorn, politico.com, 6/8/10 

Part of the health care overhaul due to kick in this September
could strip more than 1 million people of their insurance coverage,
violating a key goal of President Barack Obamas reforms.

Under the provision, insurance companies will no longer be able to
apply broad annual caps on the amount of money they pay out on health
policies. Employer groups say the ban could essentially wipe out a
niche insurance market that many part-time workers and retail and
restaurant employees have come to rely on.

This markets limited-benefit plans, also called mini-med plans, are
priced low because they can, among other things, restrict the number of
covered doctor visits or impose a maximum on insurance payouts in a
year. The plans are commonly offered by retail or restaurant companies
to low-wage workers who cannot afford more expensive, comprehensive
coverage.

Depending on how strictly the administration implements the provision,
the ban could in effect outlaw the plans or make them so restrictive
that insurance companies would raise rates to the point they become
unaffordable.

A cadre of employers and trade associations, including 7-Eleven, Lowes,
the National Restaurant Association, the National Retail Federation and
the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, have asked the administration to allow
the plans at least through 2014, when the insurance exchanges are set
up and tax credits become available for low-wage workers.

The struggle over the provision highlights the importance of the new
laws implementation timetable and the way its parts interlock with one
another. The legislation was front-loaded with consumer-friendly
reforms, such as the ban on most annual limits, in hopes the law would
become more popular. Polls show the legislation is supported by about
half the public.

But many of the more comprehensive features of the overhaul, such as
the insurance exchanges and tax credits that would help cover those who
use limited-benefit plans, dont come into play until 2014.

That means, for nearly three years, the effect of the ban on annual
limits could be costly for the low-wage, seasonal or temporary workers
who most often use limited-benefit plans. The full effect wont be known
until the administration releases regulations that detail how the
provision will be implemented.

The ban on annual caps is designed to improve the quality of all health
coverage. It will prevent patients from maxing out of their health
coverage if they are diagnosed with catastrophic illnesses or sustain
costly injuries.

If the ban is strictly implemented, this population would likely be
left with no coverage until 2014, employer groups wrote last week in a
letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and
Labor Secretary Hilda Solis. While it surely was not the intent of
Congress or the administration to increase the number of uninsured,
this provision will likely produce exactly this result for some of the
most vulnerable of our population, e.g., lower-wage, part-time,
seasonal and temporary workers who can only obtain and afford
limited-benefit medical insurance coverage.

The letter was signed by nearly three dozen organizations, including
many trade groups that did not support the Democrats legislation.
Industry groups estimate that about 1.4 million people use these plans.

HHS spokeswoman Jessica Santillo said that the department was
considering input from all stakeholders as it develops the rules
surrounding the ban on annual caps and that everyone will see
improvements in quality from provisions of the overhaul implemented
this year. (MY NOTE:  LOL!  Improvements like RATIONING!)

Under the Affordable Care Act, millions of small businesses and their
employees will see a significant decrease in the cost of health
insurance and will have access to higher-quality- coverage options. In
the short term, employers will benefit from administrative
simplification and greater insurer accountability on their overhead and
rate increases, Santillo said. And starting this year, an estimated 4
million small businesses who offer health coverage for employees will
see immediate relief through a small-business tax credit.

Once the exchanges open and the tax credits become available in 2014,
many of the low- and middle-income people who use limited-benefit plans
are likely to qualify for the credits. But thats after three years of
limbo.

Employers admit the plans arent comprehensive but say they offer them
because their employees can afford them.

Its not top-notch coverage by any stretch, but it is better than no
coverage, said Neil Trautwein, a health care lobbyist at the National
Retail Federation. Theres slight irony, given the presidents repeated
assertion that if you enjoy your coverage you can keep it, that this
would take the coverage away from part-time employees until 2014. (MY NOTE: That's not irony!  That's a LIE!  WSJ already busted this lie, which also applies to the rest of us, not just these part-time employees.

Rules to implement the provision could be written to allow the
limited-benefit plans until just 2014 or, with some flexibility, longer.

If the limits are too restrictive, these products are not going to be
able to be in the marketplace because thats what makes them affordable,
said Jessica Waltman, senior vice president of government affairs at
the National Association of Health Underwriters, which represents
insurance agents and brokers.