NPR: Mandatory Health Insurance May Hit Middle Class
C.Tudor
"May"?! The principal feature of ObamaCare is to expand Medicaid by
funding it with the "mandate" which is nothing more than a 10-15% tax on
the lower middle class, people that are already paying taxes to fund
health care for government workers and to subsidize tax-exempt employer
insurance groups. The passage of this plan hinges on the fact that the
lower middle class is small and carries very little political clout.
"An 'affordable' Health Care Public Option would be $1,000 to $1,200
annually.
If no truly 'affordable' public option, then no Obama 2012."
Anyone can make their opinion known:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/CONTACT/
http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm
http://www.house.gov/house/MemberWWW_by_State.shtml
---------------------------
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=112892730
September 16, 2009
All the health care bills circulating through Congress, including one
unveiled Wednesday � require people to carry health insurance. The bills
also include some government subsidies to help them pay for it. The
latest bill, however, provides less generous subsidies, which could make
it harder for middle-class families to afford the mandatory insurance.
Mandatory Health Insurance May Hit Middle Class
by Scott Horsley
MELISSA BLOCK, host:
All of the health care bills circulating through Congress, including the
final one unveiled today, require people to carry health insurance. The
bills also include some government subsidies to help them pay for it.
The latest bill, long awaited from the chairman of the Senate Finance
Committee, provides less generous subsidies to keep costs down.
As NPR's Scott Horsley reports, the smaller subsidies could make it
harder for middle-class families to afford the mandatory insurance.
SCOTT HORSLEY: When Massachusetts overhauled its own health care system
three years ago, it included requirement for all residents to carry
health insurance, just as Congress is considering now. Massachusetts
offered subsidies to help families earning up to three times the poverty
rate. For Mark Freedman(ph) and his family, the newly affordable
insurance was a welcome relief.
Mr. MARK FREEDMAN (Teacher, Economics): It was excellent. You know, we
paid $330 a month, and my wife and I received very good health insurance
for that price.
HORSLEY: But after about a year, Freedman, who teaches economics at
several colleges around the state, got a raise. And once his income
topped about $55,000, he was no longer eligible for the subsidized
insurance.
Mr. FREEDMAN: I made a few thousand dollars over the limit. And it's on
or off, black or white, you exceed by one penny and chow-chow, you buy
your own insurance.
HORSLEY: Freedman went shopping for private insurance, but found a
comparable policy for his family of three would have cost about $15,000
a month, more than he pays in rent. Even a catastrophic policy would
have cost about a thousand dollars a month. So, Freedman wound up doing
without.
Mr. FREEDMAN: We're in this situation where the state says, you make too
much, you're too rich. We're not giving you anything, no subsidy. But at
the same time, there's nothing affordable out there for you, so chew on
that.
HORSLEY: Tens of thousands of other middle class residents are in the
same boat. Carol Pryor, who is research director for a Boston nonprofit
called The Access Project, says many of the remaining uninsured in
Massachusetts make too much money to qualify for subsidized insurance,
but too little to easily buy it on their own.
Ms. CAROL PRYOR (Research Director, The Access Project): There is a gap
in the middle and that is troublesome.
HORSLEY: And that gap would likely be even wider under the national
health care plan unveiled today by Senator Baucus. Under that plan, a
family of four making $66,000 a year could pay as much as $715 a month,
even with a government subsidy. Senator Baucus whittled away at the
proposed subsidies in the plan in order to lower the overall price tag.
Senator MAX BAUCUS (Democrat, Montana): We've done everything imaginable
to get the most generous, most affordable coverage that we could, within
President Obama's target of $900 billion.
HORSLEY: Critics complain the Baucus bill would lead to big,
out-of-pocket expenses for middle income families. They'd be required to
buy insurance or pay a penalty of up to $3,800 a year. In a bid for
Republican votes, the Baucus plan does not include a public insurance
option, which proponents say would help lower cost. Baucus says he is
still committed to providing choice in competition in the insurance
market through nonprofit co-ops, if necessary. In Massachusetts, the
combination of mandatory insurance and public subsidies has worked, all
but about four percent of working age adults in the state now have
insurance. But researcher Pryor says for many middle income families
affordable coverage is still out of reach.
Ms. PRYOR: If a reform plan is implemented, we need to keep monitoring
it to see how the affordability levels are really playing out on the
ground. It's not enough to just look at the percentage of people who are
uninsured. But once they have coverage, we need to look in an ongoing
way at how well that cover is suiting them.
HORSLEY: Pryor says that's a lesson for members of Congress to keep in
mind as they consider overhaul in health care nationwide.
Scott Horsley, NPR News, Washington.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=112892730