Blue Cross Blue Shield, and AHIP, issued a joint statement opposing President Obama’s proposal to create a government run health plan. They believe that the creation of a government run health plan would be detrimental to a overhaul of our ailing health system.
In their statement sent to key senators, AHIP and the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association (BCBSA) said that any such program “would thwart the ability of the healthcare sector to implement meaningful delivery system reforms, exacerbate the cost-shift from public programs to consumers and employers in the private market, and destabilize the employer-based system.” The two groups said that more than 100 million Americans would leave their existing private health insurance plan for the proposed federally subsidized health plan.
Both AHIP and BCBSA said they would guarantee health insurance coverage to all families and individuals, including those with pre-existing medical conditions, but only if there is a federal mandate that requires Americans to obtain and hold health insurance coverage. Even so, “rating flexibility based on age, geography, family size and benefit design would be needed to maintain affordability.”
This is a interesting development in the ongoing debate about how to fix the broken health care system in the United States. This proposal seems like it would make sense for health insurance shoppers if the rates would indeed be affordable. My gut feeling says that if health insurance companies are required to cover unhealthy individuals at the same rates as healthy individuals, the healthy people will bear the financial brunt of this compromise.
In their statement sent to key senators, AHIP and the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association (BCBSA) said that any such program “would thwart the ability of the healthcare sector to implement meaningful delivery system reforms, exacerbate the cost-shift from public programs to consumers and employers in the private market, and destabilize the employer-based system.” The two groups said that more than 100 million Americans would leave their existing private health insurance plan for the proposed federally subsidized health plan.
Both AHIP and BCBSA said they would guarantee health insurance coverage to all families and individuals, including those with pre-existing medical conditions, but only if there is a federal mandate that requires Americans to obtain and hold health insurance coverage. Even so, “rating flexibility based on age, geography, family size and benefit design would be needed to maintain affordability.”
This is a interesting development in the ongoing debate about how to fix the broken health care system in the United States. This proposal seems like it would make sense for health insurance shoppers if the rates would indeed be affordable. My gut feeling says that if health insurance companies are required to cover unhealthy individuals at the same rates as healthy individuals, the healthy people will bear the financial brunt of this compromise.