Utah Comprehensive Health Insurance Pool

Single-payer advocate sounds alarm about impact of federal health insurance ...

A proponent of the plans for a single-payer style system in Vermont is worried about the financial impact of the new federal health care law on low-income Vermonters who now have insurance coverage through Catamount Health and the Vermont Health Access Plan.

Peter Sterling, executive director of the Vermont Campaign for Health Care Security, said an “exchange” mandated under the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is a step in the right direction, but it may cause some growing pains on Vermont’s path toward universal coverage.

Under the federal law, “all health insurance plans will be offered by private insurance companies like Blue Cross Blue Shield,” Sterling says.

“VHAP and the state subsidy for Catamount Health will no longer be offered and most enrollees will have to purchase other private insurance,” Sterling wrote in an op-ed.

The required shift to private insurance, Sterling warns, could cause financial hardships for low- and middle-income Vermonters.

Under the federal Patient Protections and Affordable Care Act, signed by President Obama in 2010, every state is required to create a “Health Benefits Exchange” that will offer residents the means to compare information on available health insurance plans. Every state must have an exchange in place by 2014.

The Shumlin administration plans to run the exchange until plans for a universal health care system go into effect by 2017.

In the new insurance exchange, individuals who make less than 133 percent of the federal poverty level will be covered under an extended Medicaid plan, according to Sterling. Those making between 133 percent and 400 percent will be eligible for tax credits and cost-sharing subsidies. For 2011, the federal poverty level for a family of four was $22,350 or $1,863 a month. Families of four that make more than 400 percent above the poverty level, or $89,400, would not receive credits.

Is your state health insurance risk pool a good option for you? - In ...

In March 2010, Congress passed a new Health Care Reform Bill. One of the many components of this Bill is the creation and funding of state health insurance pools that will help people gain access to insurance that were otherwise turned down for health insurance. Backed by a 5 Billion dollar subsidy, the health care risk pool will provide states with the ability to offer premiums and health care for those uninsured and with pre-existing medical problems. But is this State health insurance risk pool a good option?

First, we need to further understand the details of State health care risk pools.  State insurance risk pools are a type of health care program created by state legislatures to provide health care for the medically uninsurable due to pre-existing health conditions.  A risk pool in these cases is really helpful as it provides the bare minimum insurance to those in need.

A study by United Health Foundation reported that 15.9 percent of Americans have no health insurance.  For those insured, 60 percent have health insurance through a group or employer.  The remainder is made up of individuals covered by government health care, military programs and other federal programs and private health insurance.  For people without insurance, they have no other option than to purchase individual health insurance from private health insurance companies. For people with existing medical conditions or other health problems, finding a health insurance company with reasonable prices is next to impossible.

Insurance companies make money if you pay premiums and don’t get sick or hurt. They work with tables called “actuaries” that predict who, at what age, genetic background, part of the country and other variables will get sick or hurt and need medical care. The less likely you are to get hurt or sick the better your insurance premiums. This is one of the reasons larger businesses get better rates than an individual. With a large group there is a diverse range of age and health conditions which help the insurance company distribute their risk as many will pay in with fewer paying out. At least that is the insurance company’s hope. For those uninsurable high risk individuals, this is where a State insurance risk pool is useful since it is affordable and backed by Government.

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