gwahu: health reform -- where are we now?
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Presentation given by Grace-Marie Turner on the impact of ObamaCareTRANSCRIPT
Health Reform: Where are we now?
Greater WashingtonAssociation of Health Underwriters
January 11, 2012
Grace-Marie TurnerGalen Institute
Overwhelming majorities say ObamaCare will increase taxes, the federal deficit, premiums,
health care costs, and decrease quality of care
AM&A | Resurgent Republic 1st Anniversary Survey of Likely Voters | April 25-27, 2010
TaxesFederal Deficit
Health care Costs
Insurance Premiums
Health Care Quality
Do you think the health care reform plan that Congress passed recently will increase, decrease, or have no effect on each of the following:
What the president will tell you ObamaCare does
–“Free” preventive care–Allowing “children” up to age 26 on
parent’s policies–No annual or lifetime limits on coverage–Pools for pre-existing condition policies–$250 for seniors with high drug costs– Insurance regulations and mandates
What ObamaCare does
◄Significant new federal control over health insurance and medical practice
◄At least 159 new programs and agencies ◄Mandates on citizens, employers, & states
◄$552 billion in new taxes and penalties◄$575 billion from Medicare
People are confused
22% - Think the law has been repealed *
26% - Are unsure
Just over half (52%) know ObamaCare still stands
14% - Believe they have benefited from the law
17% - Already have been harmed
45% - Fear it will make the economy worse
56% - Favor full repeal of the law
Source: “Kaiser Health Tracking Poll – February 2011,” The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, February 24, 2011, www.kff.org/kaiserpolls/8156.cfm.
ObamaCare Is Less Popular Than Ever
• Overall favorability -- 34%, an all-time low
• “Very favorable” support -- 12%
• People who think they personally will be better off --18%
• The country as a whole will be better off -- 28%
• Approval of the law among Democrats dropped by 13% to only 52%
Source: Kaiser Health Tracking Poll, Kaiser Family Foundation, October 2011, http://www.kff.org/kaiserpolls/8251.cfm.
Widespread pushback
Very real consequences – Killing jobs, especially decimating the insurance broker community – 40% of doctors plan to leave practice
Resistance from states – Lawsuits to block individual mandate, resist Medicaid expansion– Balking at setting up exchanges or otherwise complying
Impossible complexity– CLASS Act collapse– Enormous bureaucracy, benefit mandates, privacy issues– 10,000 pages of regulations -- so far
Medical Practice Ownership
“When the Doctor Has a Boss. More Physicians Are Going to Work for Hospitals Rather Than Hanging a Shingle” By ANNA WILDE MATHEWS. The Wall Street Journal Nov. 8, 2010
“The mandate was a mistake”“Democrats managed to get themselves the
worst possible result: a law that enflames the opposition on the basis of overreaching federal power but may not work in practice because there is no real power behind it.
Whether or not the Court strikes it down, the individual mandate has been one of the most serious political and policy mistakes of recent decades.”
Princeton Professor (and Obamacare advisor) Paul Starr, “The Health Care Mandate Really Was a Mistake,” January 2, 2012. The New Republic. http://www.tnr.com/article/politics/99072/the-health-care-mandate-really-was-mistake
Studies show law fails to meet goals
Health costs and health spending increase
One-third of businesses may drop insurance
Young people worried about high cost of policies
Doctors concerned about Medicaid expansion and fraying the safety net
Seniors are concerned about access to care through Medicare and Medicare Advantage
Tens of millions remain uninsured
“If you like your health insurance…”COVERAGE
51 to 80% of Americans will lose current coverage, according to Obama admin. estimates
Up to 80 million will be forced to change policies
30-40 million insured will drop coverage
Child-only policies vanish in 19 states
35 million more will move from job-based insurance to taxpayer-subsidized exchanges
What happened to cost controls?
Insurance premiums rising 9% to $15,000yr (family employer plan)
Rick Foster: “False more so than true” that law will lower costs for taxpayers
Actual cost of the law, $2.4 trillion – and counting
Democratic pollster Pat Caddell said: “The economy, as important as it was, was not the decisive factor this election. Health care was,” he said.
“It is...health care [that] killed them,” Caddell said of the 63 defeated House Democrats.
“The American people found this a crime against democracy... they want it repealed, and this issue is gonna go on and on.”
2010 Political Realities
Changes are inevitable
Legislation: Defunding, dismantling
Regulatory: Strict congressional oversight
Legal: Supreme Court decision in 2012
Political: Election referendum
What we know for sure
CHOICE Americans value innovation, diversity and choice to accommodate different needs of 300 million people
FOCUS ON THE PATIENT They want doctors and patients, not government, to make health care decisions
VALUE IN HEALTH SPENDING To realize the promise of personalized medicine and achieve overall cost saving, we must allow more choice and competition
Other nations move toward change
ConsumerismValue private
enterprise and competition
Doctor/patient relationship
Decentralized decision-making
The future?The global move toward consumerism is real, driven by greater patient demand for more control over decisions.
Health overhaul is law and will fundamentally change the U.S. health sector. But I believe it will be repealed by Congress, struck down the courts, or amended significantly before 2014
Why ObamaCare Is Wrong for America
How does the new health care law drive up costs?
Is your doctor really in charge of your health care decisions?
Are your Constitutional rights threatened?
Discover the law’s impact on your life in a new book from four nationally recognized health policy experts
Published by Broadside Books, an imprint of HarperCollins
www.WrongForAmericaBook.com
