Top 10 Questions About the HR3200 Reform Bill

Guest blogger Andrew from WrongReform.Com

The HR3200 Reform Bill is a behemoth filled with technical jargon that most of us do not understand.  Much of the outrage and concern spreading across america is because their has not been a complete and thorough explanation of the contents of the bill.   I had a chance to interview the webmaster of  Wrong Reform to get some questions answered.  I presented the webmaster with a list of the top 10 HR3200 questions.  The webmaster is a 22 year veteran of the insurance industry and he has read the HR3200 bill from beginning to end.

Question – True/False – A government committee will decide what treatments and benefits you get (and, unlike an insurer, there will be no appeals process)

Answer - False, as worded above. Consider the 9/11 commission if you will. An unaccountable government funded panel implements ‘research’ and compiles ‘reports’ and recommendations. None of the recommendations have the force of law.

However, the recommendations are presented to a department, individual or group that DOES have the power to discard, adopt, modify or expand them. In this case, such authority does indeed reside with the Secretary of HHS and/or the new Commissioner position created by HR3200.

Properly worded, your question is; True/False – The new Insurance Commissioner will decide what treatments and benefits you get (and, unlike an insurer, there will be no appeals process).

The answer here is True. I can find no mechanism in the bill allowing for appeals of the rules, and in some sections of the bill, such appeals are specifically forbidden.

Question – True/False – The “Health Choices Commissioner” will decide health benefits for you. You will have no choice. None.

Answer – True, within the context of insurance plans created and/or regulated by the bill. It may be possible to purchase health insurance outside the ‘qualified’ system, but you would be subject to the same penalties as a person who has no insurance.

Question -  True/False – All non-US citizens, illegal or not, will be provided with *free* healthcare services.

Answer – False. Although the bill does not prohibit illegals from buying into either public or private options, it does very specifically prohibit giving any direct individual subsidies to persons not legally in the U.S.

This question is directly linked to the ‘Affordability Credits’ found in the bill. This is the mechanism that subsidizes the premiums and the ‘coinsurance’ for persons and families at or below 400% of the poverty line. In order to qualify for these credits, the applicant must provide financial proof of need and other ID verification.

Question -  True/False – The federal government will have direct, real-time access to all individual bank accounts for electronic funds transfer.

Answer - True, and probably even more, but with a caveat. Again, this will be the case for those who participate, but if you opt out and take the penalty, there will be no access. I say even more, because in the cases of all those who apply for Affordability Credits, the government will have essentially unlimited access to ALL of your financial records, including your tax returns.

Question –  True/False – The Government will pay ACORN and Americorps to sign up individuals for Government-run Health Care plan.

Answer -  Specifically, False. Potentially, True. The Commissioner will be allowed to recruit unnamed outside agents and agencies as he/she sees fit. I will leave it to you to decide who or what the Obama administration will be looking to.

Question –  True/False – Those eligible for Medicaid will be automatically enrolled: you have no choice in the matter.

Answer - True, but only on a limited scale. It appears that this function is specified only for cases in which a Medicaid eligible person is discovered because they are attempting to enroll in the new health plan. Also, I find nothing in the bill to prevent the person from opting out once they are informed of the enrollment.

Question –  True/False – Government will decide what level of treatments you may have at end-of-life.

Answer -  Specifically, False. Potentially, True. I must again refer to the 9/11 commission comment. A panel (or panels) will be making recommendations about these and many other cost/benefit related issues. What those recommendations will be and whether they will be implemented remains to be seen.

With that in mind, given the off-prompter comments by Obama and the stance of some of his advisors, it seems very likely that there will be reductions in the services offered for end of life.

Question –  True/False – Any employer with a payroll of $250K-400K or more, who does not offer the public option, pays a 2 to 6% tax on payroll

Answer – True, but very misleading. All employers will be subject to penalties as high as 8% for failure to offer a qualified health plan. However, those who do offer health plans will be losing a minimum of 50% of the tax deduction for those costs. In fact, a 60% reduction is more likely and it will range upwards of 75% for employers with higher average payrolls.

In addition, the health premium for any employee earning $80k or more will not be deductible at all. In my opinion, this is aimed not only at the ‘wealthy’, but specifically at self employed individuals who currently deduct their own premiums by incorporating. This causes the self employed to be penalized at the higher business rate instead of the 2.5% individual rate.

Currently, the average employer who offers a health plan is already spending 11% of his payroll budget on insurance. With the new mandates and the increased mandatory employer, that figure will climb even higher.

So despite the appearance of attempting to force employers to offer coverage via the penalty mechanism, nothing could be further from the truth. With the partial loss of the deductibility of premiums, the vast majority of employers will enjoy a net gain if they drop coverage, even with the penalties.

Question –  True/False – Any individual who doesn’t have acceptable healthcare (according to the government) will be taxed 2.5% of income.

Answer - True, but not the whole story. Individuals earning $250k and above will be subject to additional income taxes regardless of whether they have insurance or not. The rich guy tax will be as high as 5% for those earning $1 million or more. And those ‘taxes’ will NOT be deductible.

In addition, remember the $80k deductibility loss. Self employed persons will be stuck choosing between a total loss of deductibility or the 2%-8% penalty.

Question –  True/False – Hospitals will be penalized for what the government deems preventable re-admissions.

Answer – True, but limited to Medicare/Medicaid at this time in this version of the bill.

Please visit Wrong Reform where you can see the HR3200 bill in it’s entirety.

Tagged as: Guest Bloggers, Healthcare, Healthcare Reform, Hr3200, HR3200 Reform