Health Care Thoughts: Draft Exchange Rules Published
Health Care Thoughts: Draft Exchange Rules Published
The Obama administration has published draft rules for the formation and operation of Affordable Insurance Exchanges, a key element in the PPACA (Obamacare) plan to increase insurance coverage.
There is a 75 day comment and then more time to digest the comments before final rules are issued. Implementation is due by January 1, 2014.
See the rules here, 244 pages (link fixed)
Tom aka Rusty Rustbelt
See the rules here, 244 pages This link to the rules does not seem to be operative. That’s o fno consequence to my question. Obama’s most significant progressive accomplishment to date has been said to be the Affordable Care Act. Rusty’s post makes it abundantly clear that it is an accomplishment in print only. The 244 page draft for rules to these AIEs leaves me with the impression that such Exchanges will never see the light of day, especially true to their name, Affordable Insurance Exchange.
So what is it that has been progressive about the Obama administration to date. As we speak (write as the case may be) we hear him suggesting that this is the right time to address the Social Security problem, as though there were such a problem. So we have no affordable health insurance for the foreseeable future. We have no public option for health care coverage, which on its own might have resolved the Medicare cost problem by enlisting a great many more healthy covered members of the plan. That’s the idea of insurance isn’t it, to spread the risk by adding helathy payers to the plan? So where is the liberal (virtually socialist as some fools might have suggested) Senator from Illinois? Obama seems more like Clinton’s alter eog with none of the better traits and an emphasis on all of the worst. Oh, I almost forgot. He’s a good family man. He’s almost a member of a minority group and he’s certainly a member of a priviledged group. He does spin a good yarn on the campaign stump.
http://ofr.gov/OFRUpload/OFRData/2011-17610_PI.pdf
Try this.
I should point out that any state that does not set up an exchange will have a federal exchange set up for it.
The time line on this is not all that unreasonable, given the size fo the task.
Proposed rule. 244 pages. Ok, it’s double-spaced. But still.
The proposed rule (and that’s all it is) is loaded with “we propose” statements.
What’s that tell you about the state of affairs in managing Obamacare?
I am of the opinion that this program will become one screwed up mess.
The Congress should have passed a national single payer bill or left the then existing system alone.
Keep in mind there is built into the system a public comment period before the final regs are published, so the “we propose” is intentional and required.
As to Obamacare, well it is incredibly complex and the roll out requires lots of things to be done correctly and on time. not a strong point of government.
All it is and all it will ever be is a mandate to purchase a product from the same parasites that have broken our political and economic system.
bkm817, like most things, does not take pages to say we are doing nothing about the problems associated with health care insurance; which is the real problem.
The initial ACA, passed as the Manager’s Act, was never fleshed out to the fullest extent. I think we forget this fact. This is the first pass at fleshing this portion of it. if you pull the documentation for your own insurance policy, it is many more pages than the simple flyer brochure or two pager you get as an employee.
bkm817:
Granted you are correct. We would have been far better off witha single payer or an extended version of Medicare. We did not get such because of the Republicans stone walling, blue dogs, and the independent Liberman (who balked at both. This is the best option on the table as of today.
jwbeene:
Not true, as the MLR will place constraints on insurance companies and what they can spend on administrative. Also, the problems with healthcare insurance pale against the rising cost issues associated with the healthcare industry.
rusty,
The “we propose” statements in the proposed rule indicate (1) what wasn’t stated clearly in the law, of which there is plenty, and (2) what considerations and language are being developed to implement the law. The law was so poorly written that the Department of Health and Human Services had to begin with making up some definitions for terms included in the proposed rule. And the HHS “we propose” statements begin with the definitions.
Granted, this is a proposed rule based upon a ground up launch. It’s understandable that HHS is requred to create a group of proposed rules based in part on thin air. But that doesn’t mask the problems with the law signed by President Obama. Note as well the number of subsections included in this proposed rule which are not explained nor identified as what the subject matter will be later on. Big blank spaces.
I have reviewed most of the proposed rule. I can only say that I am fortunate to not be involved in forcing compliance with this law at the State or Federal level. I could say more, but that would involve quite a bit of cursing.