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Greetings to Our Clients and Friends!
Welcome back to the Pinellas Protector, the eNewsletter of AH Insurance Services. To test everyone's knowledge of the 2010 Health Care Reform legislation (also known as ObamaCare), we are re-printing a quiz sponsored earlier this year by the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. I answered 10 out of 10 questions correctly, which apparently puts me in the top 1% of test takers. Any of my readers who get a perfect score will win a small prize! Just contact me with the news, but no peeking at the answers before you're done!
This quarter's newsletter includes an update on current court cases related to ObamaCare. Also, please see our Quote of the Month and the Featured Video, which is included again for those who missed it last quarter.
We wish you and your loved ones a safe and happy July 4th Holiday.
Until Next Quarter,
Andrew Herman
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Health Reform Quiz
A perfect score wins a prize!
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1. Will the health reform law require nearly all Americans to have health insurance by 2014 or else pay a fine?
2. Will the health reform law allow a government panel to make decisions about end-of-life care for people on Medicare?
3. Will the health reform law cut benefits that were previously provided to all people on Medicare?
4. Will the health reform law expand the existing Medicaid program to cover low-income, uninsured adults regardless of whether they have children?
5. Will the health reform law provide financial help to low and moderate income Americans who don't get insurance through their jobs to help them purchase coverage?
6. Will the health reform law prohibit insurance companies from denying coverage because of a person's medical history or health condition?
7. Will the health reform law require all businesses, even the smallest ones, to provide health insurance for their employees?
8. Will the health reform law provide tax credits to small businesses that offer coverage to their employees?
9. Will the health reform law create a new government run insurance plan to be offered along with private plans?
10. Will the health reform law allow undocumented immigrants to receive financial help from the government to buy health insurance?
The quiz answers appear below, along with percentage of respondents answering each question correctly. |
| Health Care Reform Update
What Court Cases Have Arisen Calling for Repeal of the Health Reform Law? | |
Much controversy has arisen over the newest "improvement" to healthcare in the United States, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). As the PPACA is long and contains everything from penalties for not having health insurance to regulating benefits for small businesses, there are ample opportunities for people to be discontented with it. Finally, there are cases arguing the illegality of the PPACA coming to the foreground. What are these cases and do they have any merit?
Although there are over twenty cases calling for the repeal of the PPACA, there are two major cases that have arisen: Liberty University vs. Geithner and Virginia vs. Sebelius. Both cases argue that Congress does not have any authority to force United States citizens to purchase health insurance, although Liberty University vs. Geithner also argues against the constitutionality of some mandates regarding the role of the employer in the healthcare process. The basis of this general argument against the mandate that citizens must purchase health insurance is the Commerce Clause in the Constitution, which essentially gives the Congress the right to regulate commercial dealings within the United States. However, as Virginia (along with 25 other states, including Florida) and Liberty University argue, the Commerce Clause does not give Congress the right to force people to participate in commerce, but merely to regulate what commerce there is. This means that Congress cannot force people to buy health insurance. If Congress can force people to buy health insurance, Congress should be equally able to force citizens to buy anything else, whether it be the same exact type of house or a rainbow slinky. On the other hand, if this mandate of the PPACA is repealed, there will be little basis for many other parts of the law, meaning that there must be repeal of many other mandates.
These cases have been starting to boil at the bottom of the pot for quite a while now. Over half of the states, including Florida, have been calling for the repeal of the PPACA from almost the point that it was passed. The painfully long implementation period for PPACA naturally lends itself to being called out for disputes in court. And as aforementioned, disputes have arisen in court- disputes that are expected to be carried to the Supreme Court. It is possible that there would not have been time for such disputes to have been brought forth if a more immediate plan of implementation of the mandates of the PPACA had been established.
As would be expected, President Obama continues to stand behind the PPACA despite all the arguments that it is unconstitutional. This is demonstrated by the fact that the President has used his veto authority against votes to repeal the Act. With 2012 elections just around the corner, and the court cases calling for the unconstitutionality of the PPACA becoming more numerous, it is anyone's guess how this will all turn out. We'll be watching closely and keeping you informed.
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For those who took Kaiser's quiz on health care reform,
here are the answers:
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1. Yes. Starting in 2014, most U.S. citizens and legal residents will be required to obtain health coverage, or pay a penalty. Some exemptions will be granted, for example, for those with religious objections or where insurance would cost more than 8% of their income.
64% answered correctly
2. No. No such panels exist. While early versions of the law did contain provisions that would allow Medicare to reimburse physicians for voluntary discussions with patients about end-of-life planning, these provisions were dropped from the final legislation.
45% answered correctly
3. No. The law reduces payments to the privately administered Medicare Advantage plans, but they will still be required to provide all benefits that are covered by traditional Medicare.
40% answered correctly
4. Yes. Medicaid will be expanded to cover nearly all individuals under age 65 with incomes up to 133% of the federal poverty level ($14,400 for an individual or $29,300 for a family of four in 2010).
62% answered correctly
5. Yes. Individuals without access to affordable coverage who purchase coverage through the new insurance Exchanges and have incomes up to 400% of the federal poverty level will be eligible for premium tax credits based on their income.
72% answered correctly
6. Yes. Starting in 2014, all health insurers will be required to sell coverage to everyone who applies, regardless of their medical history or health status.
67% answered correctly
7. No. The law does not require employers to provide health benefits. However, it does impose penalties, in some cases, on larger employers (those with 50 or more workers) that do not provide insurance to their workers or that provide coverage that is unaffordable.
25% answered correctly
8. Yes. Beginning in 2010, business with fewer than 25 full time equivalent employees and average annual wages of less than $50,000 that pay at least half of the cost of health insurance for their employees are eligible for a tax credit.
65% answered correctly
9. No. The law does not create a new government-run health insurance plan. The existing Medicaid program will be expanded to cover more low-income people, government regulation of the health insurance industry will be increased, and tax credits will be provided to make private health insurance more affordable for people.
27% answered correctly
10. No. Undocumented immigrants are not eligible to receive financial help from the government to buy health insurance, nor are they eligible for Medicaid or to purchase insurance with their own money in the new Exchanges.
42% answered correctly
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Quote of the Month:
Live Free or Die:
Death is not the worst of evils.
General John Stark
July 31, 1809 | |
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Featured Video:
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Charlie Chaplin,
The Great Dictator |
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