Hello, and welcome to this installment of the Weekly Health Insurance News Roundup. This week we will look at a couple of articles that deal with employers thoughts on health care reform, how families are dealing with insurance for their children, and why lacking health insurance isn’t good for anyone. Our first article comes to use from Workforce Management magazine, and is entitled, “Employer Groups Push for Health Care Reform, Reject Mandatory Employer-Provided Insurance.”
In this article, it details how the American Benefits Council recently released a document stating their position on health care reform. Basically, they feel the best way to reform and improve our health insurance system is to build upon the existing employer-supported health care system that’s already in place. They also support the Massachusetts law that requires individuals to purchase health insurance.
However, they flat-out rejected any notions of requiring employers to provide health insurance coverage for their employees. Citing Massachusetts once again, they said they didn’t agree with part of the health insurance law that mandated employers with more than ten employees paying nearly $300 a year per employee if they didn’t provide health insurance, citing that as “not the appropriate course to take.” Another group, National Business Group on Health, suggested that companies help laid-off workers pay for their health insurance. Whatever the case, these groups seem more business and employer focused than focused on the employee, which makes sense. Eventually, only time will tell where businesses end up in the health care reform shuffle once the cards fall.
Our next article comes from The Washington Post and is entitled, “Families Seeking Insurance For Kids.” This article discusses how more families are seeing insurance for their kids during this economic downturn, and how more families are becoming eligible for programs covering kids in low-income families. The article covers the Washington area, but this problem is nationwide. According to the article, which cites Fairfax County, Virginia as an example, claims for the state’s low-income insurance coverage has increased by sixteen percent, and in other neighboring counties, claims are up by twenty percent.
These agencies are citing job loss and other factors as the cause for these increases. On a national level, the article mentions efforts to expand SCHIP, the nationwide program to help provide health insurance coverage for kids in low income families. This would cover ten million children as opposed to the six million currently covered. This article shows what tough times we’re facing, thankfully children aren’t being overlooked, and states as well as the federal government are working to give these kids the insurance they need.
Our final article is entitled “Nothing to Fear but No Health Care,” and comes to us from Truthdig.com. This article looks at presidential attempts to create universal health care coverage, and how in the past it has either met with resistance or apathy. It looks at plans by the Secretary of Health, Tom Dachle, as part right and part wrong. The article praises the current administration’s wish to make medicare, Medicaid and other programs more efficient, but doesn’t like how they wish to retain the “inefficient, multipayer, for-profit insurance model.” It will be interesting to see how this current administration does where other administrations have failed.
This concludes this installment of the Weekly Health Insurance News Roundup. As always, I hope you have found it informative and entertaining, and thank you for reading.
Return to Articles Page.
How Employers and Families are Dealing with Health Insurance in Changing Times
Hello, and welcome to this installment of the Weekly Health Insurance News Roundup. This week we will look at a couple of articles that deal with employers thoughts on health care reform, how families are dealing with insurance for their children, and why lacking health insurance isn’t good for anyone. Our first article comes to use from Workforce Management magazine, and is entitled, “Employer Groups Push for Health Care Reform, Reject Mandatory Employer-Provided Insurance.”
In this article, it details how the American Benefits Council recently released a document stating their position on health care reform. Basically, they feel the best way to reform and improve our health insurance system is to build upon the existing employer-supported health care system that’s already in place. They also support the Massachusetts law that requires individuals to purchase health insurance.
However, they flat-out rejected any notions of requiring employers to provide health insurance coverage for their employees. Citing Massachusetts once again, they said they didn’t agree with part of the health insurance law that mandated employers with more than ten employees paying nearly $300 a year per employee if they didn’t provide health insurance, citing that as “not the appropriate course to take.” Another group, National Business Group on Health, suggested that companies help laid-off workers pay for their health insurance. Whatever the case, these groups seem more business and employer focused than focused on the employee, which makes sense. Eventually, only time will tell where businesses end up in the health care reform shuffle once the cards fall.
Our next article comes from The Washington Post and is entitled, “Families Seeking Insurance For Kids.” This article discusses how more families are seeing insurance for their kids during this economic downturn, and how more families are becoming eligible for programs covering kids in low-income families. The article covers the Washington area, but this problem is nationwide. According to the article, which cites Fairfax County, Virginia as an example, claims for the state’s low-income insurance coverage has increased by sixteen percent, and in other neighboring counties, claims are up by twenty percent.
These agencies are citing job loss and other factors as the cause for these increases. On a national level, the article mentions efforts to expand SCHIP, the nationwide program to help provide health insurance coverage for kids in low income families. This would cover ten million children as opposed to the six million currently covered. This article shows what tough times we’re facing, thankfully children aren’t being overlooked, and states as well as the federal government are working to give these kids the insurance they need.
Our final article is entitled “Nothing to Fear but No Health Care,” and comes to us from Truthdig.com. This article looks at presidential attempts to create universal health care coverage, and how in the past it has either met with resistance or apathy. It looks at plans by the Secretary of Health, Tom Dachle, as part right and part wrong. The article praises the current administration’s wish to make medicare, Medicaid and other programs more efficient, but doesn’t like how they wish to retain the “inefficient, multipayer, for-profit insurance model.” It will be interesting to see how this current administration does where other administrations have failed.
This concludes this installment of the Weekly Health Insurance News Roundup. As always, I hope you have found it informative and entertaining, and thank you for reading.
Return to Articles Page.