Things the Healthcare Reform Bill WON'T Fix, and a Handful of Things it WILL Fix and Quickly

by L.A.S.

The hard truth of the healthcare reform bill passed by the US Congress is that most of the provisions will not go into effect until 2014 (the House version would take effect in 2013).

The even harder truth is that even if it does become law, some things will still not be fixed. This is because the special interest groups lobbied hard and long so that their industry would not have to be the ones to pay for a national healthcare program.

As listed by economics writer Paul Zane Pilzer, these are the items that will still need reform. One wonders if the new bill is even worth all the paper and toner used to print it.

# The American Medical Association, representing doctors, was promised that nothing would be done to cut payments to physicians or tie doctor payments to performance.

# Trial lawyers were promised that no caps would be put on legal liability for medical mistakes.

#Big Pharma was promised that nothing would be done to their net revenues — even things like giving Medicaid patients generic vs. brand-name drugs were taken off the table.

# Local insurance companies were promised that they would not have to compete with larger national insurers over state lines.

# Medical network providers were promised that there would not be "transparency" — the varying charges medical providers give each patient would never be disclosed.

On the other hand, the bill does have the saving grace of offering consumers seven quick fixes that will go into effect almost immediately. My thanks to Congress dot org for posting this information.

1. Insuring high-risk citizens. Both bills would create a $5 billion fund for temporary insurance for citizens with pre-existing conditions who have not been insured for at least six months. The program would end once the insurance exchanges begin in 2013 or 2014.

2. Extending insurance for adult children. The House bill would allow parents to keep unmarried adult children on their health insurance until their 27th birthday; the Senate bill, until their 26th birthday. This would reduce the number of uninsured young adults.

3. Extending insurance for the recently unemployed. Under current law, laid-off workers are allowed to continue buying their existing insurance through the COBRA program for up to 18 months. The bills would extend that coverage until the insurance exchanges begin.

4. Ending lifetime limits on benefits. Both bills would end the lifetime caps on insurance coverage which have sometimes been used to deny payments to consumers with particularly expensive treatments. Both bills would also restrict annual limits on health-care benefits.

5. Ending rescission. Insurance companies often cancel policies for consumers who require expensive medical care because they made honest mistakes on their medical histories. Both bills would prohibit insurance plans from canceling coverage except in cases of fraud.

6. Starting to close the doughnut hole. Both bills would begin closing the so-called "doughnut hole" in Medicare Part D prescription drug coverage by providing an additional $500 in coverage starting in 2010. Over several years, the gap would be reduced until it was closed entirely.

7. Taxing plastic surgery. The Senate bill would include a new 5 percent tax on elective cosmetic surgery. The tax is estimated to raise $5.8 billion over the next 10 years. It does not apply to cosmetic surgery to fix problems caused by accidents, disease or birth defects.

So while the healthcare reform bill is far from perfect, it does have some redeeming value. Let us hope that this is only the beginning, and not the end, of healthcare reform.