Friday, September 7, 2007

Health Insurance Reform

Back in January I launched a "MySpace" page for the Reform of Health Insurance in Kentucky. I have (as you might imagine) been thinking about health insurance of late. Therefore, I thought I would take this moment to share my "plan" with you.

Each company selling insurance in Kentucky should sell the same coverage to everyone for the same price.

Currently, the price you pay is dependent upon your "group." If you are in a large "group" you will generally pay less than if you are in a small "group." If you are in a healthy "group" you will pay less than if you are in a sick "group."

Under my reform plan, everyone buying insurance with a particular carrier will be in the same "group" (or pool). Everyone will pay the same price. One "group" per insurance company. Every individual doing business with a particular carrier, pays the same price for the same coverage.

Each company selling insurance in Kentucky should never deny coverage to anyone.

If you want to purchase health insurance you should be able to do so at the same price everyone else pays for the same coverage.

Currently, health insurance companies can refuse to sell you insurance at any price, or they can sell you insurance, but at a price that far exceeds the cost of the average plan.

Under my reform plan, insurance companies would be forced to have open enrollment 52 weeks a year, 7 days a week, 24 hours a day. Anyone living in the state of Kentucky would be eligilbe to enroll in any plan sold in the state of Kentucky and the price of that plan would be the same for everyone enrolled.

These two reforms are about fairness (everyone pays the same) and accessiblity (no one is turned away).

visit http://www.myspace.com/healthinsurancereformnow to learn more.

3 comments:

Hilary said...

Hmmm. Interesting. MA just launched a "universal health care reform" program , but it's really complex and not that great. Basically it legally requires everyone to have health insurance, whether you can afford it or not. If you're under a certain pay scale, you can get free insurance. However, if you're just over it (which, let's face it, most of the middle class increasingly is), then you have to come up with money to pay for insurance and risk getting fined. Furthermore, the "free pool" for those with no insurance at hospitals is being depleted for the program, so how will they treat those with no insurance in a couple of years? Who knows... Also, I wonder about making it the same rate for everyone. What about smokers? They consciously made a bad decision and are likely suffering very bad health effects from it, which everyone under a coverage plan will have to pay for, rather than those who smoke. It's just an example, and I'm not saying by any means that health care should be denied to anyone or that the system isn't screwed up, it's just food for thought...

FrSean said...

Charles,

I am with you on the health care reform thing.

We've got to have legislators who aren't beholden to drug companies and insurance companies. Until that happens, we're in a mess.

I don't imagine much will happen with healthcare reform until the issues effect an even larger swath of the American public.

Am I cynical? I hope not.

You remain in our thoughts and prayers.

Sean+

Crutch said...

I suuport your plan. Keep in narrow and keep it simple, and maybe it can fly.

Talk about a head ache: start digging into all the provisions of many of these plans and most of us run away, confused and discouraged.

Apply your rules to one basic plan of defined coverages that all insurers must offer -- nothing less accepted. However, they can then go crazy, compete and come up with any coverage or underwriting rules for add-ons they want. Basic auto liability policies are sort of like this -- simple. Add collision if you want . . .

The last time I looked, bad risks in the auto insurance world are doled out to the insurance companies doing business in the state based on their total premiums -- big companies get the biggest share of bad risks. Simple.

Then the Hawkins plan can't be sandbagged by the liberals who want to pile in everything but the kitchen sink nor by the conservatives who want everyone to understand what a fragile and confusing mess the existing system is, and therefore no one in his right mind should change it.

Your plan is what your plan is about: pricing and availabilty of basic coverage. I love it.

Carlile