Private health insurance

“ For all other Americans, private health insurance is the best way to meet their needs. But rising health care costs are making insurance too expensive for millions of our citizens. Health care costs are growing more than two times faster than wages, and this is making it harder for working families to buy insurance on their own. Rising costs are also making it harder for small businesses to offer health coverage to their employees. Our challenge is clear: We must address these rising costs, so that more Americans can afford basic health insurance. ”

“ But in matters of health, no piece of unfinished business is more important or more urgent than the enactment under the social security system of health insurance for the aged.
For our older citizens have longer and more frequent illnesses, higher hospital and medical bills and too little income to pay them. Private health insurance helps very few--for its cost is high and its coverage limited. Public welfare cannot help those too proud to seek relief but hard-pressed to pay their own bills. ”

“ After 60 years of fits and starts, of roadblocks and dead-ends, we're finally making real progress toward comprehensive health care reform. This week, for the first time ever, the relevant committees of Congress in both Houses have begun to review and modify our proposal to guarantee all Americans private health insurance, to give small businesses, farmers, and self-employed people the ability to buy insurance like big business and Government can today. ”

“ We cannot realistically afford federally dictated national health insurance providing full coverage for all 215 million Americans. The experience of other countries raises questions about the quality as well as the cost of such plans. But I do envision the day when we may use the private health insurance system to offer more middle-income families high quality health services at prices they can afford and shield them also from their catastrophic illnesses. ”

“ Administrative costs for private health insurance, which were $90,000,000,000 in 2006, are 26 to 30 percent of premiums in the current individual and small group markets. By significantly increasing health insurance coverage and the size of purchasing pools, which will increase economies of scale, the requirement, together with the other provisions of this Act, will significantly reduce administrative costs and lower health insurance premiums. ”

“ Millions of Americans, even those with good health insurance, must live in fear of losing their health coverage. Another 2 million Americans lost their insurance in 1993. Our health care reform plan is a guaranteed system of private insurance that will cover every American. We'll maintain the health care system in private hands, improve the quality of health care, increase the choices you have as a consumer, and protect the doctor-patient relationship. ”

“ My second proposal is to help the states that are coming up with innovative ways to cover the uninsured. States that make basic private health insurance available to all their citizens should receive federal funds to help them provide this coverage to the poor and the sick. ”

“ To manage the risks associated with medical care—its high cost, its unpredictability, and its inevitability—most people in the United States obtain health insurance. Many (approximately 170 million in 2009) are insured by private insurance companies. Others, including those over 65 and certain poor and disabled persons, rely on government-funded insurance programs, notably Medicare and Medicaid. Combined, private health insurers and State and Federal Governments finance almost 85% of the medical care administered to U.S. residents. ”

“ The real choices on health care reform facing the Congress are becoming quite clear. For many, many months now, I have been fighting for private insurance coverage—not a Government program—for all Americans, along with provisions to make health care affordable to small business, to farmers, to the families with preexisting conditions. Interest groups and Members of Congress in the other party have criticized my plan, while many of them have said that they, too, are for full coverage for all Americans, but they offer no alternative to guarantee it. ”

“ Health-care providers do not absorb these bad debts. Instead, they raise their prices, passing along the cost of uncompensated care to those who do pay reliably: the government and private insurance companies. In response, private insurers increase their premiums, shifting the cost of the elevated bills from providers onto those who carry insurance. The net result: Those with health insurance subsidize the medical care of those without it. As economists would describe what happens, the uninsured "free ride" on those who pay for health insurance. ”

“ If we just let the health care system continue to drift, our country will have people with less care, fewer choices, and higher bill.
Now, our approach protects the quality of care and people's choices. It builds on what works today in the private sector, to expand employer based coverage, to guarantee private insurance for every American. And I might say, employer based private insurance for every American was proposed 20 years ago by President Richard Nixon to the United States Congress. ”

“ What that means is, with a few clicks on HealthCare.gov, you’ll find private insurance companies competing for your business. You can compare plans and choose the one that’s right for your family. In fact, most Americans will find an option that costs less than $75 a month. Even if you already have insurance through the Marketplace, check it out. Shopping around can save you a lot of money -- last year, consumers who shopped saved almost $400. ”

“ Make employer contributions more fair by requiring large employers that do not offer coverage or make a meaningful contribution to the cost of quality health coverage for their employees to contribute a percentage of payroll toward the costs of their employees' health care. Establish a National Health Insurance Exchange with a range of private insurance options as well as a new public plan based on benefits available to members of Congress that will allow individuals and small businesses to buy affordable health coverage. ”

“ No one is inactive when deciding how to pay for health care, as self-insurance
and private insurance are two forms of action for addressing the same risk. Each
requires affirmative choices; one is no less active than the other; and both affect
commerce. In affidavits filed in this case, the individual plaintiffs all mention the need
No. 10-2388 Thomas More Law Center, et al. v. Obama, et al. Page 46
to make current changes in their spending and saving practices to account for the need
to pay for medical insurance in the future. ”

“ Because of the Affordable Care Act, over 100 million people no longer have to worry that an insurance company will deny coverage or charge higher premiums just because they have a pre-existing condition. ”

“ Congress found that without the minimum coverage provision, other provisions in the Act, in particular the guaranteed issue and community rating requirements, would increase the incentives for individuals to “wait to purchase health insurance until they needed care.” ”

“ But that’s the whole point of health insurance. Peace of mind. And under the Affordable Care Act, if you want to change jobs, go back to school, or chase that new idea, you can do it without worrying about going broke if you get sick. If you’ve got a pre-existing condition -- diabetes or cancer or heartburn or a heart attack -- you can no longer be charged more or denied coverage. You can no longer be charged more just for being a woman. ”

“ Within the first year of signing health care reform, thousands of uninsured Americans with preexisting conditions would suddenly be able to purchase health insurance for the very first time in their lives, or the first time in a long time. ”

“ If you have a mandate that you cannot take into account whether someone is already sick before giving them insurance, it means the insurance companies go out of business, and what it leads to is what Majority Leader REID has argued for—it leads ultimately to single-payer government health insurance. ”

“ I have met so many Americans who worry about the same thing. That’s why, under these reforms, insurance companies will no longer be able to deny coverage because of a previous illness or injury. And insurance companies will no longer be allowed to drop or water down coverage for someone who has become seriously ill. Your health insurance ought to be there for you when it counts – and reform will make sure it is. ”

“ Among the Act's many changes to the national markets in health care delivery and health insurance, the minimum coverage provision requires all applicable individuals to maintain minimum essential health insurance coverage or to pay a penalty. ”

“ In the meantime, for those Americans who can't get insurance today because they have pre-existing medical conditions, we will immediately offer low-cost coverage that will protect you against financial ruin if you become seriously ill. ”

“ But the problem that plagues the health care system is not just a problem of the uninsured. Those who do have insurance have never had less security and stability than they do today. More and more Americans worry that if you move, lose your job, or change your job, you'll lose your health insurance too. More and more Americans pay their premiums, only to discover that their insurance company has dropped their coverage when they get sick, or won't pay the full cost of care. ”

“ Let's face it, the health insurance system is rigged against ordinary families and small businesses. Insurance companies control it: They pick and choose whom they cover; they charge more if your business is too small ”

“ Over the past year, more than ten million Americans have gained the financial security and peace of mind that comes with health insurance.
More than seven million people enrolled in affordable coverage by visiting HealthCare.gov, or going to the marketplace in their state. On average, they’re paying just $82 a month for coverage. For a lot of people, that’s less than a cell phone bill or a cable bill. Insurance companies can no longer deny you coverage just because you have a preexisting condition, and they now have to cover free preventive care like checkups and mammograms. ”

“ And finally, the time has come to give Americans the freedom to purchase health insurance across state lines – which will create a truly competitive national marketplace that will bring costs way down and provide far better care. ”

“ That’s why we are reforming the health care system so that middle-class families have affordable insurance that cannot be denied because of a pre-existing condition or taken away because you happen to get sick. ”

“ Lower or eliminate health insurance premiums for millions of lower- and middle-income families enrolled in health insurance marketplaces. A family of four making $90,000 could see their monthly premium come down by $200 per month. ”

“ The Act considered as a whole makes clear that Congress was
concerned that individuals maintain minimum coverage not as an end in itself, but
because of the economic implications on the broader health care market. Virtually
everyone participates in the market for health care delivery, and they finance these
services by either purchasing an insurance policy or by self-insuring. ”

“ Make Health Insurance Work for People and Businesses -- Not Just Insurance and Drug Companies. Require insurance companies to cover pre-existing conditions so all Americans regardless of their health status or history can get comprehensive benefits at fair and stable premiums. Create a new Small Business Health Tax Credit to help small businesses provide affordable health insurance to their employees. Lower costs for businesses by covering a portion of the catastrophic health costs they pay in return for lower premiums for employees. ”

“ Many of them may decide that purchasing health insurance is not an economically sound decision—especially since the guaranteed-issue provision will enable them to purchase it at the same cost in later years and even if they have developed a pre-existing condition. But without the contribution of above-risk premiums from the young and healthy, the community-rating provision will not enable insurers to take on high-risk individuals without a massive increase in premiums. ”

“ Every year, the problem gets worse. Every year, insurance companies deny more people coverage because they’ve got preexisting conditions. Every year, they drop more people’s coverage when they get sick right when they need it most. Every year, they raise premiums higher and higher and higher. ”