This is something to watch. Oregon Senator Ron Wyden is proposing an idea for national health care that is actually fairly reasonable, especially considering his party's history regarding same.
"Called the 'Healthy Americans Act,' the plan would require that employers 'cash out' their existing health plans by terminating coverage and paying the amount saved directly to workers as increased wages. Workers then would be required to buy health insurance from a large pool of private plans."
The plan doesn't allow employees to buy less comprehensive plans though, since the employer will be increasing salaries a similar amount as was spent on the prior year's coverage. This negates one of the benefits of going to HSA-compatible, high deductible plans.
Read about it on USA Today.com. I plan on reading more about the proposed legislation on the senators website: http://wyden.senate.gov/
1 comment:
Hey, thanks for the post!
My name is Kari Chisholm, and I'm helping Senator Wyden with his netroots site on this - Stand Tall for America.
Obviously, there are going to be a lot of questions. Anything this big is going to be pretty complex. So if you know folks who have questions, send 'em on over to Stand Tall for America.
Here's the bottom line: It's a universal plan, that gives everyone a generous benefit equal to that of Members of Congress. No one can be denied or charged a higher rate because of their age, gender, genetic makeup, or pre-existing conditions. Low-income and middle-income folks get meaningful subsidies. You'll be able to take your insurance with you, even if you change jobs, lose your job, go back to school, or get too sick to work. There's some tough cost containment (saving $1.48 trillion over 10 years) - and the plans will all get report cards so that Americans can compare plans on price and on how well they do in keeping people healthy.
So, dive into the details - and let us know what you think!
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