Posted on 05/12/2019 10:02:57 AM PDT by Olog-hai
Washington is set to become the first state to enter the private health insurance market with a universally available public option.
A set of tiered public plans will cover standard services and are expected to be up to 10% cheaper than comparable private insurance, thanks in part to savings from a cap on rates paid to providers. But unlike existing government-managed plans, Washington’s public plans are set to be available to all residents regardless of income by 2021.
The Legislature approved the plan last month, and Gov. Jay Inslee is scheduled to sign it into law Monday.
The move thrusts Washington into the national debate over the government’s role in health care, with a hybrid model that puts the state to the left of market-only approaches but stops short of a completely public system.
Instead, the state will dictate the terms of the public option plans but hire private insurance companies to administer them, saving the state from having to create a new bureaucracy — and guaranteeing a role for the insurance industry in managing the new public option.
Lawmakers in at least eight other states including Colorado and New Mexico have proposed their own public option measures. But so far none have passed legislation implementing a public option. …
(Excerpt) Read more at apnews.com ...
“A set of tiered public plans will cover standard services and are expected to be up to 10% cheaper than comparable private insurance, thanks in part to savings from a cap on rates paid to providers.”
Obviously the best doctors won’t be joining the list of “providers”.
Whatever.
I’m going to invest in U-Haul stock.
Granted our expectations for the AP are already incredibly low but could they at least avoid a contradiction in term in the lead sentence?
thanks in part to savings from a cap on rates paid to providers.
So, Medicaid/Medicare also put caps on what providers are paid, correct? Hence the reason that some doctors will not accept patients that are using either program for their care, correct?
Now, the state of Washington is going to offer a plan, where the payout is capped...and...the taxpayer is also, FORCED, to pay into the federal plan which also caps the payout.
Sounds like sound fiscal policy to me. Dare anyone to argue.
The Left is getting more and more insane by the minute.
You could diversify into Enterprise and/or Budget truck rental too when this heats up.
No chance. They must “mainstream” doublethink at all costs to credibility.
So are illegal immigrants covered?
Do I have to ask if Democrats passed this?
Jay Inslee is known for being about as far left as Bernie Sanders.
I am now on Medicare for 13 years, and when I see how little Medicare pays of the billed amount, I am shocked any doctor’s or hospitals even want to see my face. Recent example: minor surgery in doctors office billed at $2500, Medicare paid $700.
So I can buy it after I discover I have cancer or after I become injured in a car accident?
I’ll give it three years before it is bankrupt.
Out of curiosity, what was the surgery for? $2500 doesn’t seem to be minor.
...expected to be up to 10% cheaper than comparable private insurance, thanks in part to savings from a cap on rates paid to providers.
Number one, don't make me laugh, and number two, that's a violation of the Equal Protection Clause.
A set of tiered public plans will cover standard services and are expected to be up to 10% cheaper than comparable private insurance, thanks in part to savings from a cap on rates paid to providers.
...
Price controls cause prices to go up. They’ll charge people without capped plans more to make up the difference.
Removal of a wart like growth in my throat which was making swallowing solid food an issue. ENT specialist.
$2500 for ENT is about standard billing.. payment is also standard for Medicare in office payment. blame OCare for the lower payments for physicians.
I’m on call and haven’t been home for 2 days. There’s a limit to how much of your life you’re willing to give up while having rich politicians try to force you to work for less than overhead. Health care costs are way too high, but it’s not provider costs that drive it.
Want to know what really gets me about all of that?
What would they pay and how much money would be available, if millions of illegals weren’t dibbing into the system?
My dad passed away from cancer some years ago from mesothelioma. I don’t know what his bills were, but they were steep. He was part of the asbestos lawsuits at the time of his death. When they found that out, they tried to get the money back. The law firm handled all of that and it’s now done with.
So...If Medicaid was going to come after any money he got in the lawsuit, why did he pay into the system for so long? If they wanted his money, that bad, then reimburse him for everything that he paid into the system for all those decades and let him pay his own bills. They took his money, by force, for all the years he worked. And then tried to take even more after his death.
They system is so screwed up, it’s amazing. But, the fraud, waste, abuse and payouts to illegals, refugees, etc has to stop.
And, hats off to the doctors that are still willing to provide services for those that rely on it. They know they’re getting screwed but they do it anyway.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.