SENATE BILL: The New Atlasian Healthcare Act (Law'd)

[Senator Napoleon]

Healthcare policy is confusing.  So Sbane is giving us the changes that have happened since the current Atlasian policy?  I like the addition of contraception and a ban on advertising of drugs, but would someone explain to me how Section 2(a) is different from our current policy?  Does it just provide more detail?

 

This looks like it's just the current law with a few amendments. Which parts are being changed?

Given how many headaches have been caused trying to understand the law as currently written and finding a way to pat for it,  this is still something that needs to be answered.

Atlasian who can afford to pay for a portion of their healthcare will have to do so, to make the program sustainable.

[ilikeverin]

Healthcare policy is confusing.  So Sbane is giving us the changes that have happened since the current Atlasian policy?  I like the addition of contraception and a ban on advertising of drugs, but would someone explain to me how Section 2(a) is different from our current policy?  Does it just provide more detail?

 

This looks like it's just the current law with a few amendments. Which parts are being changed?

Given how many headaches have been caused trying to understand the law as currently written and finding a way to pat for it,  this is still something that needs to be answered.

Atlasian who can afford to pay for a portion of their healthcare will have to do so, to make the program sustainable.

Oh, okay.  Works for me.

[Senator North Carolina Yankee]

Is that all, distinguished public servants?

[shua]

Thanks, sbane.

Are those percentage of costs being covered by the government after or before any part covered by private insurance?

[Senator Sbane]

This would be the maximum they they would need to pay for coinsurance when using services payed for by the government insurance program. If they purchase supplemental insurance for services not covered by the government plan, they might need to pay more out of their pocket for the premiums, co-payments or co-insurance for those services.

[shua]

I'm not talking about insurance for services not covered by the government.  If someone has half their costs covered by the government, they'd be likely to buy private insurance to help cover the rest. That would be a different cost to the government then if the government was covering half the cost to the individual post-insurance.

[Senator Sbane]

Well, the way this would work is that you pay coinsurance on the amount that is billed in your name. And all that coinsurance cannot exceed a certain amount of your income per year. If you buy insurance to help you cover that coinsurance (which would be likely for incomes above 150k I would think), it does not really affect the amount after which the government pays 100%.

So someone making 300k a year would not have to pay anything after they have paid 25% of their income for the year, $85,000. And that $85,000 would have to be coinsurance paid for services gotten under the government plan. It does not matter if you purchase insurance where they pay the rest after you spend 10 or 20k a year. The premiums you pay for that insurance would not be included in the $85,000.

[shua]

Poverty line is about 22 K for a family of four.  That means that if you make 54 K, you are covered on 90% of costs, with maximum payment of 2700 K.  If you make 57 K, you are covered on 50% of costs, with a maximum payment of 8550 K.   Some people risk losing money due to increased health costs as their incomes go up.

[Senator Sbane]

Well, the way to remedy that would be to add lots of steps down from 90% to 50% and onwards to 10%. Maybe we should do that? This still only hurts people on the margins. And the point sort of is that as people earn more, they should be able to put aside more of their income for healthcare costs.

[IDS Legislator Alfred F. Jones]

I'd just like to add this disclaimer: I don't really understand this.

However, I'm just putting my 2 cents in on Senator Sbane's proposal. Here's an idea for percentage brackets:

At or below poverty level: 0%
150% of poverty level: 5%
200%: 10%
300: 15%
400%: 20%
500%: 30%
1000%: 50%
2000%: 75%
5000%: 90%

Now, this is just a vague idea; I don't know if this is realistic or helpful in any way, I'm just putting this forward as a hypothetical.

[pillage the village, trash the scene]

Even if section about contraception will get removed, I would oppose it. Goverment-run single-payer system is just wrong.

[IDS Legislator Alfred F. Jones]

How? In what way is it wrong to give everyone the health care they need and not make them worry if they'll get dropped? Is it because Big Government is taking over your life, because that's just bulls**t.

The government isn't going to go from health care to banning Muslims any time soon, or ever for that matter.

[pillage the village, trash the scene]

C-O-M-P-E-T-I-T-I-O-N. It makes economy growing faster.

[IDS Legislator Alfred F. Jones]

Private insurance is still available, so if the government does a better job, then in your worldview it should deserve to drive private insurers out of business.

[Senator North Carolina Yankee]

Something to remember:


This bill really doesn't create anything. Fritzcare has been law since July of 2009 (I know because I was there. ). This changes the funding so that there is a sliding scale premium system rather then free to use tax payer funded utility like it was when first created.

That is my understanding at least.

[Senator Sbane]

That is my understanding at least.

You understand well, Yankee.

[IDS Legislator Alfred F. Jones]

OK, I understand it now. So we're going to make people pay for some of it based on income, instead of having it be free?

[Senator Napoleon]

OK, I understand it now. So we're going to make people pay for some of it based on income, instead of having it be free?

Yes. Senator MOPolitico and I wrote this in response to a GM posting that the current law was creating a massive debt and was wholly unsustainable.

[Secretary Polnut]

The Administration supports a reasonable adjustment to the current funding arrangements.

We need to ensure this doesn't create a shock for lower and middle-income people.

[IDS Legislator Alfred F. Jones]

Well, I think the rich should do most if not all of the heavy lifting, payment-wise.

[Senator Sbane]

This does hit the rich way more. They have to pay 90% of their healthcare costs and their cap is at 25% of income, which would mean $62,500 and up. Also taxes are being raised on them as well.

[IDS Legislator Alfred F. Jones]

Alright.

I'd like to voice my support for this bill.

[shua]

Are you looking at making changes to the healthcare payroll tax along with this?

[Senator Sbane]

Are you looking at making changes to the healthcare payroll tax along with this?

Yes, this bill raises the tax on the top bracket to 5.5%.

[Senator Napoleon]

I am too lazy to look it up and don't remember exactly but I am decently certain it is only a half-percent increase.