There is one group of people who is going to be able to give a real bird’s-eye view of the abomination that is our healthcare system, and that’s older US citizens not protected by some civil service health plan, not rich enough not to worry, and not poor enough to be on Medicaid, the aging middle class. They’ve been thrown under the bus big time, by both business and government.
Take the latest from IBM and Time Warner that made news with their new “Retiree Health Plan” changes, also called, less euphemistically but more accurately, “dumping.”
While the plans use terms like private health insurance exchanges, and options, and even choice (which will be part of a subsequent post), what these plans really are is a way for employers to, well, “dump” their retirees by providing for private health exchanges which will transition most into Medicare, and will provide some employer subsidy for those under 65.
It’s important to note that these retiree plans are exempt from the Affordable Care Act, not confined by the provisions that apply to employer-sponsored health plans or to qualified health plans on healthcare exchanges.
Why is it important? Because when Republicans talk about repealing Obamacare, this will provide individuals with a glimpse of what the health insurance and business industries are doing in the marketplace. Republicans are going in the exactly wrong direction.
Look up any of these Retiree Only plans, such as one from Aetna, which you can find by searching for Aetna Retiree Only Plans. (The information is available elsewhere by performing similar searches for ACA mandates and Retiree only plans, and so on.)
The plans can have lifetime limits, are not prohibited from rescission, do not have to have the Summary of Benefits and Coverage, do not prohibit waiting periods of more than 90 days, do not guarantee renewability, you know all those imperfectly addressed issues that triggered the need for health care reform to begin with.
Mostly, the plans are designed to ease people into Medicare, and since Republicans in their thinking are also going to do away with Medicare, they would leave older Americans broke and under-insured. There is no euphemism besides “dumping” that begins to convey the imaginary land of the wonderful world of the Republican “free marketplace.” The retiree only plans are even incorporating the concept of the “voucher” for some of their participants.
Any Republican who advocates repealing Obamacare, should read the retiree only plans, which without Obamacare would likely be your plan too, perhaps finally understanding that their thinking is wrong, dead wrong for the US. They deserve not a single vote.
There is a lot wrong with Obamacare, but most of it is in its incompleteness that results in inadequacy. But Republicans aren’t advocating improving the inadequacies of the law, they’re advocating repeal, and for that you need not use your imagination, simply read about how the insurance marketplace and government are treating older citizens.
Yes, Obamacare needs modification. It too penalizes older citizens, first by making age one of only two categories that can be used to charge higher premiums, and second by micromanaging Medicare to the point where ultimately, older people will be left with few to no options as they become sicker and older.
If anything, the cautionary tale of retiree only benefit plans and the glaring inconsistencies and omissions of Obamacare should inspire a new generation of Americans to fight harder for a single-payer system. Nothing else, after decades of enabling legislation that created the insurance company monsters and sky’s-the-limit healthcare costs we face today will begin to address the problems of treating individuals who need healthcare, not a preventive exam, but real medical treatment for illness.
