Archive for August 12th, 2009

More re: tail wagging the healthcare dog …

August 12, 2009

Excerpted from WSJ,  Health Reform and the Polls, Aug. 6, 2009 

According to Rasmussen …

At this point voters are pretty evenly divided on ObamaCare … 47% at least somewhat favor the plan while 49% are somewhat opposed … 35% of independents are in favor of the Democrats’ health-care reform initiative, and 60% are opposed.

Obama’s biggest obstacle is the 68% of voters who rate their health coverage as good or excellent.

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74% of voters rate the quality of care they now receive as good or excellent.

68% of American voters have health-insurance coverage they rate good or excellent.

48% of voters rate the U.S. health-care system as good or excellent.

A majority voters are skeptical about the government’s ability to do anything well.

53% believe ObamaCare will increase healthcare costs.

50% fear that if Congress passes health-care reform, it will lead to a decline in the quality of that care.

By a 2-1 margin, voters believe that no matter how bad things are Congress can always make matters worse.

78% believe passage of the current congressional health-care proposals is likely to mean higher taxes for the middle class.

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63% of voters agree  “We must make it a priority to give every single American quality affordable health care.”

Only 28% are currently willing to pay higher taxes to achieve that goal.

31% of voters believe young and healthy adults who choose not to buy health insurance should be forced to do so.

Full article:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204313604574330442429438938.html

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Posted in Health Care / Medical Insurance | 3 Comments »

Brace yourself for higher healthcare premiums … (unless you live in NY or NJ)

August 12, 2009

Ken’s Take: Article cuts to the chase on 2 critical reform issues: guaranteed coverage and community rating … both of which will push up premiums for folks who currently have health insurance …

Excerpted from WSJ, The Truth About Health Insurance, Aug 12, 2009

9 out of 10 people under 65 are covered by their employers, most of which cover all employees and charge everyone the same rate.

The tax code subsidizes private insurance only when it is sponsored by an employer

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President Obama’s horror stories are about the individual insurance market, where some 15 million people buy coverage outside of the workplace.

The individual market is relatively small and its turnover rate is very high. Most policyholders are enrolled for fewer than 24 months as they move between jobs, making it difficult for insurers to maintain large risk pools to spread costs.

If you develop an expensive condition such as cancer or heart disease, and then get fired or divorced or your employer goes out of business — then individual insurance is going to be very expensive if it’s available.

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By forcing insurers to cover anyone at any time (“guaranteed coverage”) and at nearly uniform rates … many people will buy insurance only when they need medical care. This raises the cost of insurance for everyone else, in particular those who are responsible enough to buy insurance before they need it; they end up paying even higher premiums. 

Another proposed reform known as "community rating" imposes uniform premiums regardless of health condition. This also blows up the individual insurance market, by making it far more expensive for young, healthy or low-risk consumers to join pools — if they join at all. And if the healthy don’t join risk pools, then premiums go up for everyone and insurers have little choice but to reduce their risk by refusing to cover those who have a high chance of getting sick, such as people with a history of cancer.

New York, New Jersey and Massachusetts have both community rating and guaranteed issue. And, no surprise, they have the three most expensive individual insurance markets among all 50 states, with premiums roughly two to three times higher than the rest of the country.

In 2007, the average annual premium in New Jersey was $5,326 for singles and in New York $12,254 for a family, versus the national average of $2,613 and $5,799, respectively. ObamaCare would impose New York-type rates nationwide.

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ObamaCare would impose on all 50 states rules that have already proven to be failures in numerous states.

Because these mandates would raise the cost of insurance, ObamaCare would then turn around and subsidize individuals to buy the insurance that the politicians made more expensive. Only in government could such irrationality be sold as "reform."

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Full article
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204908604574332293172846168.html?mod=djemEditorialPage

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Uh-oh … Cash for Clunkers sputtering ?

August 12, 2009

Ken’s Take: Maybe I was mistaken when I said I was mistaken …

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Excerted from CNNMoney.com, Interest in Cash for Clunkers sputters, August 11, 2009

After sparking an initial rush to showrooms, the Cash for Clunkers program seems to be running out of fuel.

Interest in Cash for Clunkers has fallen 15% since its peak, and the number of people planning to buy cars could fall to pre-Clunkers levels by next week, an auto research group said.

Under the Clunkers program, vehicles purchased after July 1 are eligible for refund vouchers worth $3,500 to $4,500 on traded-in cars with a fuel economy rating of 18 miles per gallon or less.

The program ran through its initial $1 billion in its first week,leading lawmakers to approve an additional $2 billion in funding.

But interest in the program peaked on July 29, and demand has waned, according to the report from Edmunds.com.

The report, which cited Internet shopping data, said if current trends continue, auto purchase intent will fall back to pre-Cash for Clunker levels by August 20.

The original money set aside for “created a Gold Rush mentality where consumers hurried to take advantage before funding ran out.”

The additional $2 billion in funding removed the urgency to participate.

Full article:
http://money.cnn.com/2009/08/11/autos/cash_for_clunkers_interest_declines/?postversion=2009081114

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Posted in Autos - Travel | Leave a Comment »