As Obamacare moves to full implementation, 30 million more people will be covered with health insurance, eliminating some of the problems of our earlier non-system of health insurance.
Now, families can insure their children on their coverage until the age of 26. Now, those who used to lose health coverage when they lose their jobs can retain coverage. Now, families who risked bankruptcy and often the loss of their homes when medical bills became unaffordable, will have coverage.
While we have seen some savings in health-care costs already, much more still needs to be changed.
The state exchanges, wherein many insurers will compete for members, the administrative costs are going to rise because of billing and administrative costs. Just consider the cost of setting up the exchanges, different in each state. Imagine the confusion of consumers when they have to compare multiple plans and find what they want in coverage. Many private insurers will offer high deductible policies which means that they will not pay for any health services until high out of pocket costs will be paid by the family. Who is the winner here? The private insurers!
Health care is improving because the law has set standards, specifying what services are to be included in coverage. Now two improvements could save $600 billion dollars; we need to lower administrative costs, not reduce services, and add price competition to the purchase of drugs and medical devices. When the law was written, lobbying by those industries prevented inclusion of these common sense practices.
Esther Confino
New Hyde Park
