Tapping into Medicare's
network of doctors and hospitals could make coverage affordable for Americans
now priced out of the market, Sen. Tim Kaine believes
The Virginia
Democrat and Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., are trying again with their
"Medicare-X" idea of offering a government-run health insurance
option.
Because the federal
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services don't need to earn a profit, market
coverage or pay the high salaries private insurers give executives, Kaine said
Medicare-X policies would likely cost 10 to 15 percent less than those
currently on offer through the Obamacare exchanges.
But the idea is
that Medicare-X would offer the same benefits as Obamacare policies --
including pediatric and obstetrics care not currently covered by Medicare. As
with Medicare, and the Obamacare policies, people with pre-existing conditions
could not be denied coverage.
The bill also
echoes an initiative offered by Rep. Robert C. "Bobby" Scott,
D-Newport News, and other senior House Democrats -- offering people with
incomes exceeding 400 percent of the federal poverty line subsidies for their
coverage.
In addition, Kaine
and Bennet propose capping premiums for Medicare-X coverage, depending on
income. For people at 600 percent of the poverty line or above, that cap would
be 13 percent of household income.
"That should
ease a lot of anxiety" that comes from the current unpredictability of
private insurers' premium increases, Kaine said.
"If you want
options and lower costs, we've got the bill for you," Kaine said in a
conference call with reporters Tuesday.
The premiums for
Medicare-X policies would be designed to cover costs, so the program would not
affect the finances of current Medicare.
In fact, Kaine said
there should be savings to the government if Americans buy a public option
coverage. The lower premiums would require smaller subsidies than do current
Obamacare policies.
Bennet said the
idea is to take a practical step toward covering uninsured Americans, adding
that he did not see Medicare-X as either a first step to other Democrats'
"Medicare for all" plans -- supported by several 2020 presidential
candidates -- or as a rejection of those ideas.
He and Kaine
propose introducing Medicare-X by 2021 in areas where there is currently only
one private insurer offering Obamacare coverage, expanding it to the rest of
the country by 2024 and offering it as an option for small businesses seeking
coverage for employees by 2025.
An earlier version
gained little traction in 2017, and while the idea of a "public
option" was floated for the Affordable Care Act, it never made it to the
final version that became law in 2010.
Dave Ress,
757-247-4535, dress@dailypress.com
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Press (Newport News, Va.)
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