What do you think about Joe Biden's Health Plan?

Question

Senator Biden would allow uninsured Americans to buy into an insurance program that mirrors the Federal Employee Health Benefit Plan – the program that provides health insurance to members of Congress, their staff, and federal employees.
While the program will contain the same carriers and the same plan offerings, the new program will have its own insurance pool. Carriers in the FEHBP program would have to offer plans in the universal buy-in plan, but would have access to reinsurance to help with catastrophic costs for enrollees with greater than usual health costs. The buy-in program could also have an age-adjusted “payment” or “bonus” for plans that enroll older and less healthy people to help carriers avoid the effects of adverse selection.
People would be permitted to buy-in on a sliding scale based on income.
Small businesses would be allowed to participate in the program to help provide insurance for their employees.

To help people afford health insurance, Joe Biden would:

Allow insurers that offer individual policies to access the reinsurance pool if they agree not to turn people away because of pre-existing conditions or risk of them.
Protect against genetic discrimination by prohibiting employers and insurance companies from collecting or using genetic information when making decisions about hiring, providing health coverage, or discriminating in the pricing of an insurance policy.

For more details go to
http://www.joebiden.com/newscenter/pressreleases?id=0201

Answer 1

At this point any plan is better than none. Personally, I would like to see all insurance carriers become not for profit. Companies shouldn't benefit from other's misfortune.

Answer 2

It’s a step in the right direction. I like his idea of suggesting a uniform claim and billing system which would save a great deal in unnecessary administrative costs but it sounds rather tentative. The Medicare buy-in also sounds good but why not extend that option to people below age 55?. I’m also not sure how Biden’s plan would address the actual costs of the insurance premiums and the profits that the insurance companies are making on health insurance.

Those administrative and profit costs drive up the cost of health care without providing any actual health care benefit.

Answer 3

None of it provides for pre-emptive care. At least I don't see it in what you wrote.
People who are not covered now have demonstrated that they are not capable of making good decisions or they have been prevented from making any decision through no fault of their own.
This would only contribute to that and encourage others to do the same in order to capitalize on the program. What is the incentive to self-insure? What is the incentive to take steps toward better health. Poor health is a bigger problem than health care. How does his plan approach that?
Age, health and income adustments are already built in to the employer provided system we have now with coverage selection and shared premiums, what's new or how would that change and should it? How would it affect health care that is arrived at and administered by collective bargaining agreements?
Too many questions to make a judgement on Biden's plan.

Answer 4

Another plan from a Democrat. It probably would work. No Socialization on this one either because people still have to pay. I wonder if any of the Republicans have a plan. The last I heard, the only plan the Republicans had was: "don't get sick".

Answer 5

Sounds like Joe thinks the way out of the morass is a giveaway to the insurance companies, like the one Hillary proposed when Bill was in the WH.

Socialized health care is the ONLY way out of the current mess.

But to the conservatives it is "the Devil," and the liberals are too cowardly to propose it.

Answer 6

I think it's great. I have enough to retire, all my bills paid off, I'm thinking about quiting my job, enjoying retirement, and since I won't have an income, someone else will pay my health care.

What a wonderful system.

Answer 7

Sounds like he is poohing on federal employees.

Answer 8

As long as they are BUYING their own insurance,I can't object.
If the rest of the country has to foot the bill,I do object.

Answer 9

He's on the right track and it doesn't sound like its Hillary-care