What Should GOP Do In Response To Senate Dems Opening Of Door To Fixes?

What Should GOP Do In Response To Senate Dems Opening Of Door To Fixes?

posted by Hugh Hewitt

 

An email from Denny Weinberg, one of the founders of Wellpoint, sends along a list of what could be done right now to help, not exacrebate, the many terrible problems caused by Obamacare:

Hugh,

The recent movement in the House for “Keep your Plan” is a good start. Having been triggered by your questions, my mind has been a-buz with the question what is the right set of immediate next steps that could work to minimize the DOA Obamacare behemoth. Here it is in my opinion:

1) Keep your health plan through 12/31/15 through an extension of the “grandfather” date

2) Open up all grandfathered plans for CONTINUED sale through this date (a grandfathered plan is rendered worthless the day new enrollees can no longer purchase (“frozen plan” – anti-selection spiral linkage)

3) Allow subsidies to be applied in ”Private Exchanges” and for direct purchases from health plans through 12/31/2015

4) Include professional broker and agent commissions to be considered Health Costs in the Minimum Loss Ratio Calculation (heavily debated in the early days of the law – the industry lost this one – easily fixable, and then the “Navagator” crisis is eliminated and the new promotion of Grandfathered plans easily accomplished by 12/31/13.)

5) Recognize that insurers CAN do all this by 12/31/13 and would love to.

6) Require Insurance Commissioners to waive filing deadline and approve the grandfathered plans retrospectively including small adjustments in provisions through 6/30/14.

7) Allow all approved plans to be made available in all states through national brokers who are admitted in all states. Allow 12 months for broker to gain 50 state admission.

8) Allow any grandfathered plan to be offered by any private and public exchange as well as Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum plans.

9) Consider a 12 month moratorium on High Risk Plans and Cobra, since it would be easier to absorb them in 1 or 2 years when some level of stability might occur (still highly problematic), but certainly better than 1/1/14

 http://www.hughhewitt.com/21017/