Congress has lost its mind...

Originally Posted by classicman

I'm curious who you think the losers are.

The biggest losers:

the private insurance companies providing Medicare Advantage coverage that have ripping off Medicare for years. Payments to those companies above the standard Medicare fee-for-service rate will be phased out.....an estimated $10-15 billion/year...and those seniors currently with MA will get the same services through standard Medicare.

the top 1/2 of one percent of wage earners in the country. Those with income above $500K (single) and $1 million (couple) will be hit with a 5.4% income tax surcharge.

Employers with payrolls over $750K (those not currently offering employer-based plans) might say they are losers since they will have to either offer basic minimum coverage to employees (paying approx 3/4 of the cost, but receiving tax credits in return) or pay into the Insurance Exchange. This is the primary reason that the Chamber of Commerce is spending $millions opposing the bill.

And of course, the private insurance companies that have denied coverage, dropped beneficiaries for no reason, practiced rated discrimination and operated in a non-competitive environment (in many states) for years. They can become winners by choosing to participate in the Insurance Exchange and have access to millions of new customers if they offer a range of competitive, affordable coverage options.

Thats just my opinion and we know what "real" Americans think of my opinion.

[classicman]

Originally Posted by Redux

IMO, the big winners are:

the 30-40 million currently uninsured,

the 200+ million who are now covered by employer-based plans who wont see their contributions continue to increase at a rate more than double their salary every year,

and those with pre-exisiting conditions who will no longer be denied coverage at affordable rates.

Originally Posted by Redux

The biggest losers:
the private insurance companies

the top 1/2 of one percent of wage earners in the country.
Employers with payrolls over $750K (those not currently offering employer-based plans)

And of course, the private insurance companies

Based upon that. Perhaps I'm reading between the lines a bit, but your opinion appears pretty clear.