It's no secret that institutions of all stripes focus their communications on certain messages day to day. We thought it would all be a little more open and transparent if we went ahead and published what our focus will be for the day, along with any related articles, documents, or reports.
Talking Points: AHIP Report on Senate Finance Committee Bill
· This is a self-serving analysis from the insurance industry, one of the major opponents of health insurance reform. Even the company hired to produce the report has issued a statement saying they produced a skewed report that analyzes only part of the bill because that is what the insurance industry paid them to do.
· It comes on the eve of a vote that will reduce the industry's profits. It is hard to take it seriously. The analysis completely ignores critical policies such as:
Ø Grandfather policy that requires no change in the health insurance plan that you already get at work.
Ø Tax credits for those who need help purchasing health insurance
Ø Special policies for young adults, who AHIP claims will be hit hard, including tax credits and the choice of a special "young invincibles" plan that has a low premium.
Ø A health insurance exchange that will increase choice and competition and put downward pressure on costs.
Ø Reinsurance and other policies proven to ensure that no single group bears unexpectedly high costs.
Ø Flawed analysis - especially on the tax on insurance companies that offer high-end policies. Most economists conclude that will begin to lower costs, not increase them.
Ø Few health insurance plans - and over time fewer - will have premiums high enough to be affected by the assessment.
Ø The individual responsibility requirement in the Finance bill is sufficient to cover 94 percent of Americans and create an insurance exchange with over 20 million people, according to CBO.