Barack Obama’s Health Insurance Plan and Its Effect on Ohio Health Insurance
April 3rd, 2009 | 
Author: 
Barack Obama’s ambitious health care plan is fairly simple and straightforward. His plan seeks to dramatically and swiftly increase the number of people that have health insurance. He insists that this plan will save the typical American family approximately $2500 in annual costs. Since the average Ohio health insurance premium is less than most other states, savings to Ohio residents may average less than $2500.
The Obama plan is designed to give the federal government more control over health care decisions and dollars, a major difference from the current decentralized system of employer-based insurance and state-based insurance regulation. Here in Ohio, health insurers have been effectively held in check by the Ohio Department of Insurance. This, however, is not the case in many other states.
The Obama Plan
Many parts of the Obama plan resemble initiatives from the Clinton health plan of 1994 and the Kerry Health plan of 2004.
Essentially, Obama’s health care plan is divided into three sections:
1. Modernizing the US health care system to lower costs and improve quality
2. Promoting prevention and strengthening public health
3. Quality, portable and affordable health coverage for every person
The “Savings”
The $2500 in savings will come from health care reform, using some of the following initiatives:
*Making health insurance universal, which may reduce spending on uncompensated care.
*Improving management and prevention of chronic conditions.
*Increasing insurance industry competition and reducing underwriting costs and profits.
*Providing reinsurance for catastrophic coverage, which will reduce insurance premiums.
Shifting Cost Burden
While all of these ideas are feasible, the underlying theme seems to be simply shifting some of the cost burden from the private sector to the government. And of course, much more control of our health dollars and decisions would come from Washington D.C and not Anthem or UnitedHealthCare.
The Obama plan will actually compete directly with Ohio private health insurance companies in a “National Health Insurance Exchange.” The federal government (not health insurance carriers) would determine the quality of health benefits that Americans would receive. And these new rules would apply to both the new national health plan and all participating private health plans.
Preventative Coverage Would Be Emphasized
Obama’s health care plan will encourage “healthy lifestyles” with specific emphasis on wellness. Employer wellness programs will be increased, and cafeterias and vending machines in the workplace may see healthier food.
School-based health screening programs may increase along with increased support for physical education.
For Ohio individuals and families, the Obama plan would require preventative services on many federally-supported health programs such as Medicare, Medicaid and SCHIP. One benefit may be possible discounts to on health insurance premiums for enrollment in wellness and prevention programs.
Currently, some Ohio individual health insurance policies offer a similar discount, such as Anthem’s Lumenos Health Incentive Account (HIA).
Employer-based health insurance would radically change under the Obama plan. Here in Ohio, both small and large employers are able to choose among many different health plans for their employees. The Obama plan would force employers to offer a specific level of health benefits to their employees or pay a tax to finance a national health program. Currently, the amount of provided health benefits and the size of the tax have not been specifically discussed.
Perhaps the best and most economical health insurance plan for Ohio residents would be a concept already in place…HSAs (Health Savings Accounts). Thus, instead of imposing a top-down change on the health care system, it would seem to be prudent to transfer direct control of health care dollars to individuals and families. This would allow Americans to choose their own health plans and benefits, while making health insurance companies compete directly for consumer’s dollars by providing a real value to patients.
All of this could be accomplished by specific tax and regulatory changes designed to utilize the power of free-market competition. Health care spending could be reduced, preventative treatment could be emphasized and portability could be promoted. Reforming the tax treatment of health insurance and aiding employers that help their employees buy health insurance would help quite a bit.
For now, Ohio health insurance rates are remarkably low compared to many other states. There are many reputable health insurance companies that offer a wide array of policies, including Health Savings Accounts. That shouldn’t change much for the next two years. In 2011, things might change…hopefully, for the better.
For additional information on Ohio health insurance plans, or an instant Ohio health insurance quote, please visit http://www.ohioquotes.com
Help answer the question about health insurance
How should I do health insurance deduction from paycheck if I choose my own health insurance ?I want to choose my own insurance instead of company sponsored plan.
Usually when we elect company sponsored plan the premium on health insurance
is tax deducted from the paycheck. But if I choose and pay my own insurance Can I still make tax deducted from each paycheck? or should I apply tax deduction during tax filing?
About Author
Ed Harris graduated from Miami University in 1980 (Finance & Journalism). He has been a health insurance broker for 28 years, helping thousands of Ohio residents find affordable comprehensive health insurance.
He resides in Springboro with his wife (from Pittsburgh) and two children. He enjoys, tennis, golf, politics, and bowls once every 15 years.
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Posted in Health Insurance
Hey will,, man could i get the mp3 for this tune??? please is absolutely amazing.
healthplans.my-age.net – my family have this health insurance. It is affordable and has good coverage for dental issues.
LOL! I have to keep watching this! so Beautiful! Musics Perfect!
1) Most employer provided health insurance is deducted "pre-tax" so there is no deduction on the tax return.
2) Your parents must be your dependents (or would have been your dependents except for the gross income test) for you to take a deduction anyway. So, unless you are supporting them: No.
you never dissapoint me.
you are a real artist.
i hope one day you can be recognized in all around theworld
OMG!! amazing!!!
i missed your stuff man
most insurance will cover the costs you mention if the doctor thinks it is medically necessary.
No.
The insurance through your husband's employer does not meet the test of having been established through the S-corp.
Well, if she's 40 and perfectly healthy, it's going to cost her about $500 a month to have a low/no deductible plan that covers checkups.
You BUY it on a month to month basis. If you want low monthly payments, you have to cut the coverage – like take a $10,000 deductible. Or higher. That would cut payments down to maybe $200 a month or less.
The older she is, the less healthy she is, the more it costs.
Your best bet, is to find a local, independent agent, who can help you balance cost with coverage.
omg so you played this on ur keyboard x)
cool man and lots of respects to ALL of youre paintings
You mean in writing policies? That's one of the reasons we need health care reform, the insurance companies exclude people with pre-existing conditions. Which kind of ruins the whole concept of insurance, which is based on pooled risk.
wow it looks as if it was taken by a camera, awesome work man
i htought the main reason of living in a society was to help each other out, am i wrong?
You've asked a very broad question. There is no simple answer.
In truth, health insurance works a little differently in each state.
To answer your specific questions:
1) No, health insurance is not compulsory for everyone. If you're lucky, you are able to join a group policy at work. (If you're really lucky, it's a good policy and the employer pays at least half of it.) Some states have recently made it compulsory, but that's such a recent change that there's no clear cut answer yet for how that's going to work.
2) What happens if someone can't afford it is… they don't get it, usually. Except if your income puts you below the "poverty level", in which case you qualify for Medicaid. (In some states there are programs that typically provide assistance with insuring children, though they are few and far between for covering adults.)
3) Health insurance rarely covers all the bills when you have a procedure done. Most plans cover 50-80% after you meet your deductible. The deductible amounts vary widely (but the trend is that the deductibles are getting higher and higher to keep the premiums down.) If you're really, REALLY lucky, you don't have a deductible (which is only an option on group plans), and you may only have to pay 10% of covered charges. (These plans are few and far between. As in, you might have them if you're in Congress.)
4) Yes, the patient has some say over procedures. However, if the patient opts for an "experimental" procedure, or one that isn't deemed "medically necessary", then health insurance may refuse to cover any charges at all.
In the end, as with most things, the middle class takes the brunt of these costs. This has become such a problem that more than 50% of all bankruptcies are as a result of medical bills (and of those, more than 75% had health insurance.)
** Edited to add:
It's not ALL about the money when a procedure is involved. If it is, the state keeps track of complaints filed on behalf of consumers with "managed care" (ie. any type of network arrangement including Preferred Provider Organizations, Health Maintenance Organizations, and Point of Service organizations — also known as PPO, HMO, and POS) and may very well revoke a company's charter to do business in the state should the company be turning down too many legitimate claims.
However, insurance companies are sticklers for following the "standard" for medical care. This is what makes it difficult to answer your question. Because they should not deny anything that's considered standard for care in the given circumstances (should not and will not being two completely different things, of course.) And there may be several options that would be considered "standard." If the patient wants treatment that isn't yet considered "standard", they would balk. Period.
When you get health insurance, there is what is called a premium. This is the amount you pay on a scheduled basis. For instance, if you get insurance through your employer, you would pay your part of the premium each payday.
If you pay your premiums on time, you get to keep your insurance. Now, when you use your insurance, there is what is called a deductible. This is an amount of money you must spend before the insurance starts paying anything. A typical deductible might be $250/year for the policy holder and $500/year for the family. So, if your dad had the policy and went to get a prescription, if it was his first prescription of the year and it cost $100, he would pay $100. Every time he used stuff under the plan, he would pay everything until he hit the $250 deductible, then the insurance would kick in. (the same goes for the family coverage, until the $500 was met by everybody in total – not separately – you would pay 100%).
Now, once the deductible is met, the insurance starts picking up some of the costs…usually the costs are based on what doctor or provider you use. If you use someone who is called "in network" the insurance company pays more of the bill. They do this because they have negotiated lower costs with that provider. For example, let's say you need to have some tests done and your family has met all your deductibles. Let's also say the tests normally cost $200. If you go to an in network provider, the insurance would cover 80%. If you go out of network, the insurance might only cover 70%. Now the nice thing is, by going in network, you get the discounted price, let's say $160. So, if you go in network, you would pay $32 for the tests and the insurance would pay $128 (totaling $160). If you went out of network, you would pay the 30% of $200 or $60 and the insurance company would pay $140. So, by staying in-network, both you and your insurance company save money.
Also, there is something called an out-of-pocket maximum. This just means that if someone in your family gets real sick or injured, the most you can pay for that year is the out-of-pocket max…say $5,000. Once you hit that, everything after that is covered 100% by your insurance and you don't pay anything.
Last, there is a co-pay – what this means is that if you go to the doctor for a routine visit, it is usually covered without worrying about the deductible and you pay just the co-pay. usually this is $15 or $20 on say a $100 office visit and the insurance company pays the rest (based on a negotiated amount).
And that's the short version of how insurance works.
You can use this site.
http://top-usa-health-insurance-comparator.blogspot.com/
to compare various health insurance providers at your place.
It’s like you have taken an actual photo of Johnny Depp!
it feels like my brain doesn’t want to believe that is a painting and more of a picture. haha
Barack Obama is a very special person since he is the first black president of the United States of America. his ability as a president is also very good and his plans for economic recovery is a good one.
Barack Obama may be a charismatic leader but somehow his economic policies are not that great in my own opinion. But still i am thankful that a Obama is the current president of the united states.