Wall Street Journal, February 6, 2007
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Feb 6
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Posted by Kari Chisholm . |
The following story appeared at the Wall Street Journal on February 6, 2007. Visit the original, password-protected version here.
SEN. WYDEN'S PROPOSAL: Sen. Wyden's plan, in many ways, is the most radical one on the table. He would sever the link between employment and insurance altogether and require everyone to buy coverage directly from insurance companies, much like people now buy auto insurance. He initially would require that employers pay their workers the cash that they had been spending on health insurance. He argues that employers would ultimately continue the practice, even when no longer required, to keep the best workers.
Beyond that, he would provide a tax break to help people pay their insurance premiums, and give low-income Americans direct subsidies for coverage. A new tax on employers would help pay for the program. New rules would require insurance companies to cover anyone who applied for insurance, even ones with existing medical conditions, and would bar the companies from charging sick people higher premiums.
Under this plan, people with insurance will have a greater choice of health plans than most get from work today, given that the market is likely to produce more options. But as health costs and insurance premiums rise, families would have to absorb the increase. As is, employers pass the cost of rising health care to their workers through higher premiums and lower wages, but workers don't always feel the impact, says John Sheils of Lewin Group, a health-care consulting firm that helped develop the Wyden plan. Everyone would be required to buy insurance even if they don't think they need it. Sen. Wyden describes a young, healthy man he met in central Oregon who told him that he didn't think he needed coverage. Sen. Wyden noted that the young man was a skier and asked him, "What if you crack up on the mountain?" The man replied that if he got hurt he would buy insurance then. "That's not how insurance works," Sen. Wyden says. "This is going to be a huge education job."
Posted on February 6, 2007.
