Quote:
Originally posted by bilmore
Have you read his website? I have. It's interesting, first of all, to see entire sections appear for a day, and then get hastily pulled down, and replaced, not just with prettier sections, but with entire new positions, contradicting earlier pages. He remakes himself on his website weekly. And, his "plans"? Things like "I will work to make health care affordable for all", and "I will create jobs". Controversial shit. I understand he has an entire page speaking of his love for puppies.
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Yup, I have. Speaking of which, a portion of his health care "puppy love" plan is below. Seems a bit more detailed then you think.
And I would be fascinated to learn more about the contradictory changes in his website. Somehow I suspect that such changes have been tracked by all sorts of bloggers and GOP types, and there is surely a web page showing before and after screen shots. Because Kerry is a flipflopper.
Anyway, here's the I love puppies part:
- Creating A New Approach To Control Spiraling Health Care Costs - And Passing The Savings On To Workers
Because catastrophic costs are both high and unpredictable, they raise the cost of health insurance for all people. John Kerry believes that cost of the sickest Americans should be shared - not just by people paying for private insurance but by the government. He proposes to create a "premium rebate" pool that will make health care more affordable for employers and employees by helping out with certain high cost health cases. Under this proposal, the pool would reimburse private and public employer and group health insurance plans that meet certain qualifications for a portion of catastrophic costs. "Catastrophic costs" would be defined as the annual claims for an individual that exceed a certain threshold. This catastrophic threshold would be set so that the average estimated savings would be approximately 10 percent for qualifying plans nationwide, which is estimated at 75 percent of the costs in excess of an approximate $50,000 threshold in 2013 (and about $30,000 in 2006). The resulting savings would decrease family premiums by up to $1,000 annually. In addition to lowering costs, the rebate will make premium increases more stable over time. To qualify for this "premium rebate" pool, employers and insurers will have to:
Provide Health Coverage to Their Workers. Many companies work to provide quality coverage to all their workers. However, some companies have stringent rules that prevent some workers from obtaining affordable health care. To receive the premium rebate, employers would have to provide insurance coverage to their employees.
Adopt Disease Management and Care Coordination Programs to Improve Quality and Lower Costs. Innovative programs targeting patients with chronic conditions have illustrated that both the human and cost consequences of chronic diseases can be alleviated through hands-on medical management. Employers and their insurers must adopt model programs to receive the premium rebate.
Share Savings with Workers. By substantially reducing catastrophic costs, John Kerry's proposal will make it easier for employers to offer affordable coverage. Firms will be able to provide higher wages, maintain benefits, and make investments that help employers and workers alike. Health economists predict that these savings will automatically be passed onto workers in the form of higher wages and/or other forms of compensation. If employees do not share in the savings, the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Secretary of Labor would develop policy options to ensure that employers do share these savings with workers.
