Health Reform

Baltimore HealthCare Access, a nonprofit group that connects city residents with medical care programs in Maryland, will sponsor a community forum today to educate the public on the changes health care reform will bring. The free event, called "Baltimore Health Care Now and Later," will begin with remarks from Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake and feature four forums tailored to seniors, business owners and general consumers. The first in a series of quarterly community-outreach events, the event aims to inform consumers and clear up misconceptions about the sweeping national health care overhaul passed last year.

The Supreme Court's ruling on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, expected in June, will determine the future for countless Americans. Health care reform debates have elevated the plight of millions of uninsured Americans to the national consciousness. However, the physician workforce that would be needed to care for millions of newly insured people deserves equal attention. There is a growing shortage of primary care physicians in the U.S., and it has been forecasted for decades.

When I embarked on a new career as a real estate agent, I became an independent contractor. In the world of real estate agencies, there is no employer-provided health insurance. I was faced with the harsh reality that all who are self-employed face: Not only would I have to pay for my health insurance out of my own pocket, I would have to do it with after-tax dollars, essentially adding another 50 percent to the cost of whatever health care plan I chose. So, if I chose a plan that cost $10,000 per year, I would have to earn approximately $15,000 to pay for that plan.

Shame on Gov.Martin O'Malleyfor trying to confuse The Sun's readers concerning the issue before the Supreme Court in its consideration of the Affordable Care Act ("Health reform has been critical for Md. " May 4). As a lawyer and a member of the Maryland Bar, Governor O'Malley knows full well that the issue before the court has nothing to do with the substance of the law or whether or not it is beneficial to many people. The sole issue is whether Obamacare is within the limited Constitutional powers of the Congress.

I've devoted the past several months, and every day this week, totally to health care reform. I've attended rallies, met with congressional staff members, made phone calls and marched. Finally, for the first time since the election in Massachusetts, I am cautiously optimistic that we might actually get it done. I'm optimistic because senators like Harry Reid and Chris Dodd are finally speaking publicly, and forcefully, about getting the job done with or without the Republicans. Representatives like Congressman Anthony Weiner are plainly stating the facts on the House floor about our congressional representatives being a subsidiary of the insurance firms.

With the Supreme Court reviewing the Affordable Care Act (ACA), there is no shortage of legal analysis to handicap the decision. But unfortunately, not enough attention has been paid to the real value this law provides to millions of American families and businesses. As governor, I have heard from families unable to purchase coverage at any price because of pre-existing illness, from seniors forced to choose between medications and energy bills and from businesses required to drop employee coverage to stay afloat.

In recent testimony before the House Budget Committee, Medicare's chief actuary, Richard Foster, was asked whether President Barack Obama's new health care law would allow Americans to keep their existing coverage. His response? "Not true in all cases. " In fact, the health care law is not only causing many businesses to drop or scale back their insurance plans — it's also preventing them from creating jobs. A new National Association of Health Underwriters survey of nearly 2,400 insurance agents and brokers — who interact on a daily basis with employers who provide health insurance — hammers home the stark reality of the new law. More than half of brokers — 52 percent — report that some of their clients have dropped coverage altogether because of increased costs, which they attribute to health reform.

Medicare recipients in Maryland saved $46.2 million in prescription drug costs because of health care reform, the Obama Administration said today. The savings were achieved with rebates and discounts to ease the burden of the donut hole, when patients reach certain limits that require them to pay 100 percent of their prescription drug costs. The announcement was made as health care reform celebrates its second anniversary this week. In Maryland, 73,269 Medicare beneficiaries have saved an average of $630.19 onprescription drugs costs.  The savings came from a one-time $250 rebate check to seniors who hit the “donut hole” coverage gap in 2010 and a 50 percent discount on covered brand-name drugs in the donut hole in 2011.

Ready to start all over again on the abortion debate? Especially in places like Maryland, where a 1992 referendum provided a political settlement and mercifully enabled state officials to get beyond the issue, that prospect is not a happy one. But health care reform is presenting a new context for the debate. By opposing the inclusion of abortion services in any standard benefits package, abortion opponents could effectively deny millions of women access to abortion.Abortion has always loomed as a potential stumbling block to health care reform.

YOU WILL know when Hillary Clinton's long-awaite health-care reform plan is released by the flood of crocodile tears pouring from every suite in the insurance industry. You will hear a lot of yammering about the importance of preserving as much as possible the trillion-dollar Rube Goldberg machine that is our current health-care system.Don't believe it.Complexity and bureaucracy are essential if those now making a good living from the current system are to continue to do so. The only way to increase access, lower costs and give you peace of mind about your insurance coverage is to make the system simpler.

With the Supreme Court reviewing the Affordable Care Act (ACA), there is no shortage of legal analysis to handicap the decision. But unfortunately, not enough attention has been paid to the real value this law provides to millions of American families and businesses. As governor, I have heard from families unable to purchase coverage at any price because of pre-existing illness, from seniors forced to choose between medications and energy bills and from businesses required to drop employee coverage to stay afloat.

Insurance companies are expected to pay out nearly $1.3 billion in rebates this summer because they haven't complied with a provision under health care reform that they devote more money to health care and less on administrative costs and profit, according to a report by the Kaiser Family Foundation. Marylanders will receive $37.7 million from four insurance providers, according to the report. Kaiser did not name the insurers, but said the average rebate for Marylanders will be $293.50.

With a far more contentious hearing than expected before the Supreme Court, President Barack Obama's Affordable Care Act (ACA) could be struck down by a sharply divided court when it rules in June. If that happens, insurance will continue to be priced beyond the means of many. It is therefore prudent to look at possible alternatives for these Americans. Fortunately, a proven model exists today in Howard County: the Healthy Howard Health Plan. With some changes to its financing structure, it could emerge as a viable option for Americans who will not be able to afford to buy insurance should the ACA be struck down.

Thanks to Bob Ehrlich for the long article in Sunday's paper that makes plain, without actually stating it, the big difference between Republicans and Democrats on health care ("A death-knell for employer-funded insurance," April 1). Republicans find the pre-reform status quo acceptable, in which thousands of people died annually, in this wealthy country, for lack of health insurance. Democrats do not, and would like to see the U.S. join the rest of the industrialized world in guaranteeing health care for its citizens.

The fate of the Affordable Care Act is in the hands of the Supreme Court justices. But in the court of public opinion, a large percentage of people polled recently want the law scrapped. A CBS/New York Times survey found nearly half of those polled disapprove of the law, while 40 percent want the entire act overturned. Rasmussen Reports says 56 percent of people surveyed want the act repealed. And the Kaiser Family Foundation found that nearly six out of 10 people don't even know how health care reform affects them — though that didn't stop many of them from disliking it. Consumers should be careful what they wish for. Have they forgotten all the stories of people being unable to buy coverage because of a pre-existing condition or dropped by their insurer like a hot coal when they became ill?

Last week, theU.S. Supreme Courtheard six hours of oral arguments for and against the constitutionality of the new health care law. As a small business owner, I am not a constitutional scholar, but I can definitively say this: the Affordable Care Act is cutting my health care costs and helping my business. My wife and I run an auto repair shop in Columbia. We started as a small, family-business in 1978. Now, we're a well-respected business with 19 employees, a long string of awards and a reputation for service.

The nation's governors have sent Senate Republicans and Democrats on the House Ways and Means Committee a useful reminder about health care reform realities. As officials who have to deal with the consequences not only of what they do but what Congress does to them, their message is, "Please, no more unfunded federal mandates."Senate minority leader Bob Dole is the most immediate target of gubernatorial criticism. His alternative to the Clinton health plan currently calls for a cap on federal spending for Medicaid, with added costs in this mushrooming program to be dumped on the states.

Senate moderates pushing health care reform that puts the emphasis on individuals, not employers, in purchasing insurance may be on to something. The fact is that in the end it will always be individuals -- not employers, not the government -- who have to pay the doctor (and the hospital and the pharmacist and the insurance peddler).When you have an "employer mandate," as Bill and Hillary Clinton propose, the cost is ostensibly covered by the boss. But employees inevitably feel the impact in the form of smallerpaychecks.

President Obama was correct when he opined that every citizen should have health care coverage and pay for it through insurance premiums. But the very partisan law that was rammed through by the Democratic-controlled Congress without the support of the voters was in direct conflict with his campaign promise to unite the country. How much the public objected to the health care law that President Obama signed was made clear in the 2010 elections. I suspect this year's election will reinforce what the public said in 2010.

Columnist Robert Ehrlich asks why the Affordable Health Care Act is so long ("Obamacare: The 2,300 page monstrosity," March 25). The answer is that in a simpler time it was possible to write a law in simpler form because everyone knew what you meant, and you did not have to defend against every kook whose only goal in life was to look for any possible mistake or alternate meaning of a word or phrase. Anyone who takes the trouble to look into the American health care system realizes the U.S. is sadly lacking in caring for it's citizens.