Durbin Calls Health Care Plan 'A Bold Experiment'
The Bloomington Pantagraph
March 31, 2010
NORMAL
— America’s health insurance system needs to be changed because
“unchanged, the system is unsustainable,” U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin,
D-Ill., said Wednesday.
Speaking at the Community Health Care Clinic eight days after President Barack Obama signed health insurance reform into law, Durbin said the law isn’t perfect but called it “a bold experiment.”
While people from throughout the world come to the United States for its excellent health care, the health insurance system is not cost-efficient or fair, he said. People with pre-existing medical conditions are denied coverage by insurance companies when they need it most, even though they’ve paid premiums for years, Durbin said.
Meanwhile, many insurance companies have been raising rates in Illinois, said Michael McRaith, director of the Illinois Department of Insurance. “This bill will allow us to examine rate increases,” he said.
The new law eventually will provide health coverage for 32 million uninsured Americans, including 1.1 million in Illinois, through an employer, Medicaid or an exchange in which health plans would compete for business, Durbin said.
Within a year, the law will offer tax credits to businesses with fewer than 25 employees, ban pre-existing-condition exclusions for children and provide $250 rebates for Medicaid beneficiaries who hit the Medicare Part D drug coverage gap.
Insurers will be required to spend 80 percent of premium dollars on medical care, he said.
Contacted later Wednesday for a reaction, Jack Segal of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois said health system reform is now the law of the land. Blue Cross and Blue Shield is moving forward to ensure that the law is implemented effectively and is taking steps to be in compliance, he said.
Durbin conceded that more primary care doctors, nurses and nurse-practitioners will be needed to care for the additional people seeking medical care. He favors expanding medical schools and improving compensation of primary care doctors to attract more young doctors to primary care rather than sub-specialties.
He also argued that the law will not bankrupt the federal government. Instead, the law allows more people to have health insurance coverage by raising taxes on the wealthy and on pharmaceutical and medical device companies who would experience increases in business, Durbin said.
Hospitals also would benefit because more poor people coming to emergency departments will have insurance, Durbin said.
Speaking after Durbin at the clinic, Dorothy Bushnell, owner of The Garlic Press in Normal, said she pays one-third of the health insurance premiums for her six full-time employees but wishes she could pay more.
“I think the (small business) tax credit will be of benefit,” she said.
“I’m very, very pleased that this health bill passed,” she said. “It’s not a perfect bill but it’s something to work on. People need health care.”
Speaking at the Community Health Care Clinic eight days after President Barack Obama signed health insurance reform into law, Durbin said the law isn’t perfect but called it “a bold experiment.”
While people from throughout the world come to the United States for its excellent health care, the health insurance system is not cost-efficient or fair, he said. People with pre-existing medical conditions are denied coverage by insurance companies when they need it most, even though they’ve paid premiums for years, Durbin said.
Meanwhile, many insurance companies have been raising rates in Illinois, said Michael McRaith, director of the Illinois Department of Insurance. “This bill will allow us to examine rate increases,” he said.
The new law eventually will provide health coverage for 32 million uninsured Americans, including 1.1 million in Illinois, through an employer, Medicaid or an exchange in which health plans would compete for business, Durbin said.
Within a year, the law will offer tax credits to businesses with fewer than 25 employees, ban pre-existing-condition exclusions for children and provide $250 rebates for Medicaid beneficiaries who hit the Medicare Part D drug coverage gap.
Insurers will be required to spend 80 percent of premium dollars on medical care, he said.
Contacted later Wednesday for a reaction, Jack Segal of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois said health system reform is now the law of the land. Blue Cross and Blue Shield is moving forward to ensure that the law is implemented effectively and is taking steps to be in compliance, he said.
Durbin conceded that more primary care doctors, nurses and nurse-practitioners will be needed to care for the additional people seeking medical care. He favors expanding medical schools and improving compensation of primary care doctors to attract more young doctors to primary care rather than sub-specialties.
He also argued that the law will not bankrupt the federal government. Instead, the law allows more people to have health insurance coverage by raising taxes on the wealthy and on pharmaceutical and medical device companies who would experience increases in business, Durbin said.
Hospitals also would benefit because more poor people coming to emergency departments will have insurance, Durbin said.
Speaking after Durbin at the clinic, Dorothy Bushnell, owner of The Garlic Press in Normal, said she pays one-third of the health insurance premiums for her six full-time employees but wishes she could pay more.
“I think the (small business) tax credit will be of benefit,” she said.
“I’m very, very pleased that this health bill passed,” she said. “It’s not a perfect bill but it’s something to work on. People need health care.”