Over at FiveThirtyEight.com, Nate Silver makes the case that the Senate healthcare bill isn't as bad as everyone thinks it is. And he makes a very good case. According to Silver, the Senate version -- as it stands now -- will save people a substantial amount of money.
OK, so the bill isn't awful. But that doesn't make it good. I remain unhappy with the bill and still contend that we can stop talking about healthcare reform now. The Senate bill, as it currently stands, represents a tweak to the status quo, not the redrawing of any maps. If this becomes the final bill, the United States will still be a nation without any actual system of healthcare delivery. We needed to build a new structure, but we're just put new shingles on the same old shack's roof. Will we improve healthcare coverage in America? Yes. But on the reform side, this bill represents a failure. It most definitely not reform... [CLICK TO READ FULL POST]
These estimates are straightforward -- they're taken directly from the CBO's report on premiums for people at different income levels. A family of four earning an income of $54,000 would pay $4,000 in premiums, and could expect to incur another $5,000 in out-of-pocket costs. The $4,000 premium represents a substantial discount, because the government is covering 72 percent of the premium -- meaning that the gross cost of the premium is $14,286, some $10,286 of which the government pays.
One caution: this reflects the situation before the public option was removed from the bill. But, provided that the subsidy schedule isn't changed as well, that shouldn't change these numbers much.
OK, so the bill isn't awful. But that doesn't make it good. I remain unhappy with the bill and still contend that we can stop talking about healthcare reform now. The Senate bill, as it currently stands, represents a tweak to the status quo, not the redrawing of any maps. If this becomes the final bill, the United States will still be a nation without any actual system of healthcare delivery. We needed to build a new structure, but we're just put new shingles on the same old shack's roof. Will we improve healthcare coverage in America? Yes. But on the reform side, this bill represents a failure. It most definitely not reform... [CLICK TO READ FULL POST]
