Word from the White House: AHIP Report on Senate Finance Committee Bill

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 13TH, 2009 AT 10:40 AM
Word from the White House: AHIP Report on Senate Finance Committee Bill
Posted by Jesse Lee
It's no secret that institutions of all stripes focus their communications on certain messages day to day. We thought it would all be a little more open and transparent if we went ahead and published what our focus will be for the day, along with any related articles, documents, or reports.
Supporting article: "Accounting Firm Admits Cost Savings Left Out Of Report Prepared For AHIP Report," TPMDC, 10/13/09
Supporting blog post: "Reality Check: AHIP's "Study" Hard to Take Seriously," White House blog, 10/12/09
Talking Points: AHIP Report on Senate Finance Committee Bill

· This is a self-serving analysis from the insurance industry, one of the major opponents of health insurance reform. Even the company hired to produce the report has issued a statement saying they produced a skewed report that analyzes only part of the bill because that is what the insurance industry paid them to do.

· It comes on the eve of a vote that will reduce the industry's profits. It is hard to take it seriously. The analysis completely ignores critical policies such as:

Ø Grandfather policy that requires no change in the health insurance plan that you already get at work.

Ø Tax credits for those who need help purchasing health insurance

Ø Special policies for young adults, who AHIP claims will be hit hard, including tax credits and the choice of a special "young invincibles" plan that has a low premium.

Ø A health insurance exchange that will increase choice and competition and put downward pressure on costs.

Ø Reinsurance and other policies proven to ensure that no single group bears unexpectedly high costs.

Ø Flawed analysis - especially on the tax on insurance companies that offer high-end policies. Most economists conclude that will begin to lower costs, not increase them.

Ø Few health insurance plans - and over time fewer - will have premiums high enough to be affected by the assessment.

Ø The individual responsibility requirement in the Finance bill is sufficient to cover 94 percent of Americans and create an insurance exchange with over 20 million people, according to CBO.