Some type of health care reform is here to stay and must be prepared for, Bob Hamilton, chief underwriter with Bean Hamilton Corporate Benefits, advised the Pine Bluff Rotary Club Tuesday.
Hamilton said that when the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court earlier this summer, those for and against the law saw that it had staying power.
“Nobody knows for sure how this will play out,” Hamilton said. “Relax. It’s not going away. I don’t see that happening. No entitlement program that has been enacted has ever been rolled back.”
Hamilton said that while a majority of Americans who have been polled on the issue are against any federal requirement to buy health insurance, many of the other aspects of health care reform are widely supported.
“In a recent poll 69 percent of respondents approve of the provision allowing their children to stay on their plan until they are 26,” Hamilton said. “When it comes to the provision that forbids insurance companies from denying coverage for children under 18 due to a pre-existing condition, 91 percent approve. In addition 85 percent of respondents approve of the provision forbidding insurance companies from denying coverage to anyone due to a pre-existing condition.”
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Arkansas has a higher percentage of health issues than other states including hypertension, diabetes and obesity, according to Hamilton.
“Imagine if a banker were forced by the government to provide a loan to anyone who asked for one without checking their financial background. Starting Jan. 1, 2014, insurance companies will have to give people insurance without being able to check on their health background. We have to find a way to spread the risk and that is what insurance does.”
Hamilton said that an estimated 10 to 20 percent of employers are expected to drop their company insurance plans once the new health care law comes fully into effect.
“There will be some who decide that the new regulations are just too complicated and will let their employees find insurance under the new system,” Hamilton said.
“Eventually there will be some form of national health care,” Hamilton said. “In America we want fairly quick access to the very best care in the world; we really like being able to change health care providers; and we want lower costs. You can get two out of three but you are going to have to get rid of one of them.”
Hamilton said that under the new health care system wellness activities will be emphasized, including programs to help people stop smoking and to eat healthier.
“Arkansas did not set up its own health insurance purchasing exchange because people thought health care reform would be struck down by the Supreme Court but it was upheld,” Hamilton said. “Now we won’t get to have one of our own but instead will have one based on a federal model. The exchanges will be website driven and will allow people to shop for health care coverage.”
According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, a health insurance exchange is a set of state-regulated and standardized health care plans, from which individuals may purchase health insurance eligible for federal subsidies. All exchanges must be fully certified and operational by Jan. 1, 2014, under federal law.