Quote:
Originally posted by Hank Chinaski
Again, exactly. The problem is that currently those without extra $$$, but nominal coverage get to treatment no. 2243. YOU WOULD LIMIT THAT WHICH THE MIDDLE CLASS NOW GETS.
|
Do you actually know anything about the Oregon plan? It had nothing to do with the middle class. The middle class generally was already covered by health insurance provided by employers. The Oregon plan was intended to fill gap between those peope who did not have health insurance, but made too much money to qualify for traditional Medicaid. There were no limits on the middle class, but it gave a hell of a lot of coverage to people who otherwise would have had none.
The state of Oregon asked for a waiver from the Feds from participating in Medicaid the traditional way. The argument was that by limiting the income level for those who qualify for Medicaid, traditional Medicaid already rations health care. Rationing the treatment was much more equitable than rationing the people who can get treatment. Every single person in the state of Oregon would have had coverage. It would not have been comprehensive coverage, but a lot of thought went into determining the distribution. The health department in Oregon, with input from the community and health care providers, went through a series of relative benefit analyses with over 700 conditions and the various treatments for those conditions. Cost was a tiebreaker if the benefits were essentially the same.
HCFA (now CMS) denied the waiver (in an election year), stating that the plan violated the ADA.
