Originally Posted by skippy delepepper:
Originally Posted by O No!:
Ha ha...what are they going to do - vote Republican?
This is funny, but not really. Those members that would and do vote Republican,
have no choice were or how their union dues are contributed or spent. It is very
questionable how the Unions are continually in bed with the democrats. Look at
the waiver they got from Obamacare. If it's such a good deal, why all the waivers
to get it passed? Everyone needs to put in for a waiver and see how many get
turned down by party lines.
Skippy
The waivers are gifts to insurance companies.
The waivers granted to the San Francisco businesses last for one year at a time, and are meant to exempt certain companies from rules that restrict annual benefit limits. For 2011, the law prohibits most health plans from setting an annual benefit limit lower than $750,000 per individual policyholder. The law would eventually end annual limits, but in the meantime allows companies to apply for a waiver if they still have limits lower than the law allows.
Nevada, the state represented by Pelosi's then-counterpart on the other side of Capitol Hill, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, also just received a partial exemption from a provision in the law requiring companies to spend at least 80 percent of premium money on medical care and related expenses. HHS will allow Nevada to keep that rate at 75 percent in 2011, out of concern that major insurers could otherwise withdraw.
The waiver in SanFran allows insurers to set lower limits on annual benefits than OBamaCare will eventually allow, because right now the benefits are arbitrarily low.
The waiver in NV allows insurers to continue to spend only 75% of premiums on benefits, the so-called medical loss ratio. In the 1990's, when Clinton was trying to reform healthcare, medical loss ratios were at about 94% and that was thought to be to low at the time. 75% is ridiculous.