What's in the Health Care bill

Well, we now know one thing that's not in it.

From the Los Angeles Times:

Public outrage over double-digit rate hikes for health insurance may have helped push President Obama's healthcare overhaul across the finish line, but the new law does not give regulators the power to block similar increases in the future.

From the New York Times, it seems wellness incentives could undermine the promise of not charging more in premiums for preexisting conditions.

Workplace wellness programs are becoming more and more popular as businesses try to rein in runaway health costs. At American Express, for instance, employees are offered a $100 reward just for coming in for a health assessment; the company also provides an array of free support services, including health coaching, maintenance drugs and preventive care.

....

While advocates for people with chronic ailments like diabetes, cancer and heart disease say they welcome initiatives that enable employees to incorporate exercise or weight counseling into their workday, they warn that tying premium discounts to achieving certain health standards (which American Express does not do) will inevitably shift costs to less healthy employees.

"On the one hand, it's a great idea — let's encourage people to be healthy," said Timothy Stoltzfus Jost, a law professor at Washington and Lee University specializing in health and a consumer representative to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. "But if I have pretty serious asthma, there are a lot of wellness programs that I can't be a part of. Isn't this going to mean people who are already unhealthy are going to pay higher premiums?"

Though the law promises to end discrimination in coverage based on health status, Mr. Jost called the wellness provisions "a loophole big enough to drive a semi through," adding, "Insurers know darn well this will allow them to continue to underwrite based on health status." Many consumer advocates worry that premiums will be raised significantly across the board first, and then individual discounts will be applied.

Oops.

Also:

In a new report, the Congressional Research Service says the law may have significant unintended consequences for the "personal health insurance coverage" of senators, representatives and their staff members.

For example, it says, the law may "remove members of Congress and Congressional staff" from their current coverage, in the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program, before any alternatives are available.

The confusion raises the inevitable question: If they did not know exactly what they were doing to themselves, did lawmakers who wrote and passed the bill fully grasp the details of how it would influence the lives of other Americans?

....

"It is unclear whether members of Congress and Congressional staff who are currently participating in F.E.H.B.P. may be able to retain this coverage," the research service said in an 8,100-word memorandum.

And even if current members of Congress can stay in the popular program for federal employees, that option will probably not be available to newly elected lawmakers, the report says.

 Oops, again.