It appears that the public option portion of the health care reform legislation may be coming off of the table soon, if not already. There is talk of replacing it with a private insurance, non-profit version overseen by the government. Also, there is talk of at least a temporary reduction in the Medicare age to 55.
Apparently part of todays' compromise has to do with trying to keep premiums "reasonable". Since the bill would uncap lifetime maximums, the Senate has agreed (behind closed doors again) to allow and implement annual benefit caps on health plans.
California domiciled health plans currently do not impose an annual benefit maximum and PPO plans allow that number to be set at the lifetime maximum benefit of the plan. Only the MRMIP and compatible MRMIP "graduate plans" involve annual maximum benefits, and those are capped at $75,000 per year.
Senate Bill To Allow Benefit Caps
Public Option Waning, Now Annual Benefit Caps? You On Here » Public Option Waning, Now Annual Benefit Caps?
