RNs Praise Courageous Vote by Senate Committee on Badly Flawed Healt...(y we can get true health care reform is ...),Health

"We look forward to working with Sen. Kuehl, Sen. Yee, and everyone who is dedicated, along with us, to a genuine, comprehensive reform, such as Sen. Kuehl's SB 840. In the interim, there is a short term alternative. Adopt AB1X's fee on hospitals reimbursed through higher Medi-Cal payments to hospitals proposed in the bill, and use the resulting federal money to expand coverage for children," DeMoro said.

Following are 10 reasons CNA/NNOC opposed AB1X:

1. Forced individuals to buy insurance policies without knowing the cost

or what coverage they will receive.

2. No meaningful cost controls on rising premiums, co-pays, or

deductibles.

3. Failed to identify minimum coverage, likely to be cheap HMO plans

without dental, vision, mental health, long term care and other

essentials which will cost extra.

4. Gaping holes in supposed affordability protections. No cap on premiums

or out-of-pocket costs for middle-income families. Low-income

employees ineligible for public subsidies if they opt out of employer

coverage offer which could be a gym club membership or health savings

account.

5. Harsh penalties for individuals who fail to buy insurance, including

garnishing wages or mortgage liens, but no penalties for employers who

don't comply.

6. Incentives for employers who now provide benefits to cancel coverage

to pay cheaper fee or shift more costs to workers. Encouraged large

employers like Wal-Mart to dump lowest wage employees into the public

pool.

7. Sunset of hospital fees and tax credits and a two-thirds vote for

increasing employer mandate. No similar protections for individuals

who would bear the burden of future increases in costs.
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