The Obama administration is finished celebrating its historic victory on healthcare reform. Now it’s time to get down to business. Implementing the new law will certainly be a challenge.
Officials both new and old are will be in charge of the undertaking. Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius will be involved. Several heretofore unknown individuals will also be handling the byzantine process, involving both private and public entities.
Despite the changes affordable health insurance reform will result in, most Americans will still receive coverage from their employers. That is where the Labor Department comes in. Phyllis C. Borzi is the agency’s point person to make sure that companies meet the newly written guidelines. Borzi has years of public- and private-sector experience consulting with employers on their benefit packages.
Many fear that employers will choose to drop their existing health insurance plan and leave their workers to the exchange markets (forcing the federal government to spend more money subsidizing them), but Borzi seeks to ensure that such a predicament won’t happen. Her task is to craft and enforce clear guidelines that are not so stringent that they eliminate employers’ flexibility in a way that discourages them from providing coverage.
Jeanne M. Lambrew, meanwhile, has been attempting to expand affordable health insurance coverage since the Clinton administration, with her involvement in the launch of the Children’s Health Insurance Program. She finally has her chance, as the director of the new Office of Health Reform. Her passion has centered on the uninsured, and she was instrumental in Maine’s statewide healthcare reform. Lambrew’s past experience will come in handy, since she must hit the ground running: her office is responsible for helping states get the high-risk health insurance pool for people with pre-existing conditions off the ground in under 90 days!
Lambrew is largely known for her pragmatic ideas. She probably learned from Clinton’s failure to pass health insurance reform legislation. Quite a few elements of the Senate bill that passed are taken from a book she co-authored on the topic with former Democratic Senator Tom Daschle.
The most difficult job of all might be that of Jay Angoff. He is now the director of the newly created Office of Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight. Throughout his career, Angoff has gone toe-to-toe with health insurance plan providers as an insurance commissioner and lobbyist for consumer groups. Angoff intends to be aggressive in his enforcement. Some industry experts believe that the appointment of Angoff will be detrimental to their businesses.
His office will decide on what “unreasonable” premium increases will require insurers to file detailed justification. For Angoff, the danger is that the attack-dog tactics used against insurance companies to pass the law will backfire when trying to enforce regulations. Now, they will have to work together to reduce rates.
Yamileth Medina is an up and coming expert on Affordable Health Insurance and Healthcare Reform. She aims to help people realize that they can find a quality health insurance plan right now. Yamileth lives in Miami, FL.
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