The Future of Health Insurance
On March 23, 2010, President Barack Obama signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act into law, paving the way for the future of the American health care and health insurance system. The bill took a tumultuous path to passage, facing opposition and criticism from lawmakers in Washington, state legislators, much of the health industry and many American citizens.
Lawmakers admitted the bill wouldn’t be perfect, but strongly argued that inaction would lead to out-of-control health care costs and millions more people would lose coverage.
In the end, the new law will lay the groundwork for a new system that will lower health care costs, improve the health care quality and ensure all Americans have access to medical services.
During the legislative debate, critics were quick to point out that the bill would cost nearly $1 trillion over the next 10 years, only adding to a fattening federal deficit. But the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office estimated the net result of the bill would reduce the deficit by $143 billion during the same time period.
While we won’t know the fiscal effects of the health reform bill for years to come, the legislation squarely puts the responsibility on all industry players to implement common sense solutions to fix our health care system for all Americans.
Where do we go from here?
Changing health care and health insurance in our country will be no small task. The system sits upon a complex web of interdependent pieces, where just a small change could greatly affect everyone in the industry, most importantly consumers.
That’s why tackling health reform will require the expertise and advice from all levels of the industry, including health care professionals, health insurance companies, health insurance agents, and technology providers.
We need to start by providing the American people with a convenient way to find full information about the progression of health reform in the next four years, and how each provision will affect the way they purchase health insurance and receive health services. Dedication to full transparency is critical to the success of health reform — citizens must be reassured that they will not be surprised from any provision of health reform.
We can also start by building the necessary online framework to create the state-based health insurance exchanges as President Obama and Congress have envisioned. Consumers will be directed to streamlined insurance exchange marketplaces that will allow them to research, shop, compare and purchase health insurance completely online. Furthermore, these marketplaces should be available to consumers at a centralized location for the most convenient access.
Online technology must be at the forefront of health reform because it guarantees the fastest delivery of health plan comparison tools into the homes of Americans and provides the most efficient way of transferring health insurance and health care information.
Looking ahead…
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was truly passed for the American consumer to provide health insurance access for all and greatly improve the overall quality and standard of health care.
With widespread availability of a rich set of online tools through new exchanges, consumers will be empowered to make all of their health care decisions. The information available on these exchange sites is an opportunity to bring health insurance shopping to a remarkable level of ease for all Americans.
By leading health care reform with a focus on technology and the future of creating better health care services for Americans, the health insurance industry will transform into the consumer-oriented industry we all need.