Delegate Holds Radio Town Hall Meeting

Virgin Islands Delegate to Congress, Donna M. Christensen (D) hit the airwaves in mid August to provide V.I. listeners with her perspective on where the health care debate stands as of the August Congressional recess. The Delegate held an hour long radio town hall meeting that educated and informed the listening audience.

Here are some highlights:

The Insurance Exchange. This is a provision that will enable uninsured individuals to contact one central portal to access information and prices on available insurance options within that jurisdiction. The Virgin Islands is not included in the House version of the bill, but is included in the Senate bill.

Assistance for poverty. Under the House bill people who fall within 133% to 400% of the poverty standard will receive help paying insurance premiums. NO ONE will be required to pay more than 11% of their income for health insurance premiums.

Dental plans. Dental insurance is included in the House bill up to age 21. However, the Delegate will be urging her colleagues to appreciate how important dental coverage is especially as it relates to diabetes, heart disease and pregnancy. Additional work will be done to try to get dental coverage in the final bill.

Public Plan. Although the public plan is being considered for elimination, the Delegate indicated that any public plan would function similar to how Medicare operates. Medicare, Medicaid and to some extent, the Veterans’ health care program are all government run health care programs. The Delegate said Congress is not considering a single payer or universal program like England or Canada. Instead a US public plan would focus on providing health care at a reasonable cost.

Responsibility. According to the Delegate, everyone unless able to prove hardship will have to have proof of health insurance coverage or face a 2.5% tax on their adjusted gross income. Employers would be required to pay 72.5% of employee premiums or 65% on a family plan. Large employers who do not cover employees will be required to pay 8% of their total payroll into the Health Choices Trust.

Insurance Industry Reforms. The Delegate stressed that this was one key area of importance to Virgin Islanders. The bill includes guaranteed issue and renewal clauses. Under these provisions, no insurance company can refuse you. You cannot be excluded for pre-existing diseases and they cannot cut you from the plan if you get an expensive illness as is now done. Furthermore, insurance companies will not be able to “drop” you because of technical issues. Coverage for mental health and substance abuse will be equal to that assessed for other medical conditions.

Out of pocket spending will be capped. There will be a ceiling on the amount of money you will have to spend out-of-pocket and companies will no longer be able to limit your coverage on either an annual or lifetime basis.

Medicare Part D—Doughnut Hole Closure. Although the national pharmaceutical association (Pharma) has pledged millions of dollars to help bring the cost of medications while in the doughnut hole down to 50%, under the bill in Congress, it will take another 10 years before the doughnut hole will disappear.

AARP believes that Americans, including Virgin Islanders, are about to witness a major transformation in health care, and how our system functions and is accessed. Be sure to stay informed and keep listening!