This is the Kennedy markup of the HELP health care bill as of this date.

From: American Society of Anesthesiologists


http://www.asahq.org/news/asanews060509.htm

The American Health Choices Act

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
Part 7
Part 8
Part 9

And the partial breakdown of what's in the bill:

June 5, 2009

ASA obtains partial draft of Senate HELP Committee health care reform legislation--"The American Health Choices Act"

This afternoon a draft edition of the coverage components of the HELP Committee's health reform bill (the "American Health Choices Act") has been circulated.  While additional changes will need to be made before the bill goes to mark-up, this is very instructive regarding the path that they are on. 

ASA will continue analyzing the draft and provide additional information to members.  In the meantime, please see the following summary, provided by Health Policy Soruce:

PRIVATE INSURANCE MARKET REFORMS:
-Eliminates health status rating
-Requires guaranteed issue and renewability
-Requires all insurers to report MLRs to the Secretary
-Requires coverage of certain preventive services
-Increases the age at which dependents are required to be offered coverage to 26
-Prohibits annual or lifetime limits on coverage

STATE-BASED INSURANCE GATEWAYS:
-Provides grants to states to create "gateways" through which individuals and small businesses may purchase insurance
-Provides reinsurance funding for plans participating in the gateway
-Establishes a Medical Advisory Council that will define, among other things, "essential health care benefits" that gateway plans must offer and "minimum qualifying coverage" that individuals must purchase
-For states that do not initially adopt the reforms in the bill, the insurance market provisions of the American Health Choices Act would automatically apply
-Would establish (but this draft leaves blank) the benefit levels (coinsurance, etc.) that gateway plans must adopt
-Would establish (but left blank) minimum MLRs for gateway plans
-Provides subsidies up to 500% of FPL for the purchase of insurance
-Establishes small business credits for purchasing insurance (with the size of "small business" TBD)
-Gateway plans made available to employees if their employer does not offer "qualified coverage" or if plan options are not "affordable" (terms not defined)
-Includes a play-or-pay employer mandate and possibly an individual mandate (unspecified)
-Establishes HIT program for electronic enrollment in gateway plans

OTHER PROVISIONS:
-Increases Medicaid eligibility to 150% of FPL (in very general language in deference to the Finance Committee's jurisdiction over the program) [we understand CBO has scored this provision as costing $700 billion over 10 years]
-Establishes a Community Living Assistance Support Service (CLASS) for disabled, homebound, and institutionalized individuals
-Provides a credit for employers who auto-enroll their employees into offered health plans
-Suggests new coverage options for retirees (could be a reference to a Medicare buy-in)

None go remarkably beyond what was expected from the HELP Committee, but we expect that some of these ambitious changes (subsidies up to 500% FPL, Medicaid up to 150% FPL) will not survive the 60 vote threshold in the Senate, given their cost.

There is a brief reference to what may be a public plan option, though it is not elaborated in the sections available.

~OGD~