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June 03, 2009 at 08:00 PM
BROOKLYN, N.Y. — Employers are scared of what Congress and President Obama will do to the U.S. health care system, but “they’re also concerned about doing nothing,” Michael Thompson says.
Employers “are already at the breaking point,” Thompson reported today at a health insurance conference organized by Standard & Poor’s, New York.
The session covered the employer-sponsored health insurance market.
Some policymakers have proposed capping the tax exclusion for employer-sponsored group health coverage, or even eliminating the exclusion. An exclusion cap is unlikely, Thompson said.
But Congress could create a new “public health insurance option” for working-age Americans who are not poor, and it could set up a “health insurance exchange” that would help individuals and small group sponsors shop for standardized health plans. Congress also could impose measures such as a requirement that individuals own health insurance, and a “guaranteed issue” requirement that would eliminate health insurers’ ability to turn away applicants with serious health problems, Thompson said.
