CCC working on Health Care Reform for Colorado

The Colorado Council of Churches has long prioritized the importance of health care as a matter of social justice.  CCC's Justice Commission includes Health Care in its public policy statements, and believes that the faith community is called to be an active participant in fashioning a just and effective health care system for all.  In light of Colorado's recent work in health policy reform, CCC has raised its level of commitment to participating in health care reform by educating policy makers, communities of faith and the general public about the importance of policies that promote access to affordable, quality health care. This effort is led by Becky Updike, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , the Disciple lay representative to the Justice Commission of the CCC.

Colorado Council of Churches is pleased to be a partner in the Colorado Voices for Coverage, an important national grant awarded to Colorado!

In this section:

• Colorado Council of Churches and Health Reform
• Health Reform Overview
• Health Reform in Colorado
• When Do Things Start Changing?
• Communities of Faith as Non-Profit Employers
• Resources

Colorado Council of Churches and Health Reform

Is the bill passed by Congress perfect? No.

Are there areas that need improvement? Absolutely.

Does health reform meet the needs of more of our brothers and sisters in need? Absolutely.

Colorado Council of Churches has worked hard to represent the faith perspective in the local, state and national dialogue around health reform. While CCC did not take positions on particular pieces of legislation, we have been strongly committed to urging policy makers to prioritize and support efforts to address the following four principles in whatever legislation they support.

4 Principles for Faithful Reform:

Inclusive

Affordable

Accessible

Accountable

Health Reform Overview

In March, Congress passed the most sweeping reform of the U.S. health care system since the creation of Medicare in 1965.  This new health law will make huge changes in our health system over the next few years.  These changes include new consumer protections and insurance coverage for millions of people who are now without it, and penalties for individuals and businesses that don't buy insurance.  It aims to control rising health care costs, and plans to use Medicare savings and new taxes to pay for it all.

As a result of the reform bill, insurance companies will not be able to deny policies to anyone based on their health status or to refuse coverage of a treatment based on pre-existing health conditions. Annual limits on coverage will be abolished.  In order to keep people from only buying insurance coverage only after they get sick and need it the bill requires most Americans to buy insurance coverage – the “individual mandate. Without this requirement, insurance would become largely unaffordable because only sick people would buy insurance.  People will be required to buy insurance coverage or pay penalties that start at $95 in 2014 and rise to $695 or 2.5 percent of income in 2016.  Employers with 50 or more workers who do not offer coverage will have to pay annual fees.

States will be able to open a health insurance exchange, or marketplace, for individuals and small businesses without coverage.  These exchanges will be designed to allow people will be able to comparison shop for standardized health packages.

To help make insurance coverage and health care more affordable, tax credits will be available for people who make too much to qualify for Medicaid, but have incomes below 400 percent of poverty level (about $40,000 per year for an individual and $88,000 for a family of four).  Medicaid eligibility will increase to 133 percent of the poverty level ($14,404 for individuals) for everyone under 65 (when they qualify for Medicare).


 

Health Reform in Colorado

On April 20th, Governor Ritter issued an executive order to begin implementing national health reform here in Colorado. It created the Interagency Health Reform Implementing Board, which includes the leaders of all the state agencies that are affected by national reform. It will provide advice, guidance, and specific recommendations for implementing national health reform.

Combining state efforts with national reform will mean that 500,000 more Coloradans will have coverage. Insurance premiums are projected to fall by more than 10%, and tens of thousands of small businesses and nonprofits will get tax credits to help make coverage more affordable.

The state has also launched a new Health Care Reform website to provide information and communication about the federal health care reform legislation and its implementation in Colorado.

When Do Things Start Changing?
While the most impactful of the new law, like mandatory health insurance coverage, will not take effect until 2014, many people will see some important changes much sooner.

• Small Business Tax Credits: Beginning this year, the bill offers tax credits to help more small business provide their employees with health insurance. Business that begin offering employee health coverage will be eligible tax credits of up to 35 percent of their total employee premium payments. Starting in 2014, the small business tax credits will cover 50 percent of premiums.
  
  
• Closing the Medicare Part D "Donut Hole": Effective this year, Medicare recipients who fall into the costly Part D prescription drug donut hole will get a $250 rebate. Starting in 2011, the bill institutes a 50-percent discount on brand-name drugs needed by seniors already in the donut hole, and by 2020 completely eliminates the donut hole.

• Free Preventative Care Under Medicare: Starting January 1, 2011, co-payments for Medicare-covered preventative services will be eliminated. In addition, preventative services will be exempted from deductibles.

• Help for Early Retirees: To survive the recession, many businesses have been offering their employees early retirement. To help them, the bill creates a temporary re-insurance program to help businesses offset the costs related to health benefits for retirees age 55-64. The temporary re-insurance program will become effective 90 days after enactment of the bill and will last until the State Health Insurance Exchanges are available.

• Insurance Rescissions Ended: Imagine paying your health insurance premiums for years, and the first time you get really sick, your insurance company drops your coverage. That's called "rescission" and six months after the health care reform bill was signed, insurance companies will be banned from doing it.

• No More Lifetime Coverage Limits: Also beginning 6 months after final enactment, the bill bans insurance companies from imposing lifetime coverage limits.

• More Bang for Your Insurance Buck: Starting on January 1, 2011, insurance companies serving individuals and small groups will be required to prove that they are spending 80 percent of their customers' premium payments on medical services, rather than on things like advertising and executive salaries. Insurers in the large group market will have to spend 85 percent on medical services. Companies that do not meet the standards will have to rebate their customers.

• Coverage for Kids and Young Adults: Beginning 6 months after final enactment, the bill bans insurance companies from denying coverage for children with pre-existing medical conditions.  Young people will be able to keep their coverage under their parent's health care insurance, until they are 26 years old.

• More Doctors, Nurses and Community Health Centers: Effective immediately, the bill authorizes money to fund programs intended to increase the number of doctors, nurses, and public health professionals, and increased funding for Community Health Centers. It is estimated that the increased funding will allow the Health Centers to double the number of patients they can treat over the next 5 years.
  
  

Communities of Faith as Non-Profit Employers

Source: Faithfulreforum.org

For the purposes of health insurance, communities of faith and their organizational structures are treated as non-profit employers that have responsibilities to the persons who work for them. Several provisions in the new health reform law will impact faith organizations.

• Small faith organizations are among the 4 million small businesses and small non-profit organizations that could immediately qualify for tax credits through a reduction in their payroll taxes – if they pay at least 50% of the premium costs for employees. Effective immediately for both existing and new coverage, communities of faith with fewer than 25 employees may qualify for a tax credit of up to 25% of the employer’s contribution to offset the employer’s portion of payroll (FICA) taxes. In 2014 the percentage goes up to 35%.

        Note: In faith groups where clergy are considered self-employed for payroll tax purposes, clergy         premiums are not eligible for calculating the tax credit because no payroll taxes are paid.

• Beginning in 2011, employers will be required to include the value of the health insurance on W-2 forms, but the value of that coverage remains tax-free.
• Beginning in 2014, employers with more than 50 employees will pay a penalty if their contributions toward health insurance do not result in affordable premiums for full-time workers who then seek and qualify for coverage and subsidies in the exchange.
• Beginning in 2014, employers with more than 200 employees will be required to automatically enroll all employees in health insurance, allowing workers to opt-out of the plans (rather than opt-in).
• In 2018, employers will be subject to an excise tax on the “Cadillac” plans. (Assessment = 40% of the value over $10,200 for individuals/$27,500 for families; $11,850/$30,950 for retirees and those in certain high-risk professions, all indexed to inflation)

Resources

Interested in learning more?

Faithful Reform in Health Care

http://www.faithfulreform.org/ 

State of Colorado: Health Care Reform in Colorado 

http://www.colorado.gov/cs/Satellite/GovernorsHealthReform/GOVR/1249668758821

Kaiser Family Foundation’s Bill Summary and Implementation Timeline http://www.kff.org/healthreform/8061.cfm

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation: Hot Topics in Health Reform

http://www.rwjf.org/healthreform/

Colorado Council of Churches is a partner in the Colorado Voices for Coverage grant supported by Community Catalyst and funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Colorado Voices for Coverage strives for access to quality, affordable health care for all Coloradans.

For more information, visit www.coloradovoices.org