A bill to extend a number of federal programs that are key to the insurance industry passed the House but met last-minute opposition in the Senate. That delay will push the bill -- extending COBRA subsidies, Medicare doctor reimbursements and the National Flood Insurance Plan -- past those programs' expirations.
Though the bill's chief spending is on extension of jobless benefits help, the insurance industry is most concerned about the other components. The legislation is another in a series of routine extensions for many of the included programs, and it would have put Feb. 28 expirations off until the end of March. But the objections of a single senator, Jim Bunning, R-Ky., derailed the end-of-the-month action. He argued that the extensions are not paid for in other cost offsets.
The Congressional Budget Office has released a cost estimate for the extension bill, saying the doctor's payments for the additional month would run more than $1 billion. The COBRA extension is estimated at $53 million, according to the analysis, which didn't include data on the flood program.
The efforts to pass the bill led to a two-day debate in the Senate, but Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid had to accept temporary defeat, though he issued criticism on the floor before the chamber closed off business for the weekend. "These benefits don't need to expire," he said, blaming Republican obstruction. He argued that people need the help these programs represent and blocking it is "immoral."
The COBRA subsidies were a part of the recession's economic stimulus package, designed to help people keep paying for health insurance after the loss of their jobs. The federal assistance has kept up numbers in the insurance rolls. And the Medicare provision would put off a scheduled 21% decline in how much doctors are reimbursed for Medicare patients -- a rate that also affects insurers.
And the new legislation -- which passed Feb. 25 in a routine voice vote in the House -- also includes another extension of a major property/casualty program -- the NFIP. "It's unfortunate that the program will lapse, but we have every expectation the Senate will extend the program retroactively sometime next week," said Blain Rethmeier, a spokesman for the American Insurance Association.
Reid said that the Senate will get to work on longer fixes for these programs when it returns March 1. The eventual legislation could set the start time back retroactively to ensure no break in the programs, though until it passes, they may have to wait in limbo. This current bill would pay for the COBRA premium help and Medicare doctors' compensation through March 31. The NFIP would be re-set to expire March 28.
One of Bunning's colleagues, Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, defended Bunning's resistance on the Senate floor, accusing the Democrats of displaying "a lack of fiscal discipline" in their spending. "Somebody has to stand up finally and say enough is enough," he said, equating this kind of spending with "stealing" from future generations.
Written by Craig J. Casey
Craig Casey is an Writer, Coach, Blogger, Husband, and Former Health Insurance Agent helping people on the web since 1999 with their health insurance problems.
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