The healthcare overhaul may include a new expense that could reach the wallets of consumers.
The overhaul of the health insurance system may now involve a new $63 per person fee that is designed to help to pad the cost of providing coverage to individuals who have a pre-existing medical condition.
This additional charge was worked into a recent regulation that was created for the system.
According to employers, who are greatly displeased with the health insurance fee, it could lead to tens of millions of dollars for the biggest companies. Much of the cost associated with it may be passed down to their employees. This may lead to a notable challenge for larger employers to have to face.
The Obama administration has said that this health insurance assessment is only temporary.
In fact, it is designed to start in 2014, when the health insurance regulations are fully implemented, but is meant to decline after the first three years. Its purpose is to generate and initial $25 billion for the program. Therefore, though the starting fees will be $63 per person, they should decrease after three years.
The majority of the money raised through these fees will be placed into a Health and Human Services Department fund. It will provide the cushioning that health insurance companies will require in order to make sure that they can cover individuals who are currently uninsured because of a pre-existing condition. The costs associated with those people can be very unpredictable, so a bit of a cushion will be helpful and perhaps required on some occasions.
This makes it financially possible to prohibit health insurance companies from being able to turn away individuals who are already sick, starting on January 1, 2014. Moreover, they not only will be banned from denying the coverage, but they will also not be permitted to charge astronomical premiums for the coverage.
According to the Obama administration, the additional fee is a part of a program that is designed to make sure that all Americans will be able to obtain “affordable health insurance, reduce unreimbursed usage of hospital and other medical facilities by the uninsured and thereby lower medical expenses and premiums for all.”