Analysis: Romney would send consumers healthcare bill, with benefits

[highplainsdem]

From Reuters:

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/02/us-usa-campaign-healthcare-idUSBRE8910EG20121002

Romney's vow to repeal and replace President Barack Obama's healthcare overhaul has played prominently in the campaign, even as Romney has offered few details about his alternative.

But as he prepares to face Obama in their first presidential debate on Wednesday, Romney is giving a few hints. The former Massachusetts governor's advisers say he would accelerate the use of high-deductible insurance plans that offer lower premiums but require beneficiaries to pay thousands of dollars more in out-of-pocket expenses than they would face under conventional coverage.

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That would allow consumers to choose up front what products and services to buy and from whom, according to the Romney campaign. But consumers would cover most routine medical expenses themselves, including annual check-ups, with assistance from health savings accounts and new tax breaks intended to align the private markets for group and individual insurance that cover more than 160 million people.

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Analysts say the use of heath savings accounts favors the affluent, while statistics indicate that high-deductible plans can mean big out-of-pocket costs for people with lower wages and little disposable income.

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Exactly. This will mean much worse health care for those who aren't wealthy, with their insurance premiums, for insurance they're afraid to use because of the high deductibles, subsidizing insurance for rich people for whom the high deductibles are trivial.