By Rick Madewell
Assistant Editor

Terri Seefeldt is on something of a full-scale mission. So are practically all of her colleagues throughout the nation.

Seefeldt, a representative of Rogers Benefit Group, an insurance company in Orlando but with offices throughout the nation, threw all of the politics out the window last Thursday as she spoke during the St. Cloud Greater Osceola Chamber of Commerce’s quarterly luncheon at the American Legion Banquet Hall.

She delivered a very candid look at the recently signed health care bill by President Barack Obama. In her estimation, shared by others throughout the nation, the bill would cripple insurance companies, devastate small businesses and become a tremendous hardship for the average Joe beginning next year.

The quick-talking Seefeldt, a member of the National Association of Insurance Financial Advisors, attempted to cram as much pertinent information into her presentation as she could, considering she was pulling from a document about 2,000 pages deep.

“This 2,000-plus page bill is really something,” she said. “That’s why I think we all need some help with it, to get a handle on it.”

After going through many points, such as Medicare taxes, pre-existing conditions and the removal of lifetime benefits limits, Seefeldt declared there was absolutely nothing in the bill that addressed affordability.

“What this is is a tax and insurance regulation bill disguised as a health care bill,” she said, attributing that comment to her supervisor. “Everyone is expecting rates to go down, but there’s going to be a big outcry starting next year. When the insurance industry tried to speak out about it, the Senate put out a cease and desist order against us speaking out.”

Seefeldt said many of those in the insurance industry are looking for jobs elsewhere because of the negative impact they foresee with this bill.

Bruce Venema, a senior insurance agent attending the luncheon, agreed with Seefeldt.

“This is not reform. It’s more of a tax measure, and most people don’t understand it yet,” he said. “Really all you’ve got is raised taxes and the regulation of insurance companies.”

Some timeline items listed by Seefeldt and the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors include:

2010

• Establishes federal grant program for small employers providing wellness programs.

• Establish temporary high-risk pool and high-cost union retiree reinsurance. The temporary high-risk pool is designed for individuals who cannot qualify for individual insurance and are not eligible for group insurance. The high-risk pool would be available to people who have been uninsured for at least six months. This would be initially funded by the federal government and is supposed to take care of this population until all products are issued in 2014, Seefeldt said. However, she added, it is estimated the pool will run out of money in less than two years. The temporary reinsurance program for early retirees is a program to reimburse employment-based plans for 80 percent of costs incurred by early retirees over the age of 55. Payments under the program must be used to lower costs of the pool, Seefeldt said. There is $5 billion to fund this program.

• Prohibits lifetime and annual benefit spending limits.

• Allows dependents to stay on parents’ policies through age 26.

• Provides limited protections to children with pre-existing conditions.

2011

• Medicare Advantage cuts begin.

• Medicare cuts to home health begin.

• Wealthier seniors (incomes of $85,000-$170,000) begin paying higher Part D premiums.

• Medicare cuts begin to ambulance services, ASCs (Ambulatory Surgery Centers), diagnostic labs and durable medical equipment.

• Americans begin paying premiums for federal long-term care insurance.

2012

• Medicare cuts to dialysis treatment begins.

• Medicare to reduce spending by using an HMO-like coordinated care model.

• Hospital pay-for-quality program begins.

• Medicare cuts to hospitals with high readmission rates begin.

• Medicare cuts to hospice begin.

2013

• Increase Medicare wage tax by 0.9 percent and impose a new 3.8 percent tax on investment income including annuities for those earning over $200,000.

• Increases from 7.5 percent to 10 percent the threshold at which medical expenses, as a percentage of income, can be deductible.

• Eliminate deduction for Part D retiree drug subsidy employers receive.

• Impose 2.3 percent excise tax on medical devices.

• Medicare cuts to hospitals that treat low-income seniors begin.

2014

• Individuals without government-approved coverage are subject to a tax of the greater of $695 or 2.5 percent income.

• Employers who fail to offer “affordable” coverage would pay a $3,000 penalty for every employee who receives a subsidy through the Exchange, which is a centralized website that lists all the carriers available in a particular geographic area.

• Employers who do not offer insurance must pay a tax penalty of $2,000 for every full-time employee.

• More Medicare cuts to home health.

• Insurers must offer coverage to anyone wanting a policy and every policy has to be renewed.

2017

• Physician pay-for-quality program begins for all physicians.

• States may allow large employers and multi-employer health plans to purchase coverage through the Exchange.

• States may apply to the Secretary of Health and Human Services for a limited waiver from certain federal requirements.

2018

• Impose “Cadillac tax on high-cost” plans, 40 percent tax on the premiums above a certain threshold: ($10,200 individual coverage, $27,500 family or self-only union multi-employer coverage.)

The NAIFA website is www.naifa.org.