Articles >> On the Cusp of Health Care Reform

This Sunday, March 21st, the House is slated to have an up/down (or yes/no) vote on passing the latest version of the health care reform bill, which was just released recently. Given how this affects everyone, it makes sense to take a closer look at the legislation, and thankfully for us, The Associated Press has done just that.

In an article entitled, “A look at the health care overhaul bill,” they summarize the health care bill in several simple ways that helps laymen like you and I understand it better. The article is broken up into paragraphs explain one portion of the bill, such as cost, the amount of people covered, taxes and so on. After reading the article, I don’t think I realized just how sweeping this legislation actually was, and if I didn’t, I can imagine a lot of people knew even less than I did.

Here are the basics. Starting in 2014, health insurance would be mandatory. If you didn’t buy it, you’d have to pay a fine. If you couldn’t afford health insurance on your own, subsidies will be provided based on a sliding scale, offering generous tax credits to those families making up to four times the federal poverty level.

To help pay for this, an increased Medicare payroll taxed on investment income and wages to individuals making over $200,000 a year, and married couples making more than $250,000 a year, would go until 2018, when a tax on high-cost insurance plans would take effect to also help pay for the coverage.

Speaking of Medicare, it’s also getting some much-needed love as well. The “donut hole” that gives customers a gap in their coverage of prescription drugs would slowly close. Starting in 2011, seniors would receive a 50% discount on prescription drugs, and seniors who hit the gap this year will get a $250 rebate check.

Insurance companies could no longer deny people coverage for existing medical issues, nor could they charge them more. They would be forbidden from putting lifetime dollar limits on policies, and forbidden from denying children with pre-existing conditions coverage as well. Parents could keep their kids on their policies until they’re 26, and for uninsured people with medical problems, a high-risk pool would be used until 2014 to give people coverage until this bill takes affect.

Overall, this bill would raise the amount of insured people in this country from 83 percent to 95 percent once it takes hold, covering 32 million people currently uninsured. The Congressional Budget Office is estimating that this all will cost $940 million over 10 years. There’s a lot to this bill, and while a lot of people are fighting it, others also agree it’s a big step in the right direction.