Health Reform Bill Summary

Health Reform Bill Summary – The House of Representatives on Sunday night approved legislation to guarantee Americans access to medical care.
The bill, which was passed 219 to 212 without a single Republican vote, would make a nearly $1-trillion commitment in taxpayer money over the next decade to help an estimated 332 million uninsured Americans get health coverage. It establishes a broad new framework of government regulation to prevent insurance companies from denying coverage, and advocates hope, to begin making healthcare more affordable to most Americans, as reported by the LATimes.com.


“Tonight, at a time when the pundits said it was no longer possible, we rose above the weight of our politics, “ said the president in a televised address from the East Room of the White House after the House completed its last vote. “We proved we are still a people capable of doing big things and tackling our biggest challenges.”
Obama will sign the bill within the next few days. The historic bill passing of the overhaul healthcare plan is President Obama’s biggest victory of his young presidency.
Here are some of the features of the legislation.
HOW MANY COVERED: 32 million uninsured. Major coverage expansion begins in 2014. When fully phased in, 94 percent of eligible non-elderly Americans would have coverage, compared with 83 percent today.
INSURANCE MANDATE: Almost everyone is required to be insured or else pay a fine, which takes effect in 2014. There is an exemption for low-income people.
INSURANCE MARKET REFORMS: Starting this year, insurers would be forbidden from placing lifetime dollar limits on policies, from denying coverage to children because of pre-existing conditions, and from canceling policies because someone gets sick. Parents would be able to keep older kids on their coverage up to age 26. A new high-risk pool would offer coverage to uninsured people with medical problems until 2014, when the coverage expansion goes into high gear. Major consumer safeguards would also take effect in 2014. Insurers would be prohibited from denying coverage to people with medical problems or charging them more. Insurers could not charge women more.