JUST WHAT THE DR. ORDERED?
Monday, March 22nd, 2010 -- 11:38 AM
[url=http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2010/03/21/us/health-care-reform.html/]Interactive: How health care bill will impact you[/url].
The US House passed a historic health care reform bill Sunday night. The margin of victory was narrow, with no Republicans joining the majority Democrats.Rep. Ron Kind (D-La Crosse) voted in favor of the bill, but says he was undecided until Saturday. During a conference call with reporters Monday morning, he blamed misinformation and scare tactics for the apparent negative public opinion of the measure and says the bill takes some important steps forward.
"This bill is not the be-all-end-all," he admitted Monday, "it is not a perfect bill. It is a bill that will need to be implemented and adjusted as we learn more and more what works and what doesn't work."
The measure will almost immediately allow those with preexisting conditions to receive care by joining high-risk pools.
After six months, insurers would be barred from denying people coverage when they get sick, they could not bar coverage to children with preexisting conditions or impose lifetime caps on coverage. Also, those 26 and under could remain on their parents? insurance plans. Kind says that measure was important to dilute the risk pools.
To pay for the changes, the Medicare payroll tax will be expanded to dividend, interest and other unearned income for singles earning more than $200,000 and joint filers making more than $250,000.
Arguably the most important parts of the bill won?t be implemented until 2014 when the government begins to provide health insurance subsidies for families earning up to 400% of poverty level, currently about $88,000 a year. Most employers would have to provide coverage or face penalties. Most people would have to obtain coverage or face penalties.
But, there will be new state-run ?exchanges? that will allow the self-employed and others to leverage better prices for coverage.
Many have voiced concerns about the cost of the program, but Kind says the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office says it will actually help pay down the deficit.
"They scored savings in this measure of over $140-billion in the first ten years of enactment, and an additional $1.2-trillion in the second ten years," Kind notes. "That's one thing Pres. Obama demanded: that not only does this bill have to be paid for, but it has to bend the cost-curve and start reducing the spending on health care, and reducing the budget deficits we face today."
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