Thoughts on Health Care Reform
I'm not exactly sure on what the new health care reform bill does. Then again, does anyone? The bill's 2,000 pages long. I've been roaming around the internet, picking up tidbits of information, and here are things I've come across.
Health Reform Bill Summary
They mention a ban on pre-existing condition exclusion, filling coverage gaps for seniors and young adults, free or cheap preventative health care (ex: checkups with no co-pay), more transparency in insurance spending, etc. Read the bullet points on that site if you want all the info.
Now here's where I get fuzzy. I don't understand how insurance works now, other than it's not mandatory, and health insurance companies can do pretty much whatever they want to you. Also, they are already pretty heavily subsidized by the government, or are government-implemented (medicare, etc).
Essentially, you have to buy health insurance. There will be a minimal coverage line that you can get through your employer or through the government. If you don't get insurance, you'll pay 2.5% of your household income in fees, with a minimum of $695 per uninsured person. You'll still be uninsured.
There's a formula for how much you pay for health insurance that I do not understand at all. If you're under 133% of the poverty level (how does that work??) you can enroll in the expanded Medicaid. Otherwise, you'll be paying upwards of 3% of your income for decent coverage.
As far as more complicated numbers go, 32 million currently uninsured people will have coverage, which is, like, 10% of the US. The money to cover them will come from tax increases for the rich (people who make $200k+ or couples who make $250k+ a year) in regards to Medicare. There will also be a tax on expensive insurance, over around $10k annually for one person or $27.5k for a family. Also, drug companies, health insurance groups, and medical equipment manufacturers would pay higher taxes. Also, they're taxing tanning salons, which is an idea that I adore.
Now, a lot of people are pissy about being forced to buy health insurance. I get that; it's like me getting pissed for having to pay for carry-on luggage on a plane. However, it does cut the cost of the plane ticket, just like this plan will cut costs at the doctor's office and at the pharmacy. Some people claim they don't need health insurance, which might be true; they might be the healthiest people who never go to the doctor. However, what happens when they discover they have double pneumonia or stage 3 lung cancer that prophylactic or early treatment could have cured? They either die of whatever they have, or they spend an obscene amount of money, either theirs or the government's, getting fixed. I know it's a "what if" scenario, but I'd personally rather pay 8% of my income each year and be healthy than pay 100,000 in hospital bills or die. Besides, we have to pay for car insurance, no matter how carefully we drive. We have to pay taxes, no matter how much we use public services like public schools, police, highways, and libraries, and when we need to use them, we sure are glad we can.
Maybe I don't know how good it is not to be insured, seeing as how I've always had coverage, but it just seems foolish to me that people would be against being protected.
Health Reform Bill Summary
They mention a ban on pre-existing condition exclusion, filling coverage gaps for seniors and young adults, free or cheap preventative health care (ex: checkups with no co-pay), more transparency in insurance spending, etc. Read the bullet points on that site if you want all the info.
Now here's where I get fuzzy. I don't understand how insurance works now, other than it's not mandatory, and health insurance companies can do pretty much whatever they want to you. Also, they are already pretty heavily subsidized by the government, or are government-implemented (medicare, etc).
Essentially, you have to buy health insurance. There will be a minimal coverage line that you can get through your employer or through the government. If you don't get insurance, you'll pay 2.5% of your household income in fees, with a minimum of $695 per uninsured person. You'll still be uninsured.
There's a formula for how much you pay for health insurance that I do not understand at all. If you're under 133% of the poverty level (how does that work??) you can enroll in the expanded Medicaid. Otherwise, you'll be paying upwards of 3% of your income for decent coverage.
As far as more complicated numbers go, 32 million currently uninsured people will have coverage, which is, like, 10% of the US. The money to cover them will come from tax increases for the rich (people who make $200k+ or couples who make $250k+ a year) in regards to Medicare. There will also be a tax on expensive insurance, over around $10k annually for one person or $27.5k for a family. Also, drug companies, health insurance groups, and medical equipment manufacturers would pay higher taxes. Also, they're taxing tanning salons, which is an idea that I adore.
Now, a lot of people are pissy about being forced to buy health insurance. I get that; it's like me getting pissed for having to pay for carry-on luggage on a plane. However, it does cut the cost of the plane ticket, just like this plan will cut costs at the doctor's office and at the pharmacy. Some people claim they don't need health insurance, which might be true; they might be the healthiest people who never go to the doctor. However, what happens when they discover they have double pneumonia or stage 3 lung cancer that prophylactic or early treatment could have cured? They either die of whatever they have, or they spend an obscene amount of money, either theirs or the government's, getting fixed. I know it's a "what if" scenario, but I'd personally rather pay 8% of my income each year and be healthy than pay 100,000 in hospital bills or die. Besides, we have to pay for car insurance, no matter how carefully we drive. We have to pay taxes, no matter how much we use public services like public schools, police, highways, and libraries, and when we need to use them, we sure are glad we can.
Maybe I don't know how good it is not to be insured, seeing as how I've always had coverage, but it just seems foolish to me that people would be against being protected.