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Senior Citizen Politics
House Finally Unveils Health Care Reform Bill;
Expands Coverage to 36 Million Americans
Has 'public option' preferred by moderates, raises
Medicaid eligibility levels to 150% of the federal poverty level,
guarantees that 96% of Americans have coverage
 Oct. 29, 2009 - House Speaker Nancy Pelosi Thursday
morning unveiled a House health care reform plan that is expected to
cost about $894 billion and "provide insurance to up to 36 million
people by broadly expanding Medicaid, the state-federal insurance
program for the poor, and by offering subsidies to moderate-income
Americans to buy insurance either from private carriers or a new
government-run plan," the
The New York Times reports.
"According to the Congressional Budget Office, the
bill would reduce future federal deficits by about $30 million over the
next 10 years," according to the Times
The House measure is similar to a proposal being
considered in the Senate. "But there are crucial differences," according
to the Times.
"The House bill, for instance, would impose a new
income surtax on individuals earning more than $500,000 and couples
earning more than $1 million a so-called millionaire's tax. The Senate
would impose a tax on high-cost insurance policies, a move that experts
say could help lower long-term health care costs by giving employers,
employees and private insurers incentive to reduce expenditures" (Herszenhorn,
10/29).
CNN: "The bill guarantees that 96 percent of Americans have
coverage, Pelosi's office said. The figure is based on an analysis by
the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.
Under the House plan,
health care providers would be allowed to negotiate reimbursement rates
with the federal government, according to Democratic leadership aides."
Throughout the development of this legislation,
Pelosi and other liberal Democrats "had argued for a more 'robust'
public option that ties reimbursement rates for providers and hospitals
to Medicare rates plus a 5 percent increase. Several Democrats
representing rural areas, however, complained that doctors and hospitals
in their districts would be shortchanged under such a formula" (Oct.
29).
The Washington Post: "The bill includes a version of the 'public
option' preferred by moderates and raises Medicaid eligibility levels to
150 percent of the federal poverty level for all adults, a steeper
increase than in earlier drafts."
In describing the bill, which Pelosi said would
insure 36 million more Americans, Pelosi noted that "'[t]oday we are
about to deliver on the promise of making affordable, quality health
care available for all Americans,' Pelosi said, describing a bill that
she said . '...We are putting forth a bill that reflects our best values
and addresses our greatest challenges.'"
The bill seeks "to provide health insurance of one
form or another to 96 percent of all Americans at an expected cost just
below $900 billion over 10 years, without increasing the federal budget
deficit for at least 20 years, House Democrats said. 'It opens the doors
to quality medical care for those who were shut out of the system for
far too long,' Pelosi said" (Murray, 10/29).
The Associated Press: "The ceremony marked a pivotal moment in
Democrats' yearlong attempt to answer Obama's call for legislation to
remake the nation's health care system by extending insurance, ending
industry practices such as denying coverage on the basis of pre-existing
medical conditions, and slowing the growth of medical spending
nationwide." A vote on the measure is likely next week (Werner, 10/29).
More information
●
Kaiser Health News provides the bill language.
●
Audio: Health On The Hill
●
Read the bill
|
 This
information was reprinted from
kaiserhealthnews.org with permission from the Henry J.
Kaiser Family Foundation. You can view the entire Kaiser
Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives and sign up
for email delivery. © Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. All
rights reserved. |
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