House Releases Major Health Care Reform Bill

[cal04]

more at link
By: Scarecrow
http://seminal.firedoglake.com/diary/6340

The House released its health care reform bill today and will begin three simultaneous committee markups on different provisions later this week. Video of Waxman's statement, courtesy of TPM. (http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/07/waxman-envisions-bill-passage-by-end-of-this-year.php?ref=fpa)

You can access House Committee summaries and the actual text at the House Education and Labor Committee site. Help us read through the bill. (America’s Affordable Health Choices Act
http://edlabor.house.gov/blog/2009/07/americas-affordable-health-choices-act.shtml)

First impression from the summaries: it's an excellent reform package, with lots of very worthwhile features. But we'll be looking through the details in the next few days.

General Health Care Features:
A. Up to 97 percent of Americans will be covered with federal health care and/or health insurance.

B. Medicaid coverage will be improved and be expanded to allow people up to 133 percent of the federal poverty level. The Feds will pick up the added costs, not states.

C. Uninsured people with incomes above that 133 percent of fed poverty level (FPL) will receive federal credits (subsidies) to help purchase insurance in a new federal insurance Exchange. The feds will build the exchange, but states/regions can take over their regional operations if/when they're ready.

D. A national health insurance plan ("public option") will be one of the plans available in the exchange to individuals and small businesses that don't have insurance.

E. There will be new federal standards specifying the coverage that all plans, public and private, must include -- basic care, mental health, preventive, dental and vision (for kids).

F. A stronger federal advisory (regulatory) group, headed by the Surgeon General, will define the minimum standards. The feds will also promote new payment incentives to providers that will, over time, lower costs of health care.

G. Individual mandate to acquire insurance, with hardship exemptions for low income.

H. Employer mandates, based on "play" (provide insurance at work) or "pay" (8 percent) contribution to fund expanded coverage for the uninsured. Small businsses with payrolls less than $250,000 are exempt, but the contribution is phased in up to 8 percent.

I. Improves Medicare in several ways: It phases out the drug "doughnut hole," eliminates some co-pays, reforms the payment structure, and upgrades coverage.

J. There will be a cap on the total payments you're required to make yourself -- no more than 1.5% of income for those with the lowest income and phasing up to no more
than 11% of income for those at 400% of poverty, which means about $4,000 for them.

K. Objectionable insurance practices will be outlawed: rescission, prior condition exclusion, undue discrimination in premiums.