Charting The Future Of The Health Overhaul Bill
Health care terms.
The Senate approved the landmark health bill early Christmas Eve, a key step for President Obama and the Democrats in moving forward with health overhaul. But the debate is far from over. The $871 billion Senate bill would be paid for by new taxes and cuts to Medicare payments to health care providers. It includes a new insurance marketplace, known as an exchange, bars insurers from discriminating against people with pre-existing conditions, and requires nearly everyone to buy insurance. Next, the Senate and the House have to reconcile their different versions. Below, a look at what the House has passed, the amended Senate bill — and where the two chambers may clash. The likelihood scale is based on how similar the House and Senate bills have been so far.
9(MDAyNzUwMDI2MDEyNTA3MTU5NzcyNTQyNA004))
Public Option refers to a government-run insurance plan. In most proposals, the public option would be similar to the Medicare system, where the government would negotiate payment rates with health care providers.
Insurance exchanges are supposed to bring down the cost of policies for the self insured and small businesses. The idea is that insurers will compete with each other in these new marketplaces for the millions of previously uninsured. State, regional, or national exchanges would be established to set standards for what benefits would be covered, how much insurers could charge, and the rules insurers must follow in order to participate in these insurance market.
Medicaid is a state-federal health program for low-income people. Enacted in 1965 with the Social Security Act, Medicaid currently provides immediate and long-term care to about 60 million people. (States design their own Medicaid programs within broad federal guidelines. Medicaid plays a key role in the U.S. health care system, filling large gaps in the health insurance system, financing long-term care coverage, and helping to sustain the safety-net providers that serve the uninsured.)
Medicare, enacted in 1965 under the Social Security Act, is the federal program that provides health insurance to people aged 65 and older and those with disabilities. In 2008, Medicare covered almost 45 million people.
Federal poverty level is calculated by the federal government, and the numbers are used to determine the income standard for eligibility for public programs. For 2009, individuals making $10,830 per year or less or families of four making $22,050 per year or less are eligible for federal subsidies. These numbers are not the same as poverty thresholds, which are calculated by the Census Bureau and used mainly for statistical purposes.
