Utopia Talk / Politics / HC bill basics

habebe Member	Mon Mar 22 12:25:39 Well, here are the basics of the bill. http://onl...ml?mod=WSJ_hpp_MIDDLTopStories I would copy it over, but the characters tend to get fucked up and this is bullet based.
habebe Member	Mon Mar 22 12:38:17 gonna try to copy it see how the characters coome over. 2010 Coverage Subsidies begin for small businesses to provide coverage to employees. Insurance companies barred from denying coverage to children with pre-existing illness. Children permitted to stay on their parents' insurance policies until their 26th birthday.
habebe Member	Mon Mar 22 12:39:52 Hey thats not so bad, I'll do the rest 2011 Coverage Set up long-term care program under which people pay premiums into system for at least five years and become eligible for support payments if they need assistance in daily living. Taxes and fees Drug makers face annual fee of $2.5 billion (rises in subsequent years). ------------------------------- 2013 Taxes and fees New Medicare taxes on individuals earning more than $200,000 a year and couples filing jointly earning more than $250,000 a year. Tax on wages rises to 2.35% from 1.45%. New 3.8% tax on unearned income such as dividends and interest. Excise tax of 2.9% imposed on sale of medical devices. Cost control Medicare pilot program begins to test bundled payments for care, in a bid to pay for quality rather than quantity of services. -------------------------------- 2014 Coverage Create exchanges where people without employer coverage, as well as small businesses, can shop for health coverage. Insurance companies barred from denying coverage to anyone with pre-existing illness. Requirement begins for most people to have health insurance. Subsidies begin for lower and middle-income people. People at 133% of federal poverty level pay maximum of 3% of income for coverage. People at 400% of poverty level pay up to 9.5% of income. (Poverty level currently is about $22,000 for a family of four.) Medicaid, the federal-state program for the poor, expands to all Americans with income up to 133% of federal poverty level. Subsidies for small businesses to provide coverage increase. Businesses with 10 or fewer employees and average annual wages of less than $25,000 receive tax credit of up to 50% of employer's contribution. Tax credits phase out for larger businesses. Taxes and fees Employers with more than 50 employees that don't provide affordable coverage must pay a fine if employees receive tax credits to buy insurance. Fine is up to $3,000 per employee, excluding first 30 employees. Insurance industry must pay annual fee of $8 billion (rises in subsequent years). Cost control Independent Medicare board must begin to submit recommendations to curb Medicare spending, if costs are rising faster than inflation. ------------------------------- 2016 Taxes and fees Penalty for those who don't carry coverage rises to 2.5% of taxable income or $695, whichever is greater. ----------------------- 2017 Coverage Businesses with more than 100 employees can buy coverage on insurance exchanges, if state permits it. ------------------------ 2018 Taxes and fees Excise tax of 40% imposed on health plans valued at more than $10,200 for individual coverage and $27,500 for family coverage.
Hellfire Member	Mon Mar 22 12:48:06 http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN1914020220100319 WITHIN THE FIRST YEAR OF ENACTMENT *Insurance companies will be barred from dropping people from coverage when they get sick. Lifetime coverage limits will be eliminated and annual limits are to be restricted. *Insurers will be barred from excluding children for coverage because of pre-existing conditions. *Young adults will be able to stay on their parents' health plans until the age of 26. Many health plans currently drop dependents from coverage when they turn 19 or finish college. *Uninsured adults with a pre-existing conditions will be able to obtain health coverage through a new program that will expire once new insurance exchanges begin operating in 2014. *A temporary reinsurance program is created to help companies maintain health coverage for early retirees between the ages of 55 and 64. This also expires in 2014. *Medicare drug beneficiaries who fall into the "doughnut hole" coverage gap will get a $250 rebate. The bill eventually closes that gap which currently begins after $2,700 is spent on drugs. Coverage starts again after $6,154 is spent. *A tax credit becomes available for some small businesses to help provide coverage for workers. *A 10 percent tax on indoor tanning services that use ultraviolet lamps goes into effect on July 1. WHAT HAPPENS IN 2011 *Medicare provides 10 percent bonus payments to primary care physicians and general surgeons. *Medicare beneficiaries will be able to get a free annual wellness visit and personalized prevention plan service. New health plans will be required to cover preventive services with little or no cost to patients. *A new program under the Medicaid plan for the poor goes into effect in October that allows states to offer home and community based care for the disabled that might otherwise require institutional care. *Payments to insurers offering Medicare Advantage services are frozen at 2010 levels. These payments are to be gradually reduced to bring them more in line with traditional Medicare. *Employers are required to disclose the value of health benefits on employees' W-2 tax forms. *An annual fee is imposed on pharmaceutical companies according to market share. The fee does not apply to companies with sales of $5 million or less. WHAT HAPPENS IN 2012 *Physician payment reforms are implemented in Medicare to enhance primary care services and encourage doctors to form "accountable care organizations" to improve quality and efficiency of care. *An incentive program is established in Medicare for acute care hospitals to improve quality outcomes. *The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which oversees the government programs, begin tracking hospital readmission rates and puts in place financial incentives to reduce preventable readmissions. WHAT HAPPENS IN 2013 *A national pilot program is established for Medicare on payment bundling to encourage doctors, hospitals and other care providers to better coordinate patient care. *The threshold for claiming medical expenses on itemized tax returns is raised to 10 percent from 7.5 percent of income. The threshold remains at 7.5 percent for the elderly through 2016. *The Medicare payroll tax is raised to 2.35 percent from 1.45 percent for individuals earning more than $200,000 and married couples with incomes over $250,000. The tax is imposed on some investment income for that income group. *A 2.9 percent excise tax in imposed on the sale of medical devices. Anything generally purchased at the retail level by the public is excluded from the tax. WHAT HAPPENS IN 2014 *State health insurance exchanges for small businesses and individuals open. *Most people will be required to obtain health insurance coverage or pay a fine if they don't. Healthcare tax credits become available to help people with incomes up to 400 percent of poverty purchase coverage on the exchange. *Health plans no longer can exclude people from coverage due to pre-existing conditions. *Employers with 50 or more workers who do not offer coverage face a fine of $2,000 for each employee if any worker receives subsidized insurance on the exchange. The first 30 employees aren't counted for the fine. *Health insurance companies begin paying a fee based on their market share. WHAT HAPPENS IN 2015 *Medicare creates a physician payment program aimed at rewarding quality of care rather than volume of services. WHAT HAPPENS IN 2018 *An excise tax on high cost employer-provided plans is imposed. The first $27,500 of a family plan and $10,200 for individual coverage is exempt from the tax. Higher levels are set for plans covering retirees and people in high risk professions. (Reporting by Donna Smith; Editing by David Alexander and Eric Beech)
habebe Member	Mon Mar 22 12:55:08 Hellfire has the right idea. I do not mean for this thread to be a debate, but since 90% of the new threads are involving this bill it would be nice to have an on-site reference of the gist.
The Powers That Be Member	Mon Mar 22 13:11:50 Thanks for this. My biggest question was what actually was enacted THIS YEAR compared to next year and beyond.
Average European Member	Mon Mar 22 15:18:57 The HC bill in three words: We are fucked.
habebe Member	Mon Mar 22 15:20:12 Could someone pls delete 11111111's posts.
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