Health Care by the Numbers

by Wade

CNN has a good article up detailing in simple terms what the health care bills entail.

Here are some of the important bits:

How will this be paid for?
The House plan imposes a 5.4 percent income tax surcharge on individuals with annual incomes over $500,000, as well as families earning more than $1 million.
The Senate plan increases the Medicare payroll tax on individuals earning more than $200,000 and couples earning more than $250,000 from the current 1.45 percent to 2.35 percent.

During a time when most of the nation is financially suffering, it makes sense to tax those who can afford it, rather than levy more costs on those who have nothing to spare. I also don't feel one iota of pity considering that a lot of the people who reaped the benefit of worsening this economic downturn come from this income bracket.

What if I can't afford coverage?
The House and Senate plans both include a hardship exemption for poorer Americans.
Both bills subsidize insurance for a family of four making up to roughly $88,000 annually, or 400 percent of the federal poverty level.

This is fantastic. The federal poverty level is a joke in and of itself, and has been for years. It's hardly scaled with inflation alone, not to mention any of the other issues that have faced us in the past decade. Insuring more Americans will strengthen the nation as a whole. I think in the long run, if this bill passes, it'll have positive externalities (benefits for everyone, even those not covered by the insurance) for years to come. A healthier population is a boon to the entire nation, resulting in reduced severity of transmissible illnesses, fewer people taking sick days or working while sick, and a generation of children who are all insured, allowing more of them to survive to grow up and help us tackle the issues that face the world.

I own a business. Do I have to provide coverage for my employees?
The House plan requires companies with a payroll of more than $500,000 to provide insurance or pay a penalty of up to 8 percent of their payroll.

This is not going to kill small businesses, as has been alleged by detractors of public health care. The Senate plan also requires that companies with 50 workers or more pay a fee per worker if they use government subsidies, and that would go into effect by 2013.

What if I have a pre-existing condition?
Both the House plan and the Senate bill would eventually limit total out-of-pocket expenses and prevent insurance companies from denying coverage for pre-existing conditions.

Well... it's better than what we have now. I would like to live in a world where pregnancy is not a pre-existing condition.

What is a health care co-op?
Nonprofit health cooperatives, or "co-ops," are being proposed as an option to compete with the private sector and as an alternative to a government-sponsored public health insurance option. Co-ops are owned and governed by the same people they insure.
The House and Senate plans both establish "co-ops" and strip insurance companies of an antitrust exemption that has been in place since the end of World War II.

Great, succinct explanation. Opponents of the bill have actually touted co-ops as the real answer to the health care problem. It seems we're going to get the best of both worlds.

What will happen to Medicaid?
The House and Senate bills would both significantly expand Medicaid, the government-run health care plan for the poor.

There ya go, for all of you who were shouting for "government to keep its hands off of my Medicaid!"

Will illegal immigrants be covered?
The House bill mandates insurance coverage for illegal immigrants and allows illegal immigrants to enroll in the public option and to buy private coverage in the national insurance exchange, but prohibits government subsidies for such private coverage.

The Senate plan exempts illegal immigrants from the health coverage mandate, and prohibits illegal immigrants from participating in the insurance exchanges.

I know this'll be a hot button issue in Colorado. A lot of people here malign illegal immigrants as being irresponsible free-loaders who don't pay any taxes, which simply isn't true. From personal experience working with illegal immigrants, I should only be so lucky to have such amicable and team-friendly co-workers at all of my jobs. A lot of the Colorado anti-immigrant sentiment amounts to the rabble-rousing "DEY TUK OUR JARBS!" that South Park lampooned. However, it would be just as disengenuous for me to say that all illegal immigrants are model citizens. As with all people, there will be a range across the spectrum.

After having read this, even despite Howard Dean's vociferous protests, I'm even more firmly in the same camp as Dave in wanting this bill to pass. It's not perfect, but when is government ever?

Finally, on a lighter note, C&L posted this relevant comic: