Over 16,528,667 people are on fubar.
What are you waiting for?
Key components of the Senate's health care bill:
-- Includes a government-run public health insurance option.
-- Prohibits illegal immigrants from participating in a health insurance exchange created for those unable to afford health coverage.
-- Prohibits the use of federal funds for abortion coverage in the exchange.
-- Increases Medicare payroll tax on individuals earning $200,000 a year and couples earning $250,000 a year.
-- Requires individuals to buy health insurance, with a fine for noncompliance.
-- Does not mandate that all employers offer health care.
-- Prevents insurance companies from denying coverage for pre-existing conditions.
Democratic leaders in both chambers have been wrestling with the most contentious issues, including abortion and immigration, as well as how to pay for reform. The House bill has more restrictive abortion language and includes a 5.4 percent income tax surcharge on individuals making more than $500,000 and couples earning more than $1 million.
Both bills have the public option, but the Senate version allows states to opt out before the national program would go into effect in 2014.
The two bills are virtually identical on a broad range of changes, including creating health insurance exchanges, expanding Medicaid, subsidizing insurance for low- and some middle-income families and capping out-of-pocket medical expenses while preventing insurance companies from denying coverage for pre-existing conditions.
Insurers under both plans would be barred from charging higher premiums based on a person's gender or medical history.
source cnn
I just dont understand why the democrats and republicans are fighting so much about this issue.. is it that one party or the other wants to take credit for changes, and point the finger at the other for not being a part of the solution? Or rather that the higher tax and out of pocket expense really is effecting those in the higher income brackets, which they happen to be in?
as far as i can see... it seems fairly benificial.
