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How the new health care bill works – understanding what 2,000 pages actually mean to all of us
by Marshall Brain | November 9, 2009
The House of Representatives passed its health care reform bill on Saturday night. It is close to 2,000 pages long (you can read the text of HR 3962 here) – but what does it actually mean? Here are several interpretations:
1) Quickly summarizes ten key points – Key Provisions of the House Health Care Bill (CBS news)
2) Parsing the House Health Bill (WSJ)
3) Health insurance reform flow chart
4) House Health Reform Bill Expands Coverage and Lowers Health Cost Growth, While Reducing Deficits
5) Is the House Health Care Bill Better than Nothing?
7) Why Congress’ Health Care Bills Are Better Than You Think
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Rquinn says:
I have spent over 47 years designing and managing health benefit programs. My views based on this practical experience which includes operating HMOs can be found on my Blog at quinnscommentary.com
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Why ten years, that’s part of the financing game. The bill is scored over then years and while revenue starts in the early years the expenses are delayed to the later years. For example the long term care is effective in 2011 and premiums start flowing but benefits can’t be paid fir five years so they take a revenue credit of $50 billiion during the ten year period and ignore the consequences thereafter if this massive new program. Simple math. Quinnscommentary.com
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Barb says:
We should not be concerned about “how” the new plan works, we should be fighting tooth and nail to stop it!!! The government has not business in our health business. Do we need some needed changes? Of course! let’s start with tort reform. Let’s get the insurance companies to be more competitive by opening state boundaries. If we allow the free market, capitalist system to work, it will. If the government is running Social Security, Medicare, Veterans health care and cash for clunkers into the ground, dear God, why do we give them ANY authority over our health care??
So stop saying, well this is better than nothing. It’s NOT!!! We need to stand up and say enough to all the fat cat insurance execs and the professional politicians in Washington.
Most good ideas in most companies are “piloted” – applied to a test group first to see how it goes… I nominate Congress to be the pilot group. They can start in 5 years. If they love it, I might listen…
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10 years to take effect? what’s the point of that?
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BENJAMIN VASQUEZ says:
CONGRESSMAN LIVERMAN IS A SURROGATE OF THE REPUBLICANS,.THE REPUBLICANS NEED ALL THE SOPPORT THEY CAN GET,SO THEY CAN KEEP,TAX PAYERS BILLIONS OFF DOLLARS ROLLING TO THEIR ACCOUNTS TROUG THE CEO# ,BLACKWATER,HALLY MARTIN ,BIG COMPANIES THEY AMOUNT TO 1% USA,THEY HAVE SOCIAL GUARANTY INSURANCE,AND THE LITTER REPUBLICANS,AND THE REST FIND THANK YOU,.
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EMRJ says:
Another WSJ take:
“The House also contains a new government long-term insurance program that starts collecting premiums in 2011 but doesn’t starting paying benefits until 2016 and then runs out of money in 2029. North Dakota Democrat Kent Conrad called it “a Ponzi scheme of the first order, the kind of thing that Bernie Madoff would have been proud of” in an interview with the Washington Post in late October. Mr. Cooper has with a single vote made his entire career irrelevant.
Yet 39 other Democrats were given a pass on the vote, as the leadership knows how unpopular this bill is in most of America. They know this legislation is not the result of some national consensus in favor of expanding state power. Its passage was possible only because of temporary liberal majorities that are intent on fulfilling their dreams of a cradle-to-grave entitlement state. If they lose Blue Dog seats, or even their majority, in the short term, so be it. As the party of government, Democrats believe they will benefit in the long run from a much larger government.”
If even a Democrat recognizes this bill as a Ponzi scheme, you’d think America would wake up and realize they mean to enslave us all with this scheme from hell. C’mon people, smell the coffee…
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I appreciate EMRJ comment.
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[...] info: – How concierge medicine works – paying doctors extra for better care – How the new health care bill works – understanding what 2,000 pages actually mean to all of us – How the public option works – The state of health care reform and how we got there – How Lobbying [...]
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scott bowlan says:
so what does the 10 million people who are now out of work do.
no job cant pay.
i sopose these people will be fined and tossed in jail. -
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maguire80 says:
There is an exorbitant amount of cost going into and surrounding the establishment of this bill. However these costs are only in addition to the overall cost of health care. Complete health care reform is necessary, not simply the provider care reform which we are currently awaiting. . According to Eva Mor author of (Making the Golden Years Golden), “The administration of the existing health delivery system is bloated with waste and unnecessary cost. If information was shared by all providers of health services and all insurers by using computerized systems to store all medical records, it would cut costs and reduce errors that would save and improve lives.” http://www.ourblook.com/component/option,com_sectionex/Itemid,200076/id,8/view,category/#catid107
Preventative care is something we need desperately in this country so the real question is going to be, how do we get it? Especially when there are so many parties who have private interests at stake in the face of reform. Health care is a public service which every American will eventually require at some point in their lives, however as it stands, health care has been diluted by bureaucracy, industry, and politics. -
Its a great article,so read it and getting more information about it,thanks.
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