Healthcare Reform in a Nutshell

Compliments of McClatchy Newspapers, here’s 10 ways that healthcare insurance will work if the bill becomes law:

1. Creates a government-run plan, or "public option," to offer insurance coverage to compete with private sector insurance companies.
2. Sets up health insurance "exchanges," or marketplaces, where consumers can easily compare coverage and rates.
3. Requires nearly everyone to obtain health insurance coverage starting in 2013.
4. Ends blanket exemption for insurers from anti-trust laws.
5. Provides federal financial help for lower and middle income consumers so they can obtain coverage.
6. Bars insurers from denying or limiting coverage because of pre-existing conditions.
7. Bars insurers from imposing lifetime limits on coverage.
8. Expands Medicaid coverage to more people.
9. Imposes a 5.4 percent surcharge on adjusted gross incomes of more than $500,000 for individuals and $1 million for joint filers.
10. Imposes penalties on people and businesses who fail to comply with the new law.

Point #10 is the killer for me. I can hardly afford another source of outflow for my limited funds right now, and I’m sure I’m not the only one.

I also wonder how medical professionals will be effected by all this pomp and circumstance from a heavy handed intrusion into their field. Will this cause a massive rush on healthcare providers? Will healthcare providers be able to stay afloat both financially and physically?

No matter how vigilant the news media is on keeping tabs on the government’s shenanigans, much goes on behind the scenes, out of the public’s eye. Keep that in mind as you either celebrate or mourn the passage of the healthcare reform bill.