A general overview of the Health Insurance Reform bill
The Health Insurance Reform bill that the US Government passed in the year 2010 has many provisions to make healthcare cheaper and reach out to those who cannot afford to buy health insurance. Let’s check out the objectives of the new Health Insurance Reform bill.
The objectives of the new Health Insurance Reform bill 2010
- Making health insurance more affordable.
- Making the health insurers more accountable.
- Expanding the health coverage to more citizens.
- Making of a sustainable health system.
The provisions of the new Health Insurance Reform bill 2010
The new Health Insurance Reform bill has made various provisions to allow health insurance reform. Let’s check out the various new reforms introduced in this bill –
- Subsidies: The new bill has made the provision for heavy tax cuts to low and middle-income families to help them buy health insurances. Under this plan, a projected 95% of the American population will be under insurance bracket. But they’ll not be eligible for Medicaid and Medicare.
- Health Insurance Exchanges: The unemployed and the self-employed people can purchase insurance at subsidized rates from state-based health insurance exchanges. From 2014, small businesses would also get insurance at subsidized rates from these exchanges.
- Medicare Payroll Tax: The Medicare Payroll Tax will be expanded to include unearned income i.e. a 3.8% tax for families earning $ 250,000 per year.
- Insurance reforms: This new bill also states that a person cannot be denied health insurance on the ground of pre-existing health conditions. According to this bill, the insurance companies must allow the children to stay in their parents’ insurance policy till the age of 26. It has also made provision that will prevent the insurance companies to put a cap on your coverage if the cost of your treatment goes up due to sickness.
- Medicaid: The new bill has expanded Medicaid eligibility by providing full federal funding to all states for newly eligible Medicaid recipients for a period of 3 years. The bill also requires states to expand Medicaid to include childless adults starting from 2014.
- Medicare: The bill proposes to close the coverage gap called the ‘donut hole’ by the year 2020. Moreover, starting from 2011, seniors who will be in the coverage gap will get a 50% discount on brand name drugs.
- Penalty for not having health insurance: Under the reform bill, the citizens who don’t have a health insurance will have to pay a yearly penalty. So, the new bill has made health insurance a must for all citizens.
Thus, with the introduction of the Health Insurance Reform bill, 2010, the US Government has made huge reforms in the healthcare sector and has taken every step to ensure that healthcare reaches to every citizen in the country.