Congratulations USA - you have now joined the civilised world when it comes to healthcare for all.
Cantleave -- This whole thing has been so complex and ever-changing, that I'm not blaming you for not knowing what's going on. However, I feel like you should know a little more.
We are LONG way from affordable health care for ALL. There is nothing universal or free about the reform bill signed today.
A family of four, making more than 88K per year do not qualify for subsidies. So, they must purchase private health insurance -- at whatever rate the private insurance company charges. The family must then meet yearly deductibles and will have co-pays. Most coverage is 80% (for non-preventative care), leaving the family to pay for 20% fo the actual charges.
Let’s start with people who are unemployed, self-employed, or work for businesses that don’t offer insurance.Beginning in 2014 (that’s right, this is four years away), these people would be able to shop for coverage in new “health exchanges,” a sort of online bazaar in which insurers would hawk different kinds of plans. We’ll talk more about how these malls might work in our next story.
Congressional budget experts figure that about 25 million people will shop for coverage in these exchanges. That’s a pretty big market. Of these, about 19 million are likely to be eligible for financial aid.
The cutoff level would be an income of four times the federal poverty level. For one person, that’s about $44,000 a year. For a family of four, the comparable figure is about $88,000.
Subsidies would be figured on a sliding scale, with those who make less getting a bigger boost and those nearer the top getting a smaller one.
Some of the provisions in the new law are very good. However, there are a few items that will be improved, hopefully.
