AARP Eye Center
Health Care Reform and You
By Alejandra Owens, November 11, 2009 02:31 PM
Now that the health care reform bill has passed the House and moves to the Senate, folks are struggling to have a better idea of what exactly this bill is and what it means for them and their families. Here are just a couple of things the bill will do for the country:
The House measure would cover 36 million uninsured Americans and bar insurance companies from denying people coverage because of their health or age. It would require all Americans to have health coverage, provide subsidies for those who can't afford it and create insurance exchanges--where people could shop for coverage among a number of plans, including a government-run option. For older Americans, the legislation would begin to close the Medicare "doughnut hole" coverage gap, place strict limits on what insurance companies can charge for policies and put a cap on the out-of-pocket health expenses.
As efforts are being made to merge the the two health care bills produced by the Senate's Finance Committee and the Health Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, this piece gives us the lowdown on how each measure - the House bill, the Senate Finance bill, and the Senate HELP bill - will effect everyone, whether you're an individual, business, if you're not insured, if you're covered by Medicare or covered by Medicaid. Check out the nitty gritty.