Over the weekend the House of Representatives narrowly passed a health care reform bill that would cost approximately $1.1 trillion over 10 years and insure approximately 36 million Americans who currently do not have coverage. The action now turns to the Senate Conference Committee, where the work begins to consolidate the House and Senate bills.
For some assistance in understanding the differences that need to get worked out, the New York Times offers a helpful interactive web page. We offer an example below:
Require nearly all Americans to carry health insurance or pay a penalty
House version
Would include mandate.
Penalty: 2.5 percent of adjusted gross income over a certain level, which is $9,350 for singles and $18,700 for couples.
Exempt those with incomes below the above-mentioned thresholds, American Indians, people with religious objections and people who can show financial hardship.
Senate Health Committee
Would include mandate.
Penalty: Up to $750 a person a year.
Exempt American Indians and those who can show financial hardship.
Senate Finance Committee
Would include mandate.
Penalty would be phased in gradually: $200 a person in 2014; $400 in 2015; $600 in 2016; and $750 in 2017.
Exempt American Indians, people with religious objections, those who can show financial hardship, households with incomes lower than 133 percent of the federal poverty level ($29,327 for a family of four) and people who would have to pay more than 8 percent of their income to buy the lowest cost plan available to them.
White House
Open to a mandate as long as people who cannot afford insurance are exempt. During the campaign, President Obama proposed mandates for children only.
“I am open to your ideas on shared responsibility. But I believe if we are going to make people responsible for owning health insurance, we must make health care affordable. If we do end up with a system where people are responsible for their own insurance, we need to provide a hardship waiver to exempt Americans who cannot afford it.” (Letter to Senate leaders, June 3)
Interest groups
America’s Health Insurance Plans, the insurers’ lobby, supports individual mandates. But the trade association says the penalties for going without coverage are modest under the Senate Finance Committee’s bill. This creates “a powerful incentive for people to wait until they are sick to purchase coverage,” and could drive up insurance premiums, the group has warned.
Drug companies and insurers could benefit from mandates, which could provide millions of new customers.
Labor unions and consumer groups support mandates for individuals as long as employers are required to help pay for coverage.
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