So now that the Healthcare bill has been signed into law most people do not really know what it means. What is included in the bill and when will it begin?

Within the first year:

• Insurers will be barred from excluding children for coverage because of pre-existing conditions.
• Young adults will be able to stay on their parents’ health plans until the age of 26. Many health plans currently drop dependents from coverage when they turn 19 or finish college.
• Uninsured adults with pre-existing conditions will be able to obtain health coverage through a new program that will expire once new insurance exchanges begin operating in 2014.
• A temporary reinsurance program is created to help companies maintain health coverage for early retirees between the ages of 55 and 64. This also expires in 2014.
• Medicare drug beneficiaries who fall into the “doughnut hole” coverage gap will get a $250 rebate. The bill eventually closes that gap which currently begins after $2,700 is spent on drugs. Coverage starts again after $6,154 is spent.
• A tax credit becomes available for some small businesses to help provide coverage for workers.
• A 10 per cent tax on indoor tanning services that use ultraviolet lamps goes into effect on July 1.

In 2011:

• Medicare provides 10 per cent bonus payments to primary care physicians and general surgeons.
• Medicare beneficiaries will be able to get a free annual wellness visit and personalized prevention plan service. New health plans will be required to cover preventive services with little or no cost to patients.
• A new program under the Medicaid plan for the poor goes into effect in October that allows states to offer home and community based care for the disabled that might otherwise require institutional care.
• Payments to insurers offering Medicare Advantage services are frozen at 2010 levels. These payments are to be gradually reduced to bring them more in line with traditional Medicare.
• Employers are required to disclose the value of health benefits on employees’ W-2 IRS forms.
• An annual fee is imposed on pharmaceutical companies based on market share. The fee does not apply to companies with sales of $5 million or less.

In 2012:

• Physician payment reforms are implemented in Medicare to enhance primary care services and encourage doctors to form “accountable care organizations” to improve quality and efficiency of care.
• An incentive program is established in Medicare for acute care hospitals to improve quality outcomes.
• The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which oversees the government programs, begin tracking hospital readmission rates and puts in place financial incentives to reduce preventable readmissions.

In 2013:

• A national pilot program is established for Medicare on payment bundling to encourage doctors, hospitals and other care providers to better coordinate patient care.
• The threshold for claiming medical expenses on itemized tax returns is raised to 10 per cent from 7.5 per cent of income. The threshold remains at 7.5 per cent for the elderly through 2016.
• The Medicare payroll tax is raised to 2.35 per cent from 1.45 per cent for individuals earning more than $200,000 and married couples with incomes over $250,000. The tax is imposed on some investment income at a rate of 3.8 per cent for that income group.
• A 2.9 per cent excise tax is imposed on the sale of medical devices. Anything generally purchased at the retail level by the public is excluded from the tax.

In 2014:

• State health insurance exchanges for small businesses and individuals open.
• Most people will be required to obtain health insurance coverage or pay a fine if they don’t. Healthcare tax credits become available to help people with incomes up to 400 per cent of poverty purchase coverage on the exchange.
• Health plans no longer can exclude people from coverage due to pre-existing conditions.
• Employers with 50 or more workers who do not offer coverage face a fine of $2,000 for each employee if any worker receives subsidized insurance on the exchange. The first 30 employees aren’t counted for the fine.
• Health insurance companies begin paying a fee based on their market share.

In 2015:

• Medicare creates a physician payment program aimed at rewarding quality of care rather than volume of services.

In 2018:

• An excise tax on high cost employer-provided plans is imposed. The first $27,500 of a family plan and $10,200 for individual coverage is exempt from the tax. Higher levels are set for plans covering retirees and people in high risk professions.

It would be safe to say that everyone is in agreement that the health care crisis in America has to be addressed. From that point, however, it becomes a matter of opinion as to what needs to be done. It has to be realized that there are some very serious consequences ahead if the problem of a health care reform plan is not addressed.

For those that have no coverage at the moment they are aware of the happenings. If it continues the way it is going then there are going to be more and more children that are not receiving the medical care that is needed. There is no doubt that this is going to eventually lead to being where the children are in very poor health.

Then there are the cancer patients that have no health insurance. They really are not getting the opportunity to receive the treatment that could basically save their lives by catching the cancer in the early stages. The result of all of this is going to be an increase death rate most likely at a much younger age if some type of a health care reform plan is not put into effect.

Based on just these few factors alone there is no way of saying that coverage is not needed and even the coverage that is being supplied now has to be revamped so that it is accessible to everyone.

What has been put to paper so far by the Obama government  in respect to a health care reform plan which is of course under fire by the opposition covers many different issues. The basics of this are that the new health care reform plan would make sure that every individual has access to insurance. Which would in turn allow them to get the health care that they deserve

It would also mean that those that are paying for their health care through premiums it would be more affordable. There are many circumstances where an individual could obtain insurance through their place of employment, for example, but are just not able to afford the premium costs.

The other issue that would be addressed by the new health care reform plan is taking the Medicare system that is in place now and making it much stronger. These are the three major points of the reform that has been put before the senate.

These is just the basic shell of what needs to be done but the cost factors of course for all of these are phenomenal and the money has to be addressed as to covering the cost.

However one also has to take into account what the cost is going to be if something is not done by way of a health care reform plan. This also includes the financial cost as well considering the more that the individual workers’ health fails the less production is being done and this does no good for the economy either.

There is no doubt that all eyes are going to be on the Blair house meeting that is an opened televised meeting among the republicans and democrats. This will take place on February 25th and the public will be able to get a first hand at viewing of just where both parties stand on this subject and specifically the Obama Health Care plan.

President Obama has indicated that this is the next step in the process of creating a health care reform that will benefit everyone.

The opposition feel that the entire process should be started from the beginning. President Obama has two concepts that he has presented and neither one of these have been acceptable by the opposition. He is of the belief that the two concepts of the Obama Health Care plans could be merged and worked upon to come out with the solution. The democrats are of the belief that this process will take it to the next level.

The republicans, however, feel that the whole Obama Health Care plan should be started from the beginning and any work that has been done by the democrats to this point should be scrapped. President Obama feels that a lot of work has been put into this so far and there is some very viable ground work to work with.

Where the general public stands on their opinion right now in regard to the Obama Health Care proposals seems to be mixed and confused.

It is understandable why the public would be confused when there has been so much debate and flurry created over the health care reform issue. One of the biggest factors about the Obama Health Care bill is the cost factor. This is of concern to the people who now feel that every dollar is being stretched as it is. They perceive more cost being laid on them and that they feel they simply cannot carry the burden now. However, there are just as many that are of the mind that health care reform must be put into action.

Perhaps the Blair house meeting will give the general public more insight as to just where both parties stand and where the Obama Health Care plan is going to end up. It will allow them to make some judgment decisions as to which side they want to stand with.

The republicans are of the mind that they people are against the health care reform as it stands in any way that it is been presented by the democrats at this point. The democrats feel that if the public is more informed as to what is in the Obama Health Care proposals, and what it stands for that they may be more supportive.

There is little doubt that there may be some very interesting factors coming out of this televised meeting. In any event, it should have some effect on the public itself, even if there are no resolutions.

There is little doubt that when President Obama drafted his proposed bill for healthcare reform that he was under the impression that it was just going to fly through the house and senate with their blessings. He and his party knew and fully expected it was going to be scrutinized, jumped on and dissected to the point of beyond recognition.

So knowing this why in the world go ahead and even introduce such a bill then? Simply, because it is a starting point. Getting the bill passed is the first real step to getting everyone within the government to sit down and take some form of action, whether it be negative or position. It has got passed the point of being able to just “sit on the fence” or the “no comment” types of attitude towards healthcare reform.

When you stop to think about it up until now there has been no healthcare reform plan so nothing to oppose. This may sound harsh in painting a picture that the opposition is against health reform altogether. This is not the point which when no doubt they welcome a positive solution as well. The point is though that the opposition are looking at it strictly from the point of finances. In reality, this is the most important issue.

What President Obama seems to be trying to address is that the problem in not going to go away just because they are no funds to rectify it. He is determined that if  everyone will become of one mind that a solution must be found then it will be so. In other words there is no more running away from the problem. It’s time to address it and find the best solution possible. It may not be the one that everyone wants, but it is a start.

With the healthcare reform being such a hot topic of debate right now. Where does the ones that really count stand? Meaning the people of the United States, who stand to either gain or lose from healthcare reform. It would seem a little odd to think that one could lose from healthcare reform, but there are some very big Insurance Companies and employers that just aren’t sure they could withstand the crunch of a healthcare reform that could adversely affect them. Is it going to become a snowball effect where it would then affect jobs?

There is no doubt that all parties of the Government have a very hard and long road ahead of them when it comes to healthcare reform.