The bills are in flux, but it’s time to dig in. Here’s what the big idea in Washington could mean if you get insurance at work, buy it on your own, or have none at all.
Lawmakers are still far from consensus on how to fix the health care system. So it’s too soon to know exactly what reform would mean for individual Americans.
But a picture has started to emerge from two key bills put out by Democrats in the House and Senate. A third bill is expected soon from the Senate Finance Committee.
The first two bills propose a national insurance exchange on which insurers would compete for consumers’ business;
- a public health plan that would compete with private insurers on that exchange;
- and subsidies for financially strapped Americans eligible to buy health insurance on the exchange.
Both bills would also set minimum standards for health insurance policies and require insurers to guarantee coverage for those with pre-existing conditions.
Considered in broad terms, here’s how those bills are likely to affect three groups of Americans: those who are currently insured through their employer; those who buy insurance on their own; and the 49 million Americans who are expected to go uninsured next year.
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