Detailing the Health Care Reform Bill

U.S. Senator Jeff Bingaman details some of the major components of The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) in the second part of a series on health care reform currently being debated in the Senate. Bingaman highlights several ways the legislation would lower overall health care costs, from the Congressional Budget Office's estimates on federal deficit reduction to savings for individuals and small businesses created through purchasing pools and market reforms within the bill. Bingaman outlines several of the ways PPACA would increase access to quality affordable insurance - through subsidies and tax credits - which would especially help lower-income New Mexicans. Bingaman closes by accounting for how health care reform would improve insurance choices, such as allowing families to add family members to their plan and creating an insurance exchange to help consumers and businesses compare plans.

The Senate is currently debating the bill; Bingaman is hopeful the Senate will vote on the bill by the end of this session and President Obama will be able to sign health care reform into law in January.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• Bingaman
• New Mexico
• Senate
• Democrat
• Health
• Health policy
• Health care
• Health reform
• Health insurance
• HELP
• Finance
• Harry Reid

[paalexan]

"The CBO says..."; appeal to authority is the oldest fallacy in the book. Avoid it.

Now, regarding subsidy--supposing we've decided to use a certain amount of money towards health care, why funnel it through private corporations who will skim their pound of flesh off the top before it gets to actual hospitals & doctors? Why not just send the money straight to those providing health care? What you're talking about isn't subsidy for your constituents, but subsidy for private insurance profit.

[ShereKhanTiger]

Some of those costs lowering avenues will be through taxes on people who have too much health care, or choose not to get health care. Thus raising cost of living. The reduction of health care costs you mention is a gamble on competition forcing insurance companies to lower their prices to stay competitive. In fact, they have raised their prices in anticipation, as have prescription drug companies.