Healthcare Bill passed House tonight

[Illidan]

Jesús Christé, I loving hate stupid liberals

[Ad Bot]

[Gartanium]

inb4massprotests

[pixl]

Cool

[Retz]

i dont get this someone explain

[Evõ]

loving idiots, it violates the constitution to impede on a persons income.

[Tom Gunn]

meh

[Tyler66]

If you have Facebook, gogogo

*Refuses*
HEH! None of you forgetheads wont find me anyway. Theres millions with my real name.

[Tingalz]

So what the hell what happened?

[Tom Gunn]

You now get fined after 26 years old if you don't have insurance.

Just another way for insurance companies to get money.
Stupid socialist system

[Inv3rted]

You now get fined after 26 years old if you don't have insurance.

Just another way for insurance companies to get money.
Stupid socialist system

Actually, you're quite an idiot.

This is no "socialist takeover". You loving rednecks have no idea whatsoever about what's in the bill, so perhaps you should read it before you speak out of your collective ass.

Every other single leading industrial country has universal healthcare. This bill doesn't even guarantee that; it's just a start.

The point is that it was passed. America now has a chance at not being ass-backward when it comes to healthcare.

The bill is far from perfect. The public option doesn't even exist anymore, so there isn't a government run insurance option. This means that there is no competition for monopolizing insurance companies, and they are able to raise premiums simply because they want to. The bill promises controls on that, and also stops various immoral and now illegal practices of insurance companies.

The point is that this bill can be added to and amended in the future. It's a start, and we'll eventually get a healthcare system that can actually be compared with Canada, UK, Germany, Japan, Switzerland, France, etc.

And just so you guys really know you're full of stuff: you're repeating the exact same arguments verbatim that were used against Medicare and Medicaid 50 years ago.

I'd like to see you people say Medicare and Medicaid should be abolished.

Also, pretty much everything in the bill that's a direct help to large insurance companies was put in by Republican members of congress, or are the remnants of things that would control them that were taken out by Republicans.

[Ephialtes]

At first I thought you were all joking about this being a bad thing, but now I realise your parents obviously employed Glenn Beck to raise you by chaining you infront of the TV. Maybe Rush Limbaugh read you bed time stories too?

Come back when you're old enough to form your own opinions on politics without parroting what your pathetic conservative parents are vomiting out of their orifices.

[Inv3rted]

People from the rest of the world laugh at the ignorance of conservative Americans.

Ephialtes is just one of them.

[FrAgGEr]

thank god for the last 3 posts

i was losing hope

[Inv3rted]

WITHIN THE FIRST YEAR OF ENACTMENT

    * Insurance companies will be barred from dropping people from coverage when they get sick. Lifetime coverage limits will be eliminated and annual limits are to be restricted.
    * 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 a 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 percent tax on indoor tanning services that use ultraviolet lamps goes into effect on July 1.
WHAT HAPPENS IN 2011
    * Medicare provides 10 percent 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 tax forms.
    * An annual fee is imposed on pharmaceutical companies according to market share. The fee does not apply to companies with sales of $5 million or less.

WHAT HAPPENS 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. WHAT HAPPENS 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 percent from 7.5 percent of income. The threshold remains at 7.5 percent for the elderly through 2016.
    * The Medicare payroll tax is raised to 2.35 percent from 1.45 percent for individuals earning more than $200,000 and married couples with incomes over $250,000. The tax is imposed on some investment income for that income group.
    * A 2.9 percent excise tax in imposed on the sale of medical devices. Anything generally purchased at the retail level by the public is excluded from the tax.

WHAT HAPPENS 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 percent 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.

WHAT HAPPENS IN 2015

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

WHAT HAPPENS 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.

(Reporting by Donna Smith; Editing by David Alexander and Eric Beech)

[Ephialtes]

   * Insurance companies will be barred from dropping people from coverage when they get sick. Lifetime coverage limits will be eliminated and annual limits are to be restricted.

It is hilarious how people think this is a bad thing. It just goes to show how stupid you Americans are. You're all about personal freedom and rights but you have a box in your living room with a stupid man inside it who is literally brainwashing you.

If I buy insurance to cover my house burning down, I personally think it's a good thing that they can't terminate my insurance on the grounds that my house burned down.