About 32 million uninsured Americans are expected to be the biggest beneficiaries of President Barack Obama's sweeping health care legislation, which would extend the medical care net for the poor in the world's most-developed nation.
After weeks of bitter debate, the Democrat-held House of Representatives voted 219-212 today to approve a bill extending health coverage to 32 million more Americans who have been shut out of the market either because insurers deem them too sick or because they cannot afford ever-rising insurance premium.
"We think it's a big step forward," said Bill Vaughan, a policy analyst at Consumers Union. "It's going to provide a peace of mind that many Americans who really want or need health insurance will always be able to get a quality product at a reasonable price regardless of their health or financial situation," the New York Times quoted Vaughan as saying.
The United States is the only developed nation which does not offer its citizens comprehensive health care, with nearly 50 million Americans uninsured. The new health care package would spend $940 billion to extend coverage to 32 million Americans over the next decade, leaving only about five per cent of non-elderly citizens without coverage.
Under this, affluent American families would be required to pay additional taxes. Most Americans would be required to have health insurance and face federal penalties if they do not buy it.
But there is no question that the legislation should benefit consumers in various ways. Beginning in 2014, for example, many employers those with 50 or more workers could face federal fines for not providing insurance coverage.
Six months after the legislation is enacted, many plans would be prohibited from placing lifetime limits on medical coverage, and they could not cancel the policies of people who fall ill. Children with pre-existing conditions could not be denied coverage, the paper said.
Further, dependent children up to age 26 would be eligible for coverage under their parents' plans instead of the current state-by-state rules that often cut off coverage for children at 18 or 19.
The legislation also states that within three months of the law's taking effect, people who have been locked out of the insurance market because of a pre-existing condition would be eligible for subsidised coverage through a new high-risk insurance programme.
In 2014, people with pre-existing conditions could no longer be denied insurance, all lifetime and annual limits on coverage would be eliminated and new policies would be required to meet higher benefit standards.
Even sooner, in 2013, affluent families with annual income above $250,000 would be required to pay an additional 3.8 per cent tax on their investment income, while contributing more to the medicare programme from their payroll taxes.
And eventually, the most expensive insurance policies would be subject to a new tax.
