House nears vote on health care

Congressional Democrats have released a final version of President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul bill in advance of a House vote planned for Sunday. Here is a look at some of the main features of the legislation, which makes changes to the bill the Senate passed on Christmas Eve. For a full version of the legislation, go to NewsOK.com and search for "health care reform.”

• COST: $940 billion over 10 years, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

• HOW MANY COVERED: 32 million uninsured. Major coverage expansion begins in 2014. When fully phased in, 95 percent of eligible Americans would have coverage, compared with 83 percent today.

• INSURANCE MANDATE: Almost everyone is required to be insured or else pay a fine. There is an exemption for low-income people. Mandate takes effect in 2014.

• INSURANCE MARKET REFORMS: Major consumer safeguards take effect in 2014. Insurers prohibited from denying coverage to people with medical problems or charging them more. Higher premiums for women would be banned. Starting this year, insurers would be forbidden from placing lifetime dollar limits on policies, and from denying coverage to children because of pre-existing medical problems.

• MEDICAID: Expands the federal-state Medicaid insurance program for the poor to cover people with incomes up to 133 percent of the federal poverty level, $29,327 a year for a family of four. Childless adults would be covered for the first time. The federal government would pay 100 percent of the tab for covering newly eligible individuals through 2016.

• TAXES: Dramatically scales back a Senate-passed tax on high-cost insurance plans that was opposed by House Democrats and labor unions. The tax would be delayed until 2018, and the thresholds at which it is imposed would be $10,200 for individuals and $27,500 for families.

• PRESCRIPTION DRUGS: Gradually closes the "doughnut hole” coverage gap in the Medicare prescription drug benefit that seniors fall into once they have spent $2,830. Seniors who hit the gap this year will receive a $250 rebate. Beginning in 2011, seniors in the gap receive a discount on brand name drugs, initially 50 percent off. When the gap is completely eliminated in 2020, seniors will still be responsible for 25 percent of the cost of their medications until Medicare’s catastrophic coverage kicks in.

• EMPLOYER RESPONSIBILITY: Businesses are not required to offer coverage. Instead, employers are hit with a fee if the government subsidizes their workers’ coverage.