By Angela Almeida
Opinions Editor
President Obama's new health care plan is convoluted yet vital to understand. Graphic by Scott Bennett.
Health care. Insurance. Medicare. Medicaid. These foreign concepts to most Americans are perhaps the most controversial and relevant aspects in today’s current events. The newly passed 2,300 page health care bill is far too convoluted for the average person to fully comprehend; however, it is imperative to know at least the skeletal essence of the bill. Whether conservative or liberal, there are facets of the bill that remain concrete without the influence of values. The following is a “Health Care for Dummies”-esque outline that should help clear the air on the confusion surrounding what exactly is the newly-reformed health care plan.
Enforced medical coverage, provided through government –Approximately 32 million Americans remain uninsured, thus the focal point of the bill is to enforce they have medical coverage, regardless of if their occupation offers it or not. This is to say, if a person breaks their leg and doesn’t have health insurance, they do not have to be wary of incredibly expensive medical bills. In reality, they will most likely be part of the 94% of Americans projected to have health insurance by 2014.
Medicare and Medicaid will not disappear – All adults will be covered under Medicaid, as opposed to needing to be disabled, pregnant or elderly as well. Medicare will also start enforcing cost controls on health care providers, meaning that insurers might have to cut benefits to make up for lost profit.
Uncovered abortions – The government will not pay for abortions because of this new reform. People will, however, be able to buy insurance that covers abortions, only insurance companies will pay with patient premiums and not taxpayer subsidies.
Extended age coverage – Young adults listed as dependents under their parent’s insurance will now have coverage until age 26. So, after college amid the stress of finding a job, a person can remain under their parents insurance regardless of if the outcome of their pursuit is fruitful or not.
Listed calorie count- By 2014, all menus in restaurants employing 20 or more workers will have to list the calories beside the food items. This is part of the government’s plan to curb the nation’s obesity epidemic.
