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A major component of the Congressional health bills is a requirement that nearly everyone buy health insurance. But conservatives who oppose health reform have threatened a challenge on constitutional grounds.
A Virginia family got permission for out-of-network care for their son's heart defect but still ended up drowning in debt.
The Lemacks got permission for out-of-network care for their son Joshua's heart defect, but the Virginia family still ended up drowning in debt.
The final decision on who should supervise health exchanges is critical to health plan choices available to consumers, the cost of the premiums and the clout regulators may have.
One key element of both the House and Senate health bills would create health insurance "exchanges" where individuals and small businesses could purchase health insurance. However, the House and Senate versions would work in very different ways. This story comes from our partner
Reforms in the pipeline would leave millions of Americans with too little government help to buy insurance, some experts say.
Both the House and Senate health care overhaul bills require most Americans to carry health insurance or pay a penalty. Yet government mandates don't necessarily ensure compliance: Not all Americans buckle up, or get their children vaccinated.
Both the House and Senate health overhaul bills would force insurers to spend the vast majority of premium revenue on medical care for their customers, reducing the amount available for profits, executive salaries, sales and administration.
The COBRA subsidy extension now pending in Congress could be considered in the Senate this weekend.
Can a spinoff of the Federal Employee Health Benefits Program help some of the country's uninsured? Experts evaluate a proposal that the Office of Personnel Management, which manages the FEHBP, oversee national health plans.
Some of the laid-off workers receiving government help to pay for their COBRA health coverage are seeing those subsidies run out. Congress has yet to vote on an extension and employers and workers are worried about the future.
Despite the economic downturn that's busting budgets, 26 states this year made it easier for low-income children, parents or pregnant women to get health coverage.
Two-thirds of employers would raise deductibles, change insurers or scale back coverage to avoid the so-called Cadillac tax on high-cost benefits proposed in the Senate Democrats' health care bill, a survey to be released Thursday by consulting firm Mercer says.
If a Democratic health bill passes,certain individuals and small businesses initially would pay more for insurance, while others would pay less, experts predict. But the long-term outlook is less clear.
The debate in Washington over how much the health care overhaul bills will cost has largely centered on the bottom line for the federal government. But polls repeatedly show Americans are much more concerned about how a reshaped health care system will affect their own family's financial situation.
A poll "shows little movement in measures of public opinion" on health reform. About one-third like the current Democratic bills, another third want reform, but not what Democratic lawmakers have in mind and one-quarter think Congress should not spend time on the issue now.
The Senate and House health bills differ in important ways. We ask and answer questions consumers might have about the bills.
Despite all the controversy, a new Congressional Budget Office estimate indicates that relatively few people would be helped by a public health insurance plan. Any "opt-out" provision means at least some states are likely to bar a government-backed plan within their borders.
Legislation seeks to limit the amount low-and middle-income people will pay for health insurance. But a shift in the way their share of the premium is calculated in the second year of the program may make it more expensive.
In drafting national standards on how health insurers should be able to use age to set premium rates, congressional committees agree that older people should pay more. But they differ widely on just how much. Ultimately, it comes down to how many young adults get into the pool.
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