Initial Point Family Medicine
News and Notes
Congress passed Health Bill H.R. 3590 over the weekend. It is the bill originally passed by the Senate some months ago, but contains amendments that must be ratified by the Senate. Final passage will require only 51/100 votes so its passage in a final form soon seems highly likely.
H.R. 3590 bars health insurance companies from denying coverage to individuals with pre-existing conditions; it will prohibit health insurance companies from dropping people from coverage when they get sick; it bans health insurance companies, within six months after enactment, from placing lifetime caps on coverage; It requires individuals to carry insurance or pay a penalty that would be the greater of $750 or 2 percent of income by 2016; it expands Medicaid to cover everyone earning less than 133 percent of the federal poverty level, or $29,327 for a family of four. |
