The Effects of the Health Care Reform Bill in 2010

As of March 22^nd, 2010 big health insurance companies could find themselves facing a huge increase in revenue in coming years, thanks to the new health care reform bill Washington is putting in place. Millions of people who do not presently have health insurance coverage will need to get it in place within a matter of a few years. However these companies and others are also realistic in the expectation that rising health care costs and new requirements of the legislation will take care of much of the extra profit

The health care reform bill in 2010 that was approved in March by the U.S. House has a requirement that as of 2014, most Americans will need to purchase health insurance. Those without the means to do so will receive subsidies. In addition, Medicare service funding will be cut; taxes will be imposed on insurance policies and health insurance exchanges will be created to give more individuals and small businesses access to policies.

It is hard to predict what exactly the new plan created by the health care reform bill in 2010 will look like. If power were to shift and a new President were in office for the next term, chances are the health care reform plan would be radically changed again.

Presently there are more than 32 million Americans who are without medical insurance but who will have it by the end of the decade according to the present legislation. Insurers are still discontent and reiterate the fact that accepting all applicants regardless of pre-existing conditions will cause medical costs to rise across the board, making it tougher to find affordable medical insurance. This is especially true if healthy clients opt out of medical coverage and instead pay fines to the government.

Some of the most pressing consumer questions are:

• Will these changes increase the availability of preventative care?
• Will medical insurance rates for those who are young and healthy rise dramatically to cover those who are infirm or older?
• Will the cost of medical care get completely out of control as the price of medical professionals, drugs and hospitals increase?

Advocates of the health care reform bill in 2010 expect to see an increase in accountability and more protection for policyholders. Insurers will be forced to compete. For the moment there are 200 million Americans who have health insurance. Only 17 million of these get it through individual health plans, while the rest get it through employer-sponsored plans. The individual plan has the luxury of rejecting applicants based on their health or charging very high premiums. In as little as 6 months, that will no longer be acceptable. They will be obligated to accept all applicants.

There are many bugs to be worked out within the new health care reform plan. Lobbying groups are already stating that the government's plans will not stop the rise of health care costs and that pending changes will mean fewer Medicare Advantage participants and higher rates for younger people. They are even spreading fear in newspaper ads stating that a healthcare crisis is impending similar to the financial one that has so badly hurt our economy.