What is in the New Health Care Bill? Here Are the Basics of H.R. 3962 - the Affordable Health Care for America Act

On Sunday, March 21, 2010 Democrats passed the health care legislation that has stimulated political involvement in American citizens, the Affordable Health Care for America Act -- H.R. 3962. The final vote tally was 219 to 212, with zero Republicans voting for the bill. Click here to read an interesting article that breaks down the 219 votes cast in favor of the bill. Earlier this week, it was unclear whether or not the health care bill would pass, as Michigan Rep. Bart Stupak and a group of pro-life Democrats did not want elective abortions paid for with public funds. They decided to vote in favor of the bill when President Obama promised to sign an executive order that is supposed to prevent this. According to Fox News, someone called Rep. Stupak a "baby killer" as he spoke. Abortion and this health care bill are controversial topics that have stirred a lot of emotions on both sides.

The Basics

Now that the bill has passed, you need to know the basics of what the legislation contains. If you are ambitious, you can read the entire bill in .pdf format by clicking here, or click here for a summary from the House of Representatives.

The health care bill will cover 32 million people who are currently uninsured. Americans will be required to purchase health insurance unless they are below a certain income level. The insurance market will be reformed, but not until 2014. A key part of this is that there will be no lifetime maximum dollar amounts to be paid on an individual's policy. This provision goes into effect this year. Additionally, children will be able to remain on their parents' insurance policies until the age of 26. Medicaid will be expanded, and there are some changes to the prescription drug plan.

To fund this new program, people will have to pay more taxes on investment income, and taxes will be raised on individuals who earn $200,000 or more and couples making more than $250,000. There are more tax credits for purchasing health insurance in this bill. Businesses with more than 50 employees will be charged a fee if employees use federal subsidies to purchase insurance.

For more details, click here.