How exactly would this mandate work for lower-income people?

[Hugabear]

So let's say this health reform bill passes, and it becomes mandatory to purchase a health insurance plan. I know that lower-income people are supposed to get help. Is that going to be up-front, or would it come in the form of a tax break at the end of the year? And will that discount apply to any health-insurance plan, or just a few select ones - the ones at the lower end of the scale, the ones that tend to offer the least amount of options, benefits, etc?

[Dogmudgeon]

1. How? Fear-mongering.

Nothing of the sort is in the bill. And those who fall into the cracks that may open up will not be thrown into debtors' prison -- all of the mandates are certainly bound for the Supreme Court, just on precedent alone.

People believe what they want to. Reading the bills and/or calling one's rep/senator(s) is so much easier.

--d!

[Fumesucker]

6. The poster wanted to know if the financial help is up front and you went off on a rant..

A rant that had nothing to do with the question asked..

Reading the bill is easy?

2700 pages of kludged spaghetti code is by no means easy to understand..

And depending on where you live calling your Representative or Senator could get you an earful of misinformation, if you can even get through.

[Dogmudgeon]

13. Oh, please forgive me!

Pfft. The OP made an extended comment, not a simple info request; and, of course, had been subject to the fear-mongering that goes on here. My remarks had no rancor for him/her, only the fearmeisters.

"2700 pages of kludged spaghetti code is by no means easy to understand.."

It's not a computer program. At 2700 pages, it's got a low word-count-per-page. And no matter which version you're reading, the stuff about financial assistance and eligibility is all in one section. But more importantly, the bills are explained in several places on the .gov websites. Nearly any non-Republican site will have as many details as exist.

Of more concern is why there is so much high-intensity self-consuming FUD at DU. We don't need Republicans, given some of the "Progressives" we have here, who would have us believe that HCR will cause total bankruptcy, mandate installing surveillance systems in our houses, and ban rock-and-roll. You could drive yourself nuts reading some of the crap that gets posted here. HCR isn't extremely "robust", but it's an improvement over what we have now. And reading legislation isn't necessarily an easy task, but it's better than relying on the Wailing Cassandras in our own political camp.

I understand why you'd be pissed off at me, and in general. But I'm pissed off, too. I've never seen as much bullshit here as I have over HCR -- except maybe 24 months ago during the primaries. It took us DECADES to get to where we are now, but fully half of the (online) Left is acting like it's the Chamber of Commerce.

--d!

[Fumesucker]

14. Now you change your tune..

Before it was "read the bill" or "call your representative/senator" and that's what I responded to..

And yes, the bill is mind numbingly complex and to follow it you have to jump from place to place to place, it is by no means a linear read and the language is typical legalese that the average person finds very difficult to understand.

We all know the bill has been written in large part by the health insurance industry or their lobbyists, that's why a lot of us simply don't trust it to do what we are told it will do, it's complex enough that the final result is to a big extent unknowable.

[Dogmudgeon]

16. Same tune

Read and/or call.

Just don't expect to get anything helpful from DU on this.

--d!

[Fumesucker]

17. Who do we trust?

Who does not have an agenda?

Here we are on the very day of the (apparently) final vote and there are very basic questions that no one apparently has definitive answers to.

[newfie11]

2. I thought more people would be added to Medicaid n/t

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

8. Medicaid seems to be the catch-all. Different states have different requirements

to meet Medicaid. In my case, I would qualify but it would mean my allowing a lien upon my estate by NY. I have worked very hard all life and I won't be able to pass on my legacy to my children.

[underpants]

3. "up to 400% of the poverty level" is what I read on Friday

that probably means that places where it is more expensive to live (NYC, San Fran, etc.) there will be some assistance to help them pay premiums

that is a pretty general answer but there will be assistance for individuals and tax breaks for small businesses too

[underpants]

4. Link

Federal subsidies would be provided to help people with incomes up to 400 percent of the poverty level purchase coverage on the exchange. Proposed changes would sweeten those subsidies for lower income people.

Medicaid, the government healthcare program for the poor, would be available to everyone with incomes up to 133 percent of the poverty level, which stood at $10,830 for an individual and $22,050, for a family of four. Many states have eligibility requirements below those levels.

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE62H5AK20100319

[Gravel Democrat]

9. "Federal subsidies would be provided" how?

The article doesn't say.

From what I've read it's tax credits. Is that correct?

It's 8 hrs before the vote and details like this are obscure.

Why is that?

[Coyote_Bandit]

10. More of that transparency

that Obama promised. Specifically promised with respect to healthcare reform. Fuck him.

[underpants]

12. Premium reimbursements usually work in one of two ways

1. the individual pays and provides proof of payment and receive a check back-this means that the individual has to at least once come up with the money

2. individuals are approved prior to payment and the health care providers basically bill the Feds (whatever department that is) and the individual is billed for the difference. This is the most likely way that it will be done. This is how insurance claims are currently paid-except that the transaction is between the service provider and the insurance company too include Medicaid/Medicare/Tricare/the Va etc (who do the processing much cheaper than private/group plans).

[Fumesucker]

15. "Usually work".. Does that mean that is the way it's going to work with this legislation?

I've been under the impression that a tax credit will be the means of reimbursing the insured person..

There was an extensive discussion about this very subject the other day and a strong HCR supporter made the suggestion that people adjust the number of dependents on their withholding to recoup the subsidized portion of their insurance costs.. I don't think they would have said that if they thought the government was going to write a check to the insured person or the the insurer.

[bigtree]

11. and I believe whatever penalty they assess for no coverage will be small initially

. . . about $95 for a few years and jumping to the larger amount reported.

[eridani]

5. "Help" comes in the form of the government writting a check to your insurance company

Therefore people who are non-poor and non-rich get fucked over to provide lousy 4th class "coverage" to people at the bottom of the pile who are still not poor enough for Medicaid.

[Coyote_Bandit]

7. Also would be interesting to know if

qualification for subsidies is going to be based on earned income (wages and earnings) or on net worth and other income (interest, dividends, other investment income).

Everybody just says "income" will determine qualification for subsidies but I've yet to hear whether that is earned income or all taxable income. For some that's a big distinction.