Health Care Proposals In A Nutshell

The table below shows the highlights of the various health care reform bills or click this link for the full web-page:

Features	Senate bill	House Democratic bill	House Republican outline
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Who is covered	The Senate Finance version covered an estimated 94% of Americans. Illegal immigrants would not receive government benefits.	Around 97% of non-elderly residents (those not covered by Medicare, which kicks in at age 65) would be covered. Nearly half the 17 million non-elderly residents who remain uninsured would be illegal immigrants.	Aims to make insurance affordable and accessible to all. There aren't estimates about how many additional people would be covered.
Cost	Senate leaders aim to keep it under $900 billion over 10 years.	The Congressional Budget Office estimates the net cost of the proposal (less payments from employers and uninsured individuals) to be $1.042 trillion over 10 years.	Unknown.
How it's paid for	Fees on insurance companies, drug makers, medical device manufacturers. Tax levied on insurance companies, equal to 40% of total premiums paid on insurance plans costing more than $8,000 annually for individuals and $21,000 for families (that number may rise to $23,000); retirees over age 55 and people in high-risk professions may be allowed to have somewhat more valuable plans before they're taxed. Cuts to Medicare and Medicaid. A fee on employers whose workers receive government subsidies to help them pay premiums. Fines on people who fail to purchase coverage.	Approximately half of the cost of the plan is financed through about $500 billion in cuts to Medicare and Medicaid. The remaining costs are financed through new income taxes on single people making more than $280,000 a year, families making more than $350,000; penalties paid by individuals and employers who don't obtain coverage.	No new taxes are proposed, but Republicans say they want to reduce Medicare and Medicaid fraud.
Requirements for individuals	Almost everyone must get coverage through an employer, on their own or through a government plan. Exemptions for economic hardship. The Senate Finance Committee version required individuals and families to buy coverage as long as it cost no more than 8 percent of their income. Those who are obligated to buy coverage and refuse would face a fine of perhaps $100 in the first year of the program, likely increasing over time.	Individuals must have "acceptable health coverage" requirement enforced through tax penalty with hardship waivers.	No mandates.
Requirements for employers	Not required to offer coverage, but companies with more than 50 full-time workers would pay a fee as high as $750 multiplied by the total size of the work force if the government ends up subsidizing employees' coverage.	Employers must provide insurance to their employees or pay a penalty of up to 8% of payroll. Companies with annual payroll under $500,000 annually are exempt.	No mandates; small business tax credits are offered. Employers are encouraged to move to "opt-out" rather than "opt-in" rules for offering health coverage.
Subsidies	Tax credits for individuals and families likely making up to 400% of the federal poverty level, which computes to $88,200 for a family of four. Tax credits for small employers.	Individuals and families with annual income up to 400% of poverty level ($88,200 for a family of four) would get sliding-scale subsidies to help them buy coverage. The subsidies would begin in 2013.	Tax credits are offered to "low- and modest-income" Americans. People who aren't covered through their employers but buy their own insurance are allowed to take a tax deduction. Low-income retirees younger than 65 (the eligibility age for Medicare) would be offered assistance. Subsidies will not be available for illegal immigrants.
Benefits package	All plans sold to individuals and small businesses would have to cover basic benefits. The government would set four levels of coverage: Under legislation passed by the Senate Finance Committee the least generous would pay an estimated 65% of health care costs per year; the most generous would cover an estimated 90%. Those numbers could change.	Through a new Health Insurance Exchange open to individuals and, initially, small employers; it could be expanded to large employers over time. States could opt to operate their own exchanges in place of the national exchange if they follow federal rules.	Insurers would have to allow children to stay on their parents' plan through age 25.
Government-run plan	Reid proposed a new federal insurance plan this week with payment rates to providers negotiated by the Health and Human Services secretary. Unlike the House bill, states could opt out of the plan. It's not clear the proposal commands enough votes to survive, so it could be replaced by a less sweeping version of a public plan. The bill also would create nonprofit, member-owned co-ops to compete with private insurers.	A committee would recommend an "essential benefits package" including preventive services, mental health services, oral heath and vision for children; out-of pocket costs would be capped. The new benefit package would be the basic benefit package offered in the exchange and over time would become the minimum quality standard for employer plans. The bill is likely to include a compromise version of the public insurance option with rates negotiated with health-care providers, instead of based on Medicare rates.	No public plan.
How you choose your plan	Self-employed people and small businesses could pick a plan offered through new state-based purchasing pools. Employees would be generally allowed to keep their work-provided coverage.	A new public plan available through the insurance exchanges would be set up and run by the secretary of Health and Human Services. Democrats originally designed the plan to pay Medicare rates plus 5% to doctors, but the version that passed the Energy and Commerce Committee instead would let the HHS secretary negotiate rates with providers.	No new purchasing exchange or marketplace is proposed. Health savings accounts and flexible spending plans would be strengthened.
Changes to Medicaid	Income eligibility levels likely to be standardized to 133% of poverty ($30,000 a year for a family of four) for all parents, children and pregnant women. States could negotiate with insurers to arrange coverage for people with incomes slightly higher than the cutoff for Medicaid.	The federal-state insurance program for the poor would be expanded starting in 2013 to cover all non-elderly individuals with incomes up to 133% of federal poverty line.	People eligible for Medicaid would be allowed to use the value of their benefit to purchase a private plan.