US Healthcare Bill – Obama’s Triumph

•     Offer or subsidise healthcare insurance for 32 million uninsured people.

•     Every Us and legal resident will receive minimal coverage

•     From 2014, the unemployed, the self-employed and those without employment based insurance can buy coverage from “health exchanges” in which private insurers can offer a different range of plans

•     About 19 million will be eligible for financial subsidies to pay the premiums

•     Those who refuse to buy insurance will be subject to a tax penalty

•     It will cost $940 billion over 10 years

•     Paid by tax on wealthy and health-related industries

•     Tax on expensive top-up type plans – to raise $32 billion over 10 years

•     A medicare commission will be created to have power to impose cuts on payments

•     Individuals earning >$200,000 per year or couples on >$250,000 per year will pay higher taxes on Medicare and a new 3.8% tax on dividends, interest and other unearned income from January 2013.

•     The healthcare bill will reduce the US deficit by $138 billion over 10 years.

•     A research institute will be established to cut out unnecessary or unproven procedures, rein in costs and establish nationwide best practice for patients. (Like National Institute of Clinical Excellence in UK)

•     The Bill will require disclosure of financial relationships between doctors, hospitals, pharmacists and drug company or medical suppliers of devices or supplies.

•     Insurance companies will be forced to take people with pre-existing medical conditions. Insurers will be forced to report the proportion of premium payments they pay on medical care, as opposed to marketing, compensation and administrative costs.

•     Insurers that pay less then 85% of all premium payments on medical care will have to pay rebates to consumers beginning on January 2011. Insurers will have to disclose the rationale behind premium increases.

•     Drug companies would contribute $80 billion over 10 years to help pay the cost of the bill.

•     The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will be allowed approve generic versions of Biological drugs (antibodies etc).

•     The patent period for biologics is 12 years before a generic may be developed.