[Mike F]

A good article from US News & World Report on What Is (and Isn’t) in the Health Care Bill

1. Insurance for millions

Under the legislation, 32 million more people will have health insurance in 2019 than without the bill. That means that about 94 percent of all U.S. citizens will have insurance by the end of the decade. That still falls short of "universal coverage," but it's a significant increase from the 83 percent of American citizens who are covered today.

2. Coverage for people with pre-existing conditions

Right now, insurance companies can deny coverage to people with "pre-existing conditions," like cancer and heart disease, to name just two of many. The healthcare bill would ban this practice.

3. Help buying insurance

Lower-income Americans who can't afford to buy insurance will get help in one of two ways. The bill expands Medicaid, the free government plan for the poor and disabled, to anyone making up to about $15,000 a year. (About 16 million new people are expected to go into Medicaid or the Children's Health Insurance Program because of the bill.) Second, it would provide subsidies to people who aren't poor enough to qualify for Medicare but still struggle to afford insurance. Individuals making up to about $44,000 would qualify for some kind of subsidy. And for people who don't get insurance from their employers, they'd be able to shop for plans on new insurance exchanges.

6. No "public option"

Much of the debate in the past year was consumed by talk about the "public option," which was pushed by liberal Democrats who wanted the government to provide an alternative to private insurance plans. The House included it in its bill last fall, but the Senate, in order to get to 60 votes, did not. The final bill doesn't have the public option, either.

9. Cutting the deficit

Even though Republicans say the bill is too expensive and spends wastefully, the Congressional Budget Office says that it will actually help cut the deficit, by more than $130 billion in its first 10 years and more than a trillion in the second 10 years. That said, the CBO admits that there's considerable uncertainty in its estimates.