Kaiser Health did a recap today of several news agencies and their takes on what might change in the short term with the new health care reform bill.
McClatchy examines benefits that "would take effect quickly and should produce a noticeable impact on consumers, according to many independent analysts and Democrats." The House and Senate bills "would bar lifetime limits on coverage, starting six months after the measure is enacted. They also would expand community health centers, where consumers could go for care, and would require health plans to allow young people, up to age 26 in the Senate bill and 27 in the House bill, to stay on their parents' policies. Age requirements now vary by state. Both bills provide immediate aid for the uninsured. The Senate bill includes $5 billion to help finance a temporary program that would provide coverage to uninsured people with pre-existing conditions, effective 90 days after the bill is signed" (Lightman, 1/5)
CNN: "Arguments over the massive overhaul of the health care system -- which congressional Democrats hope to pass by next month -- are expected to keep shaking up the country long after the vote." David Gergen, who worked in the Nixon, Ford, Reagan and Clinton administrations, explains that "unlike other major legislation which has passed with more bipartisan support, health care is going to remain a political football, and people are going to have a sense that it is not fully settled yet for a while" (Keck, 1/5).
Read Kaiser Health's full story here.
