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Let's face it folks, the new health care reform
law is com-plex. It runs about a 1,000 pages
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even in tiny print.
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So it's no surprise that very few Americans
have actually read it.
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But it's about to affect all of us, and many
have been wondering what it will mean for
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our health, our wallets and our country.
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Let's say we take all 310 million Americans
and squish us down to just 25 people.
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Yep, each of these folks would represent about
12 million of us. And this is pretty much
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what we'd look like.
00:00:39
Polls show about three out of ten of us say
health care reform will make us better off,
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a similar number say worse off, and a similar
number again say it won't make much difference
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Some of us don't know what to think. I guess
you could say we're kinda split on this one.
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But no matter where you stand on the issue,
it's likely you're thinking, "Hello? I got
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some basic questions still unanswered here."
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And you deserve real answers, not the partisan
rhetoric and spin we've been flooded with.
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So let's break down what the reform law does
and doesn't do and what it will cost. If you
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want to read the whole law, go ahead. But
watching this video is the next best thing.
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Ready to jump in?
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Let's begin with the problems in our current
health care system. Problem number one is,
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what problem number one usually is, money.
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Most people agree that health insurance policies
are too expensive.
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For a family, the average premium is almost
$14,000 dollars a year…and growing. Premiums
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have doubled over the last nine years, ballooning
way faster than inflation!
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Plus, our population is aging, meaning more
people with more health problems. So, health
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care costs are the fastest growing part of
the federal budget.
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The second problem is that the system is full
of holes. Like the fact that people buying
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insurance on their own can be turned down
for having a pre-existing health condition.
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Small businesses may be charged extra if some
of the workers are sick, making insurance
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unaffordable. And some insurance policies
have a lifetime limit on benefits. After that,
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you're out of luck.
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That means some of the people least likely
to have coverage are the ones who need it
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most. Nice, huh?
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High costs and holes in the system mean more
than one in seven of us have no health insurance
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to protect us at all.
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Many more struggle to pay their bills and
can only afford bare minimum policies that
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may not cover much.
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High costs to households, strain on the federal
budget and people with no protection.
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It's easy to see why many people were looking
for something different.
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So here's what the health reform law plans
to do in its first phase, between now and
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To start dealing with costs, insurers will
be limited in how they spend our premium dollars.
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If they use too much for administrative costs
or profits, they'll be forced to give some
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of it back through rebates. This won't stop
premium increases, but it may help some.
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Some services will become free in all new
private insurance policies, and in Medicare
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-- preventive care like screenings and vaccinations.
[baby crying]
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People on Medicare, because they're over 65
or disabled, will get more help with their
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Young people can save money and stay insured
by remaining on their parents' policies up
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