- Only seniors in Florida, New York and Pennsylvania can continue to participate in Medicare Advantage plans. Seniors in all the other states will not be able to do the same.
- Nebraska will not be required to pay for any cost of expanded Medicaid forever.
- Louisiana will get up to $300 million to help pay for Medicaid costs.
- Residents of Vermont and Massachusetts will also receive federal help to defray their Medicaid costs.
- Connecticut will get $100 million to help Sen. Chris Dodd build a University of Connecticut hospital.
- Only construction companies with as few as 5 employees are penalized if they do not provide health insurance to their employees. Businesses in other industries are only penalized if they have more than 50 employees.
- Only the indoor tanning industry is subject to a 10% tax to help pay for the cost of the health bill.
- Doctors and hospitals in Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah and Wyoming, will get paid more than providers elsewhere under formulas in the bill.
- Residents of Libby, Montana will be eligible to receive Medicare benefits regardless of age.
- Pay for 100 percent of any new Medicaid costs for states that had seasonally adjusted unemployment rates of 12 percent or higher in August, and whose percentage of Medicaid enrollment was lower than the national average. Primary beneficiary? Nevada -- Majority Leader Reid's home state. Oregon also benefits from this provision.
- Illegal aliens are not allowed to use their own money to buy coverage offered by private companies in the exchanges. Since the IRS will enforce the insurance mandate, this will discourage illegal aliens to file tax returns and jam up hospital emergency rooms.
For more, read:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/21/health/policy/21healthcare.html
http://www.latimes.com/business/nationworld/wire/sns-ap-us-health-overhaul-winners-and-losers,0,6230695.story
http://stossel.blogs.foxbusiness.com/2009/12/21/senate-this-is-about-life-death-and-pork/
Here is an article from the Kaiser Foundation on seven things you didn't know were in the health bill:
http://www.kaiserhealthnews.org/Stories/2009/November/30/Senate-Health-Bill-Secrets.aspx
Read the latest news on the status of the health care bill:
http://money.cnn.com/2009/12/29/pf/health_care_costs.moneymag/index.htm
http://www.sacbee.com/business/nation/story/2421662.html
http://www.sacbee.com/business/nation/story/2421664.html
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1209/30925.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/23/AR2009122303461.html
