Special to The Washington Post
Who will benefit -- and who won't -- if Congress overhauls America's health-care system?
So far, there are two main proposals being debated on Capitol Hill: one authored by the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee and a similar one being put together by House Democrats. Still to act: the Senate Finance Committee, whose approach could differ significantly.
Whatever the details, it's likely that any overhaul would target the individual insurance market, where 17 million people buy their own policies because they don't get coverage through their jobs, are unemployed or are early retirees.
That type of coverage can be expensive and hard to get, especially for people who are older or have pre-existing conditions. New rules being debated on Capitol Hill would mean consumers couldn't be rejected because they have health problems, take prescription drugs or are disabled. Insurance marketplaces, called exchanges, would offer a range of policies, possibly including a public or government-run option. Government subsidies would help millions of people buy insurance. And nearly all Americans would be required to have insurance or face a penalty for opting not to do so.
The proposals, which come with an estimated trillion-dollar price tag over 10 years, wouldn't solve all the problems faced by the millions of people who buy their own coverage. Some could still face big out-of-pocket expenses. Others would earn too much to qualify for a subsidy. Premiums would probably continue to rise.
Accompanying are examples of some problems faced by families across the country -- and what the current proposals might mean to them.
These stories were produced through a collaboration between The Post and Kaiser Health News. KHN is an editorially independent service of the Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonpartisan health-care-policy research organization unaffiliated with Kaiser Permanente.
