The Miami Herald recently wrote an interesting article that compared the two different versions of the health care bill. As most of you know, the Senate and House have both created their own version of the health care bill. The House of Representatives approved their version of the bill on November 7^th and the Senate approved their version on December 24^th. Now, the two parties are working together to create a compromised version of the health care bill – one that will hopefully satisfy both the House and the Senate. Currently, many of the items included in the health care bill are the same in both versions. However, there are some significant differences.

Individual Health Insurance Mandates

• The House requires most Americans to have health insurance coverage by 2013; anyone who does not obtain coverage will pay a penalty based on their income.
• The Senate requires most people to have coverage by 2014. The penalty will be about $750 per year, with a maximum penalty of $2,250 or 2 percent of household income.

Employer Health Insurance Mandates

• The house requires most large employers to offer coverage by 2013 or pay a penalty.
• The Senate will require employers with more than 200 employees to offer a health plan. However, employees can opt out if desired. Also, starting in 2014, any employer with more than 50 employees will be fined of any employees receive a federal subsidy.

Small Business Insurance Mandates

• The Senate offers tax credits for employers with less than 25 employees and average wages less than $40,000.
• The House offers tax credits for employers with less than 25 employees and average wages less than $50,000. The credits will be tied to employer contributions towards employee’s health insurance premiums.

Dependents

• The House allows dependent children to be included on their parent’s health insurance plans until the age of 27 – effective immediately.
• The Senate allows dependent children to remain on their parent’s plans until age 26 – effective six months after bill is passed.

Lifetime Limits

• The House requires plans to have no lifetime limits on health insurance coverage – effective within 6 months. After 2013, there will be no annual limit on coverage.
• The Senate also has no lifetime limits on coverage, effective within 6 months. Starting in 2014, there will be no annual limits.

Public Health Plans

• The House plans to create a government-run health insurance program.
• The Senate wants to create privately-run, multi-state plans, which will be supervised by the government.

Financial Help With Premium Payments

• The House will offer financial help for anyone with an income up to 400 percent of the poverty level – effective 2013. The amount of financial help will be based on the average cost of the tree lowest cost health care plans in the area.
• The Senate will offer help for anyone with incomes up to 400 percent of the poverty level – effective 2014. However,  the aid is based on a sliding scale and the financial aid can only be used for the health care plan with the second-lowest cost in the area.

Medicaid

• The House increases Medicaid to anyone under age 65 with incomes up to 150 percent of the poverty level.
• The Senate expands Medicaid for anyone under 65 with incomes up to 133 percent of the poverty level.

Health Insurance Exchange

• The House will create a national health insurance exchange, which will allow consumers to shop for health insurance plans in all 50 states – effective 2013.
• The Senate will crate a state-wide health insurance exchange in all 50 states, which will allow consumers to easily shop for health insurance plans in their state – effective 2014.

Temporary Health Insurance Coverage

• The House will offer a temporary high-risk pool for individuals having a difficult time obtaining health insurance coverage. It will be effective immediately, and end when the health insurance exchange is established.
• The Senate will also offer a temporary health insurance pool, which would be established within 90 days. It will end in 2014, when insurers are no longer allowed to reject consumers for pre-existing conditions.

Abortion Coverage

• The House allows federal coverage for abortions where the woman was raped, a victim of incest or if the woman’s life is endangered.
• The Senate requires that states that want to allow abortion coverage not use any federal funds for the coverage.