Story Created:
Mar 22, 2010 at 6:17 PM EDT
Story Updated:
Mar 22, 2010 at 6:18 PM EDT
COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. (WKTV) -It was an historic vote on Sunday when The House voted for Healthcare Reform, but what does the bill actually do? Political and health experts have really boiled it down to three main points.
First off, millions of Americans that currently do not have insurance will get it, they will become part of the Medicaid system.
Secondly it stops insurance companies from discriminating against people with pre-existing conditions. and thirdly the bill allows young people to stay on their parents insurance until they are 26.
But the C.E.O. and President of Bassett Healthcare in Cooperstown said there's one other very important point. Dr. William Streck said the bill begins to look at ways to address costs of healthcare in our country.
"Right now, we're spending $2.4 trillion of the $14 trillion Gross National Product," Dr. Streck said. "It could be up to over $5 trillion in over ten years if we don't address it. So, that third component is very very important. It can't be under-estimated."
Dr. Streck also said the bill has been supported by numerous healthcare organizations, including the American Hospital Association, the American Medical Association, the Catholic Hospital Association, and the Association of American Medical Colleges.
A good reason may be that the uninsured that hospitals have been caring for will now be insured, and they - the hospitals - will get more money from the government.
"I think that even the hospitals that have high Medicaid populations are aware that this offers an opportunity to get paid for care that in many instances they are providing without any payment now," Dr. Streck said.
To read the entire bill, just
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