The nation is abuzz with talk of the proposed healthcare bill, which may be signed into place in 2009 – and may be signed as soon as Christmas Eve. As it stands now, the proposed bill will cost the nation at least $871 billion and change the way Americans receive and pay for their healthcare. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that the proposed national healthcare bill will ensure health insurance for an additional 31 million Americans while, simultaneously, cutting the federal deficit by a whopping $132 by 2019.
According to the most current draft of the healthcare reform bill, every American will be required to buy health insurance. However, Medicaid programs will also be expanded to provide more healthcare coverage to the poor. Moderate income individuals will receive a federal subsidy to help them afford health insurance or health care.
For Florida residents, this means that health insurance rolls in the state will increase by 2.4 million by 2019. Additionally, nearly one million Florida seniors will be blocked from the proposed budget cuts to the popular Medicare Advantage program. But that’s not all – health care providers and recipients will be affected by the proposed national health care bill in many more ways.
The impact of the proposed health care bill on Florida residents and health care providers
In addition to the new mandate that all Florida residents will have to have health insurance or another form of health care coverage (such as federally subsidized coverage), many Florida residents can expect their healthcare expenses to increase in response to the passage of the health care bill.