The House health care bill passed Saturday, and now debate heads to the Senate, where their version of the bill will be discussed and voted upon. If it passes the Senate, then the two bills will be merged in committee and taken to the President.
But the bill the passed the House would:
--Require most Americans to purchase health insurance or pay a fine.
-Expand health care coverage to 36 million more people over the next decade.
-Require employers with payrolls above $500,000 to provide insurance to their employees or pay a fine.
-Prohibit insurance companies from denying coverage because of pre-existing medical conditions.
-End premium disparities between men and women.
-Impose a 5.4 percent income tax surcharge on income above $500,000 annually for individuals and above $1 million annually for households.
-Establish a government-run insurance plan to compete with private insurers beginning in 2013.
-Cost $1.2 trillion over 10 years.
-Cut Medicare spending by more than $400 billion over 10 years.
