DALLAS — The trillion-dollar health care package passed by the House of Representatives late Saturday night weighs in at nearly 2,000 pages. The massive legislation would impact nearly every American and overhaul the insurance industry.
The measure would require most Americans to get health insurance or face fines of up to 2.5 percent of their income.
Some employers would face penalties of up to 8 percent of their payroll if they fail to provide coverage.
Those who can't afford insurance would apply for federal subsidies to purchase coverage from private companies or the government's plan.
Insurance companies would no longer deny coverage to anyone with a pre-existing condition, nor could they charge higher premiums based on gender or medical history.
And adult children younger than 27 cannot be removed from their parents' polices by insurance companies.
Coverage will be extended to 36 million people who are now without health insurance.
To pay for all of that, the House plan calls for chopping medicare spending by more than $400 billion in the next ten years.
A new 5.4 percent tax on the wealthiest Americans — individuals with annual incomes of more than $500,000 or families with income of $1 million or more — would also be levied to fund the health care plan.
President Obama hailed the passage of the bill and praised those who supported it.
"Given the heated and often misleading rhetoric surrounding this legislation I know that this was a courageous vote for many members of Congress."
Only one Republican — a lawmaker from New Orleans — voted for the measure. The bill now heads to the Senate.
E-mail mdiaz@wfaa.com
