WoW I have covrage but this is Bullshit 
Senate Bill Would Fine People More Than $1,000 for Refusing Health Care Coverage
Senate aides said the penalties, estimated to raise around $36 billion over 10 years, would be modeled on the approach taken by Massachusetts, which now imposes a fine of about $1,000 a year on individuals who refuse to get coverage.
WASHINGTON -- Americans who refuse to buy affordable medical coverage could be hit with fines of more than $1,000 under a healthcare overhaul bill unveiled Thursday by key Senate Democrats looking tofulfill President Barack Obama's top domestic priority.
The Congressional Budget Office estimated thefines will raise around $36 billion over 10 years. Senate aides saidthe penalties would be modeled on the approach taken by Massachusetts,which now imposes a fine of about $1,000 a year on individuals whorefuse to get coverage. Under the federal legislation, families wouldpay higher penalties than individuals.
Ina revamped health care system envisioned by lawmakers, people would berequired to carry health insurance just like motorists must get autocoverage now. The government would provide subsidies for the poor andmany middle-class families, but those who still refuse to sign up wouldface penalties.
Called"shared responsibility payments," the fines would be set at least halfthe cost of basic medical coverage, according to the legislation. Thegoal is to nudge people to sign up for coverage when they are healthy,not wait until they get sick.
In2008, employer-provided coverage averaged $12,680 a year for a familyplan, and $4,704 for individual coverage, according to the KaiserFamily Foundation's annual survey. Senate aides, who spoke on conditionof anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly, saidthe cost of the federal plan would be lower but declined to providespecifics.
The legislation would exempt certain hardship cases from fines. The fines would be collected through the income tax system.
Thenew proposals were released as Congress neared the end of a weeklongJuly 4 break, with lawmakers expected to quickly take up health carelegislation when they return to Washington. With deepening divisionsalong partisan and ideological lines, the complex legislation faces anuncertain future.
Obamawants a bill this year that would provide coverage to the nearly 50million Americans who lack it and reduce medical costs.
Ina statement, Obama welcomed the legislation, saying it "reflects manyof the principles I've laid out, such as reforms that will prohibitinsurance companies from refusing coverage for people with pre-existingconditions and the concept of insurance exchanges where individuals canfind affordable coverage if they lose their jobs, move or get sick."
The Senate Health Education, Labor and Pensions bill also calls for a government-run insurance option to compete with private plans as well as a $750-per-worker annual fee on larger companies that do not offer coverage to employees.
Sens.Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., and Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., said in aletter to colleagues that their revised plan would cost dramaticallyless than an earlier, incomplete proposal, and help show the way towardcoverage for 97 percent of all Americans.
Ina conference call with reporters, Dodd said the revised bill hadbrought "historic reform of health care" closer. He said the bill'spublic option will bring coverage and benefit decisions driven "not bywhat generates the biggest profits, but by what works best for Americanfamilies."
The Congressional Budget Office, in an analysis released Thursday evening, put the net cost of the proposal at $597 billion over 10 years, down from $1 trillion two weeks ago. Coverage expansions worth $645 billion would be partly offset by savings of $48 billion, the estimate said.
However,the total cost of legislation will rise considerably once provisionsare added to subsidize health insurance for the poor through Medicaid.Those additions, needed to ensure coverage for nearly all U.S.residents, are being handled by a separate panel, the Senate FinanceCommittee. Bipartisan talks on the Finance panel aim to hold theoverall price tag to $1 trillion.
TheHealth Committee could complete its portion of the bill as soon as nextweek, and the presence of a government health insurance optionvirtually assures a party-line vote.
In the Senate, the Finance Committee version of thebill is unlikely to include a government-run insurance option.Bipartisan negotiations are centered on a proposal for a nonprofitinsurance cooperative as a competitor to private companies.
Threecommittees are collaborating in the House on legislation expected tocome to a vote by the end of July. That measure is certain to include agovernment-run insurance option.
At theirheart, all the bills would require insurance companies to sell coverageto any applicant, without charging higher premiums for pre-existingmedical conditions. The poor and some middle-class families wouldqualify for government subsidies to help with the cost of coverage. Thegovernment's costs would be covered by a combination of higher taxesand cuts in projected Medicare and Medicaid spending.
