오늘의 주제는 요즘 미국을 아주 뜨겁게 달구고있는 '국민 개보험' 법안의 통과에 대한 이야기 입니다. 한국이나 일본처럼 정부에서 국민의 의료보험을 운영하는것이 아니고 미국은 각 개인의 능력에 따른 민간 의료보험을 운영하다 지난 23일 오바마 대통령의 최대업적으로 불리우는 Health Care Reform Bill의 역사적 통과후 국가에서 각 개인의 의료보험을 강제하게 되었습니다.
오늘의 주제는 이에 대한 이야기 입니다만, 전 개인적으로 밑에 달려있는 미국인들의 코멘트를 통한 이들의 실질적인 의견이 더 흥미진진 하더군요....
"Everybody should have some basic security when it comes to their health care," the president said. The measure will require Americans to have insurance.
Photo: AP
The mother of 11-year-old Marcelas Owens, left, died after she lost her insurance coverage. Since then his family has campaigned for reform.
MP3 Download: HERE
Script from HERE
Tip: To download a copy of this story, right-click on the MP3 link at the top right of the page and save it.
This is the VOA Special English Health Report.
President Obama has signed legislation to make the biggest changes in the health care system in forty-five years.
BARACK OBAMA: "Today, after almost a century of trying; today, after over a year of debate; today, after all the votes have been tallied, health insurance reform becomes law in the United States of America. [Applause]"
Many parts of the plan will fully take effect in four years. But some take effect quickly. For example, in six months the new law will bar insurance companies from denying coverage to children with pre-existing health conditions. Adults with pre-existing conditions will be added in four years.
The government will help millions of people pay for insurance. It will also permit millions more to receive free coverage through the Medicaid program for the poor.
In all, the plan aims to make health insurance available to thirty-two million people now without it. People will be able to buy private policies through marketplaces called exchanges to be administered by the states. Illegal immigrants will not be able to take part.
An estimated eighty-three percent of people under age sixty-five who are in the United States legally now have insurance coverage. The plan is expected to raise that to ninety-five percent within several years.
People over sixty-five are covered by the Medicare insurance program which the government created in nineteen sixty-five.
For the first time, Americans will be required to have health insurance or face a yearly fine starting in four years. The law will also require companies with more than fifty employees to offer coverage. If not, they could face a fine of two thousand dollars a year for every worker.
Also, this year the law will start closing what is known as "the doughnut hole." That is a lack of Medicare coverage for some drug costs for older Americans. President Obama promised senior citizens that the reforms will not cut their guaranteed benefits.
He signed the bill Tuesday at the White House, before Democratic lawmakers and people with stories of health insurance problems.
BARACK OBAMA: “We have now just enshrined, as soon as I sign this bill, the core principle, that everybody should have some basic security when it comes to their health care."
The president said he expected the Senate to quickly make a last set of legislative fixes needed in the new law. Republicans are promising to fight the Senate bill. And some states have already gone to court to fight the new law.
The changes are expected to cost about nine hundred forty billion dollars over ten years, but also help reduce the federal budget deficit.
And that's the VOA Special English Health report, written by Caty Weaver. I'm Steve Ember.