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The Affordable Health Care for America Act (or HR 3962) was a bill that was crafted by the United States House of Representatives in November 2009. It never became law as originally drafted. At the encouragement of the Obama administration, the 111th Congress devoted much of its time to enacting reform of the United States' health care system. Known as the "House bill", HR 3962 was the House of Representatives' chief legislative proposal during the health reform debate. On December 24, 2009, the Senate passed an alternative health care bill, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (H.R. 3590). In 2010, the House abandoned its reform bill in favor of amending the Senate bill (via the reconciliation process) in the form of the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010. ==Key provisions== The central changes that would have been made by the legislation, had it been enacted, included the following: * prohibiting health insurers from refusing coverage based on patients' medical histories〔(Congressional Research Service (CRS) Summary ) of H.R. 3962 as introduced, the Library of Congress, October 29, 2009〕 * prohibiting health insurers from charging different rates based on patients' medical histories or gender〔〔 * repeal of insurance companies' exemption from anti-trust laws〔〔 Affordable Health Care for America Act, Division A, Title II, Subtitle F, Section 262, 111th Congress.〕 * establishing minimum standards for qualified health benefit plans〔 * establishing a National Healthcare Workforce Commission to be composed of 15 individuals who will assess healthcare needs and make recommendations to congressional leaders * requiring most employers to provide coverage for their workers or pay a surtax on the workers wage up to 8% * restrictions on abortion coverage in any insurance plans for which federal funds are used〔 * an expansion of Medicaid to include more low-income Americans by increasing Medicaid eligibility limits to 133% of the Federal Poverty Level and by covering adults without dependents as long as either or any segment doesn't fall under the narrow exceptions outlined by various clauses throughout the proposal,〔 Affordable Health Care for America Act, Division B, Title VII, Subtitle A (entire), 111th Congress.〕 * a subsidy to low- and middle-income Americans to help buy insurance〔 * a central health insurance exchange where the public can compare policies and rates〔 * allowing insurors to continue to dictate limits on evaluation and care provided consumers by their physicians ("managed" or "rationed" care) * avoidance of capitating or regulating premiums which are routinely and in accordance with this law, charged by an insurance company for coverage, which might make the coverage non-affordable with regard to a consumer's income〔 * requiring most Americans to carry or obtain qualifying health insurance coverage or face a fine for non-compliance〔〔 Affordable Health Care for America Act, Division A, Title V, Subtitle A, Part 1, Subpart A, Section 501, 111th Congress.〕 * a 5.4% surtax on individuals whose adjusted gross income exceeds $500,000 ($1 million for married couples filing joint returns)〔 * a 2.5% excise tax on medical devices〔 * reductions in projected spending on Medicare of $400 billion over a ten-year period〔 * inclusion of language originally proposed in the Tax Equity for Domestic Partner and Health Plan Beneficiaries Act〔 Affordable Health Care for America Act, Division A, Title V, Subtitle B, Part 3, Section 571, 111th Congress.〕 * inclusion of language originally proposed in the Indian Health Care Improvement Act Amendments of 2009〔 Affordable Health Care for America Act, Division D (entire), 111th Congress.〕〔 Indian Health Care Improvement Act Amendments of 2009, 111th Congress〕 * imposing a $2,500 limit on contributions to flexible spending accounts (FSAs), which allow for payment of health costs with pre-tax funds, to pay for a portion of health care reform costs〔〔("A Comparison of House Senate Health Care Bills" ), ''Detroit Free Press'', December 24, 2009〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Affordable Health Care for America Act」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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