'7 SEC. 1653. COMPLIANCE WITH HIPAA PRIVACY AND SECU-
8    RITY STANDARDS.
9    The provisions of sections 262(a) and 264 of the
10 Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of
11 1996 (and standards promulgated pursuant to such sec-
12    tions) and the Privacy Act of 1974 shall apply with respect
13 to the provisions of this subtitle and amendments made
14    by this subtitle.'

"According to CBO and JCT’s assessment, enacting H.R. 3962 would result in a net reduction in federal budget deficits of $104 billion over the 2010–2019 period. In the subsequent decade, the collective effect of its provisions would probably be slight reductions in federal budget deficits. Those estimates are all subject to substantial uncertainty."

My two biggest fears are higher taxes/fees and intrusion into my private life.

Those might be legitimate fears.  My dismay is that it still leaves out a significant segment of the population.  We need a healthcare system that doesn't leave out anyone.

Dot,

Who's left out of our healthcare system?  Many are left out of the insurance system.

Bob

I guess I got my groups a little mixed up, but there are still plenty of people who are left out of the healthcare system simply because they can't afford insurance.  Does the proposed bill close that hole?

Even homeless drunks and druggies get health care here. Most states have such operations.

http://freemedicalcamps.com/index.php

Persist... Procreate... Prosper... Proliferate  JWG

Who's left out of our healthcare system?  Many are left out of the insurance system.

I guess I got my groups a little mixed up, but there are still plenty of people who are left out of the healthcare system simply because they can't afford insurance.  Does the proposed bill close that hole?

Dot,

I don't know because they keep changing the bills.  The current law allows anyone to walk into a emergency room and get care.  I've heard two numbers one is 4% and the other is 25 million, who are left out.  It seems every time someone says we're going after the rich it ends up costing the middle class.

Bob

>>Who's left out of our healthcare system?  Many are left out of the insurance system.

>I guess I got my groups a little mixed up, but there are still plenty of people who are left out of the healthcare system simply because they can't afford insurance.  Does the proposed bill close that hole?

No, you didn't get your groups mixed up, Dot. The proposed bill only closes the hole for about half of the ~45-49 million folks who don't have access to either non-trauma healthcare or insurance. Contrary to some posters' previous comments, ERs do not have to take all comers. Only ERs at most _publically funded hospitals are legally required to take care of traumatic injuries regardless of ability to pay though even then, the folks treated are 'tagged' with liens by the taxing authorities and subsequent income from wages, pensions, tax refunds, gambling winnings and such can be taken to offset the debt. ERs are not required to care for people who are or were, for example, just on medication for hypertension but who are not quite poor enough to qualify for Medicaid. Unless, of course, they come back to the ER in the midst of having a stroke and are at least semi-paralyzed and drooling at which point they will be whisked into the hospital's expensive, high tech conveyor belt to treatment immediately for fear of a malpractice suit. If you have your stroke quietly at home, you're out of luck and have to wait til you officially lose your, granted miserable, job without benefits, spend down any assets you and anyone else in the household _might have had and _then qualify for Medicaid, depending on the state in which you live to received any treatment. In either case, ... "all for the want of a nail' as the poem goes. In this case, all for want of five minutes of a doctor's time and a BP or bloodtest, we are now paying for the really expensive care and potentially for a rather long time.

Those are the type of cost savings from expanding access and coverage that the CBO does _not include in its calculations.