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‘Medicare Tax’ Now to be Called ‘Unearned Income Medicare Contribution’
The payroll tax increase that was formerly known as "Medicare tax" in both President Obama’s health care reform reconciliation proposal and the original House reconciliation bill is NOT A TAX. Repeat: NOT A TAX.
Sure, individuals with earnings over $200,000 and couples with earnings over $250,000 will have to fork over 3.8 percent of their capital gains (which were not formerly subject to Medicare taxes) to Medicare, in addition to .9 percent more of their earned income.
But among the 15 pages of changes to the Reconciliation Act included in the manager’s amendment released over the weekend was a wee name change: references to ‘Medicare tax’ were deleted, and replaced with the much gentler, and voluntary-sounding, ‘unearned income Medicare contribution.’
We called Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office for more insight, and will pass along anything we hear back.
For a look at all the changes that the reconciliation bill would make in the health care reform law, check out our side-by-side comparison.
Biofuel/Health Care Mystery Demystified
Last week, we asked readers to help us figure out why, amongst the talk of health care in the House reconciliation bill, there was a paragraph eliminating the "unintended application of [a] cellulosic biofuel producer credit."
We were as curious as anyone as to what sediment in biofuel has to do with health care, but it was Friday afternoon, after all, and even journalists like to go home sometimes, even if said home is a dank cell in Brooklyn.
Luckily, our readers came through for us (we owe you one).
Biofuel Tax Credit Language in Final Health Care Bill: Help Us Understand Why
Silly ProPublicans. We expected the health care reform bill to include language pertaining to health care. And most of it does, except this paragraph that appears to tackle the scourge of… ashy biofuels?
We found the biofuel section using our side-by-side comparison of the Senate health care reform bill and the House reconciliation version – and we think it’s just the beginning of what we might find by looking at the full text of the bills.
Why You Should Check Out the Health Care Bills Side by Side
Thanks to many hard-working souls at ProPublica, we’ve created a side-by-side comparison of the full versions of the Senate healthcare bill versus the bill that will likely go before the House for a vote on Sunday.
What you’ve seen elsewhere—the text put out by the House Rules Committee—is a 150-page list of amendments to the Senate bill ("strike paragraph 4", "insert this new sentence in paragraph B…").
What we’ve created, the final proposed bill in full—and highlights of the changes—allows you to easily compare House’s reconciliation proposal to the earlier Senate bill. We’re also showing you exactly what the House has proposed to change, add, and delete. So far as we know, this is the only place on the Web where the full proposed final bill is available. (Disclaimer: Creating the full version of the reconciliation bill involved some old-fashioned and frenzied cutting and pasting – we're only human, please let us know of any errors.)
What Health Care Reform Means for: ‘Young Invincibles’
Using results from a questionnaire we did with American Public Media’s Public Insight Network, we’re looking at how the proposed health care reforms will actually affect people facing common health care coverage situations.

Neil Thurgood, 26
Location: Washington, D.C. Health Care Status: Insured through his wife Household Income: $65,000
His Story:
When Neil Thurgood graduated college in the fall of 2006, his health insurance lapsed while he looked for a job. At the time, he says, “I just kind of figured, I’m young and healthy and everything is cool,” so he didn’t worry when it took longer than planned to find a job. His wife eventually got one that offered insurance, but the premium was still too expensive for Thurgood to be covered.
That wasn’t a problem until January 2007, when Thurgood came down with what he now refers to as “some crazy renegade virus,” which landed him in the hospital with a fever of 105. A spinal tap and a day later, Thurgood was sent home with fuzzy understanding of why he was sick and a bill for about $6,000.
Nearly three years later things are looking up for Thurgood. He’s landed a job and is now insured through his wife’s coverage, which costs them $260 a month. But he’s still paying down his hospital debt.
“I feel bad having those kinds of obligations outstanding,” he said. “It’ll be paid when it’s paid.”
Thurgood is part of the group called “the Young Invincibles.” Young adults between 19 and 29 have the highest uninsured rate of any age group – they aren’t as worried about getting sick, they’re less likely to have jobs that will offer insurance, and they typically make less money than other age brackets so they can’t buy private insurance. In the last year, 47 percent of people between age 19 and 34 went without health insurance at some point, and one in three is uninsured now.
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- Kaiser Family Foundation: Subsidy Calculator
This interactive calculator lets users input variables, like income and family size, and then estimates how much they would have to pay for health insurance – and how much government help they would receive – under various health care reform proposals. - Kaiser Family Foundation: The Process of Health Reform Legislation
This slideshow tutorial walks you through the steps of the legislative process for health care reform. - Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services project total U.S. health care spending to 2018. - Wall Street Journal: Health Care Reform Proposals
A simplified side-by-side comparison of the various proposals in play - New York Times: Health Care Reform: Then and Now
A video odyssey through past attempts at health care reform
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Graphic: How the Health Care Bill Passed



