COMPARING THE TWO OBAMACARE BILLS

Extending health insurance:

 House— 36 million people would gain coverage; the penalty for failing to acquire coverage would be a tax equal to 2.5 percent of adjusted gross income over certain thresholds (for example-- $9,350 for individuals)

 Senate— 31 million people would gain coverage; the penalty for non-coverage is $95.00 a year per person in 2014, and it would rise to $750.00 for most people in 2016 and beyond.

 Mandating employers to contribute to employee coverage

 House— Employers would be forced to contribute at least 72.5 percent of the premium cost for individuals and 65 percent for families for the lowest-cost plan that meets the minimum benefit requirements set by the federal government.

 Senate— Doesn’t explicitly require employers to offer coverage, but a company with 50 or more full-time workers would pay a penalty of $750.00 for each full-time worker if it does not offer health benefits. The employer’s contribution to health coverage would be converted into a voucher that workers could use to buy coverage through the new health insurance exchanges.

 Creation of “health insurance marketplaces’

 House – A national insurance “exchange” would be created with federal approval. It would be open to people who do not have qualifying coverage through an employer or public program.

 Senate— States would form their own exchanges, and they would be open to people who do not have qualifying coverage through an employer or public program.

 Expansion of state Medicaid

 House— Coverage for everyone with incomes less than 150 percent of the poverty level ($33,075 for a family of four). Estimated new recipients: 15 million.

 Senate— Coverage for everyone with incomes less than 133 percent of the poverty level ($29,327 for a family of four). Estimated new recipients: 14 million.

 Use of taxpayer money for abortions

 House— Health plans could choose whether to cover an abortion. The government plan would not provide abortion coverage.

 Senate— Health plans could choose whether to cover an abortion. Low- and middle-income people who receive federal subsidies to buy insurance could enroll in plans that cover abortion.

 Healthcare for illegal aliens

 House— Illegal immigrants could buy insurance from the exchanges, but could not get federal tax subsidies to help pay the costs.

 Senate— Illegal immigrants could not buy insurance from the exchanges, even if they were able to pay the full cost themselves without federal subsidies.

 The federal deficit impact

 House— 10-year cost estimate: $1.052 trillion. The bill also imposes a 2.5 percent excise tax on the medical devices sold for use in the U.S.

 Senate— 10-year cost estimate: $871 billion. The bill also squeezes $483 billion out of the projected growth in Medicare and other federal programs over 10 years, including $118 billion in cuts to federal subsidies for privately offered Medicare Advantage plans.