Monday, February 2, 2009

US Stimulus Package Focuses On Health Care

By Ethan Kalvin

There is a new stimulus package working its way through Congress right now which is designed to provide a boost to the economy. Every American surely is familiar with it, but most don't know exactly how it will affect them in their daily lives, nor how it is supposed to work.

Recently brought to our attention is the $100 billion dollars in this new stimulus package that is designated to the health care industry. The President has promised to improve the health care system in the United States and to closely monitor and regulate the health insurance industry.

The $100 billion which has been earmarked for health care will largely go toward providing benefits for the unemployed. The ultimate goal is to improve the nation's health care system. The spending is also expected to provide a boost to the economy.

Of the $100 billion, approximately $87 billion of it will go toward increasing the federal share for Medicaid, by relieving the states of the pressure to pay their share. The COBRA program will also get $25 billion over the next 10 years. The plan to transition from paper to electronic records is also addressed in the bill with $17.9 billion. Under the plan, certain qualifying doctors who accept Medicaid patients will receive bonuses toward their costs. This will encourage more doctors to take on Medicaid patients.

Overall, it is nice to see that if we approve this stimulus package, that some of our citizens will be getting the help and benefits that they need while also boosting the economy. Lets face it, we all would like to see the overall economy improve, however, for each one of us it is important that our overall situation improve as well. It is nice to see that the plan will be working to help out those families who have faced or will be facing unemployment, after all, they are the ones who will need the help the most.

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