The House Health Care Bill's Evolution: Then and Now

Health Insurance Reform Side-by-Side Comparison -

In today's media, citizens cant open a newspaper, email ,blog, or online print source without being bombarded by text, graphs, charts, and more often than not video. In looking into the 'new" or should I say improved and tweaked H.R. 3200 bill that is known today as the Affordable Health Care for America Act--H.R. 3962. The act has created so much media coverage because it marks the greatest achievement in domestic priority goals for the Democratic Party in more than half a century.
As the bill is heading to the House floor, waiting approval, the Republican Party hopes that the historic push will be to their advantage in the upcoming 2010 midterm election. The advantage would come due to the overwhelming unpopularity of Nancy Pelosi as

Health Reform Made Easy?

With the new health reform bill, everyone seems to have an opinion but no one seems to be able to say how exactly we'll all be affected. Information from the government or 'experts' is buried under piles of technical jargon, and the information from other sources all sees to contradict each other. This is the cue to the media to attempt to explain it for the Americans, which means it's time for them to insert graphs, pictures, and comics.


We all know where we fall right now - uninsured, insured through school, employers, parents, or medicare. But when the bill passes, where will that leave us? The Washington Post does its best to explain it in layman's terms for all of us, and to clearly lay it out in a few graphs so we can all figure out where we'll be once it passes.



The three part graph does help explain it, although it has a few downfalls.

• The information about what it means to the people seems incomplete. They put in the two examples, but the details seem very vague and not very helpful
• What's an exchange? How does it work? They reference exchanges several times and have a small explanation, but the information is incomplete and doesn't make it any clearer
  

The graph does have some great points and helpful information about some aspects of the health reform

• The coverage for the number of Americans in millions under the new bill does a great job of laying out the difference between the current system and the new bill
• The "What it means to Employers" section covers both small and large businesses, and lays out the information very clearly, so that it relates to the majority of American businesses.

The one major problem that I can see with the graph is the very bottom. The two top ones clearly reference how the bill affects all of us as Americans, then suddenly they switch over to the vote. It shows the general vote fairly clearly, but the details get lost in the confusing images. As much as they simplified the two top images, it seems to be a large complex jump the understanding the bottom.

The Post was so close to finding that fine line between fully explaining the bill and simplifying it enough for Americans, but definitely missed the mark on a few points. They need to explain more, tell us what's really going to happen, but keep it simple like they did in the first example of how we'll be covered.

At least it's a step in the right direction for all of us finally understanding the details of the Health Reform Bill.

So...How am I affected?

Religion plays a big role in my family's lives (they're Jehovah's Witnesses) so I've always been sheltered whenever it comes to anything involving the government. I never really paid attention to the health care reform, but since I recently lost my insurance coverage, it's important to me to know how I'll be affected. I feel like the fact that I've been so sheltered is going to make it more difficult for me to understand compared to the average person. One article from the New York Times summarized what the bill will do. Some of the things the bill will do include:

• require most Americans to have health insurance coverage
• add 16 million people to the Medicaid rolls
• subsidize private coverage for low- and middle-income people
• regulate private insurers more closely
• banning practices such as denial of care for pre-existing condition

The article did a decent job of explaining what the healthcare bill was about, but it didn't answer my question of how everyone is going to be affected. To find out how different people are affected I examined a graphic from the New York Times.

The graphic was very easy to read and understand. It provided examples of people from different walks of life. It focused on their current circumstances, and how they would be affected now until 2018 in some cases. I thought it was good how the graphic focused primarily on the types of changes that will occur in the future. One thing that I didn't like about the graphic is the fact that it's not relatable if a person falls into more than one category, or no category at all. For example, I fall into the category of the uninsured single woman. However, I am not unemployed and even with me being employed, my income is still not that of the examples.

I think the author's purpose behind the graphic was to give readers a quick understanding of how they'd be affected, without the reader having to do a lot of research. Do I think this was an effective route? No. It would have been more effective it the graphic were more individualized. Although I was able to grasp a few pieces of information from the graphic, I will still have to look elsewhere in order to further my understanding of the health care reform.

How You're Affected

It seems like the most discussed issue in recent months has been the debate on the health care bill. Now that is has been passed, even more debate has arisen. As a college freshman, political jargon isn’t exactly what I like to keep up on, but after reading more into this bill and people discussing how much of a toll this bill could have on our nation's future, I felt like it was my obligation to try and figure out how this would affect not only my family and I, but the United States and generations to come.

I came across an article and graphic from the New York Times that displays how this reform is going to affect different demographics , taking into consideration if you are insured or not. Some of the different factors that are looked at with insured individuals include:

· If you own your own insurance

· If you are insured by your employer

· If you are insured by Medicare

· If you are insured by Medicaid

This graphic also shows details of how the overhaul of the reform will affect uninsured individuals and different programs they will be eligible for. Some of these programs include:

· A new high-risk insurance pool

· Medicaid

· New exchanges (purchase of private insurance)

· Penalties for not obtaining necessary insurance

This graphic and article proved to be very useful for me and the position that I am in. Though I am still under my parent’s insurance, I was able to see how they could be potentially affected by all of this because of the demographic they fall into. Granted the information was laid out very nicely, confusion still ensued for me. Though it displayed a broad spectrum of how Americans could potentially be affected, it did not show many specifics or exactly how we could be affected.

Another graphic I discovered on the Washington Post served very beneficial to me, being someone who is not all too familiar with the bill. I was able to insert basic information regarding my parents insurance, household income and marital status to see how the family would be immediately affected, and affected in the future. According to this graphic, my family will not be affected or will not be forced to pay any additional taxes. As for how accurate this information will prove to be; only time will tell.

Both graphics were useful to me in gaining a better grasp on the new health care bill, but I am still a bit concerned as to how it’s going to affect the nation as a whole. I’ve done a fair amount of research over the past couple of days on the health care reform, and I feel as though I am still in the dark about a lot of issues. I’m looking for something very specific, some way I can figure out exactly how this bill is going to affect the nation. The likelihood of something like this existing, not promising, but any insight or feedback on the oh so confusing health care bill will be valued and taken to heart. Thank you!

Questions still Lingering on the Health Care Debate

President Obama has signed the new Health Care Bill into affect now many are wondering what's in it for me? Health Care has been a controversial issue sense President Obama has taken office. Now curious Americans have more questions now than ever.

An article in the NY Times titled "Consumers big Question: What's in it for me?" explains how the health care bill will affect specific people. It does this in a question-answer style format. It also states that 32 million uninsured Americans will now be insured because of the new plan.

Some Americans are outraged that 32 million uninsured citizens are now going to be covered. The new bill isn't as cut and dry as people are making it out to be. For example with the new health care plan insurance companies won't be able to deny children with pre-existing medical problems.

Most of what Americans understand about the new health care plan is from politicians putting their own spin on it. It is important for all of us to do at least some research and to make sure to double check where are facts are from. Americans need to know how this new plan works so they know how it will affect them.

Right now there are more questions than there are answers about the new health care bill. Hopefully these questions will be answered sooner rather than later. This interview on the Colbert Report answers some of health care questions in a humorous way.

humor in healthcare

In a two party system, being a good person often means proving the other guy is a bad one. This has never been more apparent than in the healthcare debate. But despite their disagreements, both sides seem to agree on the rules of engagement: overly simplistic rhetoric, playground name-calling and fear-tactics.

What the argument comes down to is how one defines the term “right.” Before such philosophers as Locke and Hegel, the term right referred to “that which was right to do.” Over time the term evolved into something that was possessive. Someone could have a right.

That is the root of the debate: One side is arguing that people have a right to the money they earn, the other is arguing that it is right to help others.

I don’t claim to know whether or not the healthcare bill is going to lead us to utopia or apocalypse. What scares me is how both sides of the argument are exchanging their humanity for popularity.

Charles Taylor once said, “a self can never be described without reference to those who surround it.” The rights of the individual cannot be seen outside of the context of the other.

With a 99% change during the amendment process and a 405,898 word increase, this is hardly the same bill that the we saw at its introduction. Now it's just a platform for people to throw their opinions at. The healthcare debate may never be over. Sometimes, the only logical response is to laugh.

I Get It... Wait, Maybe Not

If pictures are worth 1,000 words, then online graphs are worth about seven. The media continues to underestimate the intelligence of its consumers. Instead, it seems major news companies think the American people are still impressed with graphics and designs. Perhaps, people just enjoy wasting their time, because, in some instances, it seems much easier to write an article than construct some of these visuals.

A good example of a graph out of control would be the Washington Post’s Sphere of Influence. Ignoring the fact that the graph is a circle and not a sphere, there seems to be too much happening to make sense of its message. Essentially, the “Sphere” intends to show the number of Senators lobbying with health-care industry. However, very little is memorable, as the circle stretches past five inches in diameter.

The “Sphere” does one thing right. It does show the number of Senators involved with the industry in a very vague way. The simple fact that the circle is hard to understand conveys this understanding. However, the graph tries to jam complex ideas (like lobbying for the health-care industry) into color-coated circles and little people figures.

A wonderful criticism of this overly graphic media comes from The Onion News Network. Without the information to back the colors and shapes, graphs mean literally nothing. This parody of a news story exposes how unnecessary flashy images can be.

A graph should be simple, and take less time than a written article, yet contain information that is well dissected and helpful. Sticking with The Washington Post, they got it right when did a break down of how the Senate voted for the health-care bill. The most important information (who voted and how) is at the top. Below that is a comprehensive chart that shows information about each Senator that explains why he or she may have voted yes or no.

To some, The “Sphere” may be extremely beneficial for further research on the topic. For the average American, I have already forgotten whom Mike Enzi, Republican from Wyoming, is lobbying with. I advise all aspiring graphic news artists, keep it simple and relevant, please.