CNN 2010-03-23

So let's say health care reform passes. And you're one of the millions of Americans needing insurance. Think you'll be covered immediately? Well, think again. Our chief medical correspondent¹ Dr. Sanjay Gupta is here to break it all down for us.

 

So, Sanjay, if the bill were to pass, when would we actually see any changes?

 

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, some of those changes are going to come about pretty quickly. But, you know, it's important to sort of keep a couple of things in mind.

 

First, we don't know what the final shape of this thing ultimately² is going to be. And two is that not everything is going to happen at once. So it's not going to be a magic wand being waved and all of a sudden the system completely changing.

 

So let's take a look at a couple of the important things that might make a difference earlier on. First of all, I don't know if you have -- if you can see those or not, but this idea that there won't be any annual caps anymore.

 

So, say you've had some sort of illness. Sometimes the insurance company will say there's a yearly cap or a lifetime cap. Those are going to disappear, so insurance companies will continue to pay the medical expenses for people who have that.

 

Pre-existing conditions. Something we've been talking about for more than a year. If you've had some sort of pre-existing condition, it can be very difficult to get health insurance.

 

They're going to set up these high risk insurance pools around the country so that people who have some sort of pre-existing illness can get insurance through those pools and those are going to be subsidized.

 

Young adults covered to age 26. That's exactly what it means. If you have -- after college but before your first job, you can still get health care insurance. Drug discounts for seniors as well. This idea of the doughnut hole.

 

Fred, we've talked a lot about this. Think of a doughnut. It's got a hole in the middle. The way that these insurance works, these drugs is that they pay as you eat through the first part of the doughnut, but there's no coverage³ in the middle of that doughnut.

 

And you don't start getting -- as far as coverage goes until you get to the other part of the doughnut. Shrinking that doughnut hole so that you have a shorter period of time where you're not covered. That's sort of the goal there.

 

So those are some of the things, if this passes, within 2010 we'll probably see.

 

WHITFIELD: And if you're uninsured and you desperately⁴ want to be covered will you be covered immediately if this bill were to pass?

 

GUPTA: It depends who you are and exactly why you're not covered. So some people who have simply not bought health care insurance because they can't afford it, there may be some benefits here.

 

People who have not bought health insurance because it's been too expensive, because they've had some sort of pre-existing condition, they may get some benefit. But take a look at sort of what 2014 would look like. That's an important year as far as when this gets more widely implemented⁵.

 

First of all there would be mandates⁶. People are going to have to buy health care insurance or buy fines. The way that they're going to do this is through a health insurance exchange. Think about those as supermarkets. So private plans that you can select from. If you can't afford it, you get tax credits to help defray some of those costs.

 

Again, no discrimination based on pre-existing conditions. Those tax credits to help pay for it. And finally this idea that, you know, expand Medicaid, part of this bill as well. So for childless adults living near poverty, they would qualify⁷ for Medicaid expansion and possibly get some health savings⁸ as well.

 

But, again, that's four years down the line, Fred, for -- you know a vast majority of Americans who are waiting for this to happen.

 

WHITFIELD: Wow. So in some cases immediately, almost immediately, in other cases you've got to wait at least four years. All this predicated on whether it passes at all.

 

GUPTA: That's right. Lots of layers. And we don't know how it's all going to look.

 

WHITFIELD: All right, Dr. Sanjay Gupta. Thanks so much.

 

1 correspondent   

n.记者，通信者；adj.符合的，一致的，相当的

参考例句：

• He volunteered as a correspondent for the war.他自愿担任作报道这次战争的记者。
• The result was correspondent with my wishes.结果与我的愿望是一致的。

2 ultimately   

adv.最后地，最终地，首要地，基本地

参考例句：

• It was a demeaning and ultimately frustrating experience.那是一次有失颜面并且令人沮丧至极的经历。
• Vitamin C deficiency can ultimately lead to scurvy.缺乏维生素C最终能道致坏血病。

3 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

4 desperately   

adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地

参考例句：

• He was desperately seeking a way to see her again.他正拼命想办法再见她一面。
• He longed desperately to be back at home.他非常渴望回家。

5 implemented   

v.实现( implement的过去式和过去分词 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• This agreement, if not implemented, is a mere scrap of paper. 这个协定如不执行只不过是一纸空文。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The economy is in danger of collapse unless far-reaching reforms are implemented. 如果不实施影响深远的改革，经济就面临崩溃的危险。 来自辞典例句

6 mandates   

托管（mandate的第三人称单数形式）

参考例句：

• Individual mandates would require all people to purchase health insurance. 个人托管要求所有人都要购买健康保险。
• While I agree with those benefits, I'm not a supporter of mandates. 我同意上述好处，我不是授权软件的支持者。

7 qualify   

vt.取得资格，有资格，限定，描述；vi.取得资格，有资格

参考例句：

• I won't qualify until next year.我明年才具备资格。
• You must qualify yourself for the post.你必须使自己具备担任这一工作的资格。

8 savings   

n.存款，储蓄

参考例句：

• I can't afford the vacation,for it would eat up my savings.我度不起假，那样会把我的积蓄用光的。
• By this time he had used up all his savings.到这时，他的存款已全部用完。