3 Hours And Counting. Holy Cow, Where’s The User Manual To This Monster?!

ASSOCIATED PRESS | WASHINGTON (AP) — As the president prepares to sign the massive health care bill, many Americans are asking: How’s this all going to work? The Associated Press has answers to some of your questions.

President Barack Obama and the Democrats have overcome their doubts and divisions to pass landmark health care legislation affecting every family and one-sixth of the economy. The president will sign the main bill at a White House ceremony scheduled for Tuesday, and a companion package of fixes is expected to be on its way to his desk soon.

Some questions and answers on the health care bill:

Q: When are the uninsured going to get coverage?

A: Most will have to wait until 2014.

That’s when the government begins providing tax credits to help people who can’t otherwise afford to pay health insurance premiums. The aid will be available on a sliding scale to households making up to four times the federal poverty level, or about $88,000 for a family of four.

A four-person family making around $40,000 will pay only about 5 percent of its income. But the same size family making $80,000 will pay nearly 10 percent of its income. Medicaid will be expanded to cover people up to 133 percent of the poverty level, or about $29,300 for a family of four.

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Associated Press: ‘User manual for health care overhaul’.