How healthcare reform will affect you!

By Richard Wolf and Alison Young, USA TODAY

WASHINGTON - Unlike most of the laws Congress passes each year, the massive health care bill President Obama signed Tuesday is destined to affect nearly all American families.

Poor adults will get Medicaid. Low-income families will get federal subsidies to buy insurance. Small businesses will get tax credits. Children will be able to stay on parents' policies until they turn 26. Seniors will gain additional prescription-drug coverage. People with medical conditions will gain peace of mind because insurers have to cover them.

On the other hand, the wealthy will pay higher taxes to help finance the 10-year, roughly $940 billion cost. Businesses with 50 or more workers will have to insure them or pay a penalty. Individuals, too, will have to pay a fine if they don't buy insurance. Premiums could rise for some people. Seniors with Medicare Advantage policies could lose those plans or pay more to keep them.

When congressional leaders said "health care for all," they didn't mean it literally. The Congressional Budget Office projects that millions will remain uninsured by refusing to comply with the new mandate, or because the new federal assistance just isn't enough. Yet nearly all of us will feel the impact of the 2,407-page bill Obama signed Tuesday and its 153-page package of corrections that is likely to gain final Senate approval this week.

"Because of the way in which this is set up, there's lots of tangible benefits delivered to people, but the pain is very well distributed," says Drew Altman, president of the Kaiser Family Foundation, a health care research group. "While there are some losers, there aren't any big losers."

Katie Naranjo, 23, is a winner. She was dropped from her parents' health insurance policy last June after she graduated from the University of Texas. She says she now pays $411 a month for a private policy — more than her rent — and is excited about the possibility of getting back on her parents' policy.

"That monthly cost is a significant portion of my monthly salary," said Naranjo, who runs a small Internet marketing firm in Austin with friends, and campaigned for the health overhaul as president of the College Democrats of America. 

Donald Bowles should be a winner, too. The self-employed Oklahoma City man and his wife can't afford insurance on an income that's usually below $30,000 a year, often much lower. They seldom go to a doctor. When they do, it's often a free clinic.

Bowles, 51, doesn't want the government's help. He'd rather take his chances and fend for himself. "I won't take Medicaid, and I will not pay the fine. They'll give me good health benefits in prison, I believe," he quips. "If you can't provide for yourself, why should everyone else provide for you?"

To read more about how you may be affected, click here.