By now, it is doubtful that there is anyone left in America who is unaware that President Barack Obama is in the process of putting through a new stimulus package to boost the economy. Unclear to most, however, is how this new package will impact the economy and how it will affect the average American.Part of the multibillion dollar package is around $100 billion designated directly to help the health care system. President Barack Obama has committed to fixing the broken health care system in the United States and to impose new monitoring systems and regulations on the health insurance industry.

The majority of the $100 billion which is set aside for the health care system will be applied to the needs of the unemployed and helping to repair the health care system in the U.S. This spending is also designed to provide a boost to the failing economy.

Of the money designated for health care, $87 billion of it will go to increase the federal share for Medicaid, the state and federal health care plan for the poor, which will help to take some of the pressure off the states to pay their share. $25 billion will be put into COBRA over the next 10 years. This program helps people to carry their insurance benefits after losing their jobs. $17.9 billion will go into the health information technology industry to help the transition from paper filing and medical records to a completely computer based system. Under this part of the plan, any provider who has 30% or more of their patients on Medicaid will receive a bonus of 85% of their costs. Therefore the plan will be encouraging doctors to take on Medicaid patients.

The gist is that finally we have a bill which is going to provide some relief to our citizens who need it, while also providing the added benefit of boosting the economy. Of course we all want to see the economy improve, but our everyday lives matter to us also. The unemployed will finally have a plan that will work for them. Hopefully the stimulus package will pass.