This is the VOA Special English Economics Report.
这是美国之音慢速英语经济报告。
President Obama has signed legislation to reform the health care system in the United States. The main goal is to insure about thirty-two million additional people. That is about ninety-five percent of Americans who are not already covered by Medicare, the government insurance program for older people.
奥巴马总统已经签署了美国医改的法案。医改的主要目的是为其他约3200.0万人提供保险。这包括没有被为老年人设立的联邦政府保险计划覆盖的美国人中的95%。
About sixteen million people will be added to Medicaid, the government health plan for the poor. The law will require Americans to have health insurance, with a few exceptions, or pay a fine starting in four years.
大约1600.0万人将被纳入联邦低收入人口医疗保障计划的保障范围。该法将要求除少数例外的大多数美国人参加医疗保险，否则将在四年之内面临罚款。
Also, in four years, employers with more than fifty workers will have to offer their employees a health insurance plan. Employers will pay a fine for each uninsured worker. Smaller businesses will receive tax credits to help pay for health plans.
此外，在4年内，拥有超过50名员工的雇主将必须为员工提供保险。雇主将为每名未参保员工缴纳罚款。小规模的公司将得到税收优惠，以帮助其参加医疗计划。
People not covered by employer plans, Medicaid or Medicare could buy health insurance in marketplaces called exchanges. The idea is that competition among plans will drive down costs. States will provide these exchanges by twenty fourteen.
不在雇主计划、联邦低收入人口医疗保障计划或联邦老年人医疗保障项目覆盖范围的人们可以在保险交易中心购买健康保险。这样做的目的是通过不同的保险方案来降低成本。各州将在2014年前设立保险交易中心。
The law is the biggest change in American health care since nineteen sixty-five. But it is not a government operated health care system like the ones in other countries. President Obama says it provides limited reform.
这是美国医保政策1965年以来最大的变化。但它不是类似其他国家的，由政府经营的医保系统。奥巴马总统说，该法案引发的变革有限。
BARACK OBAMA: "So this is not radical reform. But it is major reform. This legislation will not fix everything that ails our health care system. But it moves us decisively in the right direction."
奥巴马：“这不是一项彻底的改革。但是，这是一个重大的改革。这项立法无法解决困扰我们当前医疗系统的所有问题。但是，他将推动我们朝着正确的方向前进。”
Barry Arbuckle is chief executive of the non-profit MemorialCare Health System in Fountain Valley, California. He says the new law gets the issue of health reform moving. But he notes it is mainly health insurance reform. He says lawmakers will have to reform the way health care is provided. That means finding ways for hospitals, doctors and other providers to work together more effectively. Mister Arbuckle also would like to see more attention on prevention so fewer people need costly medical treatment.
Barry Arbuckle是美国加州泉谷的非营利性医疗卫生系统的行政长官。他说，新法推动了卫生改革的进程。但是他指出，这主要是医疗保险改革。他说，议员们还需要对医保的提供方式进行改革。这意味着寻求使医院，医生和其他供应商之间更有效地合作的办法。Arbuckle先生同时引起大家对预防的重视，以减少需要付出高昂代价来治疗的人数。
The law is expected to cost about nine hundred forty billion dollars over ten years. However, the Obama administration says the plan will cut the nation's budget deficit by more than one hundred billion dollars during that period.
该法案预计在10年内将耗资约940多亿美元。不过，奥巴马政府说，这项计划同期也将削减超过一千亿美元美国的预算赤字。
Last year, the United States spent two and a half trillion dollars on health care. This was an increase of almost six percent from the year before.
去年，美国在医保上花了2.5万亿美元。比前一年增长了近百分之六。
And that's the VOA Special English Economics Report, written by Mario Ritter. I'm Steve Ember.
这里是美国之音慢速英语经济报告，是由Mario Ritter编辑，Steve Ember为您报道的。