Obama is victorious: the healthcare bill has been pushed through Congress

The bill will bring near universal coverage to the US and is a major step forward for America, although it is long overdue.
During the next year, health insurance companies will be forced to cover everyone who applies for medical cover, regardless of past or current illness. They will also be stopped from dropping customers once they get sick.
The bill will also impose an annual fee on pharmaceutical firms with sales which exceed $5m.
Currently, it is estimated that 45 million people in America have no medical insurance. Obama’s health reform bill will extend coverage to about 32 million, meaning that 95% of the population will have some form of insurance. Obama is delivering what he promised.
By 2014, all US citizens will be required to have medical insurance, or face a $695 fine. To me, it seems that those people who cannot afford medical insurance will be penalised under this new legislation. If they cannot afford the insurance, they will have to pay a large fine, which obviously they also will not be able to afford. It seems self defeating to me.
To help pay for the reform, a new tax will be imposed on the wealthy. Medicare payroll tax will be increased from 1.45% to 2.35% for those who earn more than $200,000, and married couples who earn more than $250,000 combined.
The health care reforms will still not cover illegal immigrants. Around 10-12 million immigrants living in the US, most who play an integral role in the economy, doing menial jobs, will not be covered. The Democrats originally planned to include them, but the Republicans flatly rejected it.
Does it go far enough?
America boasts a better quality of healthcare; the medical industry earns trillions of dollars a year and is one of the main revenues for the US. It creates jobs all over the sector and provides excellent care. I understand why they don’t want to give this up and create an NHS equivalent (even though I think they should).
The bill supposedly reins in the worst excesses and abuses of the insurance industry, and extends insurance coverage, which can only be a good thing. However some people think that instead this bill just gives even more power to the insurance companies, allowing them to make more money.