The bill would also set out new initiatives to begin curbing costs in a health-care system that is expected to consume nearly $2.5 trillion this year. And it would help offset the more than $1 trillion cost of the legislation with a new tax on wealthy Americans. The proposal, among the most liberal of several competing blueprints for revamping the system, drew swift criticism from Republicans and more than 30 leading business groups, many of which have supported at least some form of change. Foreshadowing the expected legislative battles ahead, Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., who has been working on a more moderate version, said, 'I don't think it's going to go anywhere in the Senate.' But Obama and several liberal groups praised the House proposal. Here are some of the bill's major features and the issues they may raise. Question: How will the bill ensure that everyone has health coverage? Answer: For the first time, nearly all Americans would be required to get health insurance or pay a penalty based on their adjusted gross income. Employers would be given an option to provide coverage or pay the government a fee based on 8 percent of their payroll. Small businesses with payrolls under $250,000 would be exempt from the fee, which would then be phased in for employers with payrolls between $250,000 and $400,000. Also, to make insurance more available and affordable, new regulations would prohibit insurance companies from denying coverage to people with preexisting medical conditions and from denying coverage for treatments. And all Americans making up to 133 percent of poverty would become eligible for Medicaid, which in some states is now limited to families. Others seeking insurance would be able to shop for plans in a new 'exchange' run by the federal government. Private insurers offering insurance on the exchange would have to offer a standard benefit package designed by government. In addition, a new government insurance program would be offered, to be financed with premiums paid by customers. The new government plan initially would pay hospitals and doctors slightly more than Medicare rates. People making between 133 percent and 400 percent of the federal poverty line -- roughly $29,300 to $88,200 for a family of four -- would be eligible for credits to help them buy insurance. Q: Will everyone be covered? A: The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, which is analyzing the bill, estimates that 97 percent of Americans and legal immigrants would have health coverage by 2019. The CBO also estimates that about 162 million would continue to get their insurance from their employer (up from 150 million in 2010). The office projects that 30 million people would get coverage through the new exchange, of which 9 million would choose the new government program. Insurers, hospitals and other business groups have expressed concern that far more people would choose the government plan, undermining the current employer-based system. Q: How will the bill lower health-care costs and improve quality for those who have coverage? A: The government would set up new pilot programs to reward doctors and hospitals that do more to coordinate care, a step many experts say is critical to reducing unnecessary treatment and achieving better results. The government would also begin to pay more to primary care physicians, to expand funding for prevention programs and to reward private insurers contracting with Medicare that can demonstrate their patients do better. And to encourage Medicare patients to get check-ups and other preventive care, the government would eliminate co-pays for such services. Critics contend these steps, though necessary, do not guarantee that Americans will see their medical bills go down soon. Q: How will it all be paid for? A: House Democrats envision raising about $544 billion over the next decade with a graduated surtax on high-income families and individuals. Joint filers with adjusted annual gross incomes between $350,000 and $500,000 and individual taxpayers with adjusted gross incomes between $280,000 and $400,000 would pay an additional 1 percent income tax. Joint filers making between $500,000 and $1 million and individual filers making between $400,000 and 800,000 would pay an addition 1.5 percent income tax. And joint filers making more than $1 million and individuals making more than $800,000 would pay an additional 5.4 percent income tax. To offset other costs associated with expanding coverage, the bill's authors propose cuts in payments to insurers who contract with the federal government to provide Medicare as well as other reductions in Medicare payments to hospitals, drug companies and other health-care providers. Q: What happens now? A: This week, the bill will be debated by three House committees, where lawmakers will try to amend it. House leaders hope to bring the legislation to the floor for a vote before the August recess. It would then have to be reconciled with whatever bill emerges from the Senate, where lawmakers are at work on two health-care bills. One of those bills -- being developed with Republicans on the Senate Finance Committee -- is expected to be substantially different from the House legislation. The Senate may not finish work on its legislation before August, making reconciliation with the House unlikely before September, at the earliest. 