KIRKSVILLE, MO. -- The Missouri Foundation for Health held a town hall meeting Thursday night at A.T. Still University to discuss how the health care reform is impacting Missourians.

Health policy analyst Thomas McAuliffe says a lot of Americans are against the health care reform simply because they don't fully understand what it entails. 

"The biggest misconception about it is that it's going to bankrupt our country and that it's going to cost so much more money to get Missourians and Americans more health insurance," McAuliffe said. "The fact of the matter is that we are already paying so much for health insurance. What we pay for health insurance is paying for the uninsured and the under insured and this law tries to even that out so that all of us will have access to affordable health insurance."

McAuliffe also says another reason many people don't understand the bill is simply because its too long, the actual bill is about 250 pages long.

Portions of the law kicked in last year, but the most important part of the bill won't take place until the year 2014.

"The first part of the law started last year in 2010 and will be implemented until 2018. But the really big portion of the law kicks-in in 2014, that's when all Americans will have to have health insurance," McAuliffe said. "That's when these market places or exchanges will be up and running and those are possibly the most important, that's where small businesses and individuals who can't currently purchase insurance will be able to go to a market place and purchase insurance."

So the question is how will the government keep track and on who has health insurance and who doesn't?

"Everyone's W2 forms and their tax forms will have a section showing what their employer pays or what they pay for insurance and that will be reported to the IRS," said McAuliffe.

If you don't have health insurance by then you could face a fine. The first year you will be slapped with a $95 fine, the fine will go up in price every year you don't carry health insurance.

If you would like to learn more about the health care reform of if you have any questions you would like McAuliffe to answer you can click here for Cover Missouri's website.