The health-care reform bill squeaked through the House this weekend and now all eyes turn to the Senate, where the legislation faces an even tougher battle.

The uninsured would be the clear winners under the proposed health-care bill, by offering subsidies to pay for private insurance and making it easier for them to shop for affordable coverage. Those who already have insurance would benefit as well, with the potential for lower out-of-pocket costs and government efforts to stop to insurance companies from denying or dropping coverage when people get sick.

What's unclear is what role the health-care reforms would play in helping to reduce "job lock," where workers stay in their jobs -- even if their bosses make them miserable or their wages stink -- because they can't afford to lose their health-care benefits. Workers with families, and particularly those who have a member of the household with a chronic illness, are under even more pressure to keep their current jobs. A change in employer could result in months of lost coverage before a worker becomes eligible for the new company's health-care plan, even if the plan agreed to cover an individual with a pre-existing condition.

It's not just workers with families or chronic illness who feel trapped by their need for employer-provided health insurance. Fear of losing health benefits is one of the key reasons workers put off retirement, according to this study by AARP.

Many are unable or unwilling to retire because they can't afford private health-insurance premiums, or they fear they can't get such coverage due to pre-existing conditions. So these seniors put off retirement until they reach age 65, when they become eligible for Medicare, the government's health-insurance program.

So is health-care reform the key to unlock job lock? Not likely.

For insured workers, the proposed changes will provide very little immediate benefit. The government will try to rein in insurance companies' shadier practices, by barring insurers from charging higher premiums to those with chronic conditions or those who live unhealthy lifestyles (aka smokers and the obese), or denying them coverage altogether. So switching to a new health-care provider may be a less terrifying proposition for those workers.

Would-be retirees might find a way to close the gap between retirement and eligibility for Medicare. Under the proposed plan, workers who retire without company health benefits would be eligible for government subsidies (depending on their household income) to help pay for private insurance.

Let's face it, the current state of the economy has resulted in a job lock of its own. Most workers and would-be retirees these days are happy to have jobs, period. And fear of being among the first to be laid off at a new company keeps a lot of workers from leaving their old ones.

Still, many workers and would-be retirees remain trapped in their jobs by fear of losing health insurance -- and the health-care reform bill, as it stands, doesn't provide a cure.

Terri Cullen is an award-winning financial journalist. She was one of the original team of editors who helped to launch The Wall Street Journal Online. Terri is also the author of "The Wall Street Journal. Complete Identity Theft Guidebook." Read her bio to learn more about her.