www.bluemoonbenefits.com – More updates on the health reform process…
After a long and sometimes contentious day of debate, at 10:45 p.m. Sunday night the health reform bill passed the House. The vote was 219-212, with all Republicans and 34 Democrats voting no. Since the bill already passed the Senate on Christmas Eve, it will become law as soon as the President signs it – probably in the next two days.
Less than an hour after the House passed the reform bill, it passed a package of fixes in the form of a budget reconciliation bill. That vote was 220-211. The reconciliation bill will now go to the Senate. Senate leaders say they are likely to take it up later this week – perhaps as early as Tuesday. At this point there is no way to know if the process in the Senate will go fast or slow. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid says he has the votes to move the bill quickly, but the Republicans may challenge whether some parts of it are appropriate for the reconciliation process.
The day was full of short speeches. The rules of the debate allowed each side just an hour of speaking about the bills at two different times, so most speakers were allotted between 45 seconds and two minutes of time.
Democrats generally talked about the importance of the vote they were about to take. Rep. John Dingell,
D-Mich., for example – “the dean of the House” – said it was “a day that’s going to rank with the day we approved civil rights in 1964.” House Whip James Clyburn, D-S.C., also called it “the civil rights act of the 21st Century.”
Republicans, on the other hand, focused on their concerns about cost and process. Rep. Mary Bono Mack, R-Calif., said the bill “does nothing to achieve real reform…The only things that are bipartisan tonight is opposition to this bill.” Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wisc., said, “It’s unconscionable what we’re leaving the next generation.”
The debate concluded with longer speeches by Minority Leader John Boehner and Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Leader Boehner, R-Ohio, said he rose to speak “with a sad and heavy heart” because the bill should have been put together in a bipartisan fashion. He noted the weak economy and asked, “Is this really the time to raise taxes, create a new government bureaucracy, and create a burden on every job creator in the land?” He warned, “This is the people’s house. The moment the majority forgets it, the majority starts writing itself a ticket to minority status.”
Speaker Pelosi, D-Calif., was the last to talk before the vote. She said she spoke “with great humility and with great pride that we’ll make history for our country.” She acknowledged the President’s role and “his unwavering commitment to all Americans.” She talked about the Declaration of Independence’s guarantee of “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness,” and said the health reform bill was “an American proposal that honors the traditions of our country.”
Meanwhile, the President was watching the House proceedings in the Roosevelt Room of the White House with Vice President Joe Biden and about 40 staff members. When the House vote reached 216 ayes – the number necessary to pass the bill – there were cheers and hugs in celebration. Later, the President came out to make a statement. He said, “In the end, this night represents another stone firmly laid in the foundation of the American dream.” He described the system we have now as “a system that works for insurance companies but not for the American people,” and said, “This will not fix everything that ails our health care system, but it moves us in the right direction.”
The Senate bill would:
- Mandate everyone must get insurance
- Result in about 30 million additional people becoming insured
- Subsidize coverage for people who can’t afford insurance; increase the number of people eligible
for Medicaid - Raise money to pay for these things through new fees, taxes and cuts to Medicare Advantage
- Change the payment formula for Medicare Advantage
- Make many changes in the way insurance companies operate, from saying they have to sell insurance to everyone, regardless of pre-existing conditions and health status, to selling insurance to individuals and small businesses through an exchange
The reconciliation bill, if it passes the Senate, would adjust many of those provisions and dates of enactment, although the broad strokes of the bill would remain the same.
The Kaiser Family Foundation has created a chart to compare the Senate bill and the reconciliation bill.
To see it, click here.
