House Passes Health Care Bill

The fight for affordable health care coverage for all Americans jumped one step forward over the weekend. Late Saturday night the House of Representatives passed the Affordable Health Care for Americans Act. The vote was close with 220 voting for the bill and 215 against it. Only one Republican voted for the bill. So what does this say about the future of health care? President Obama has said it is now up to the Senate to "take the baton" and complete the work.

But passing a health care bill in the Senate may be a little more difficult due to Republican opposition and some moderate Democrats. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada said last week that he wasn't sure about whether they could pass a health care bill by the end of the year. Many Republicans and Independent Senator Joseph Lieberman vowed to filibuster any bill with a public option. Lieberman's stance is important because the Democratic caucus needs 60 votes to overcome a filibuster.

If the bill does pass, how will this effect Americans? Under the House bill there would be restrictions on insurance companies from denying coverage based on pre-existing conditions or charging higher premiums based on gender or medical history. Companies would not be able to drop someone who becomes ill. It also provides federal subsidies to those who cannot afford health insurance. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office says it would guarantee coverage for 96 percent of Americans. Insurers would be required to disclose and justify proposed premium increases to regulators. Good news for college students, companies could not drop children younger than 27 from their parents' family policies. It would help the elderly fill the gap in Medicare's prescription drug coverage. Businesses with payrolls exceeding $500,000 would be required to offer their workers insurance or pay a fine. If the Senate passes a bill, a congressional conference committee will merge the two proposals into a consensus version that would require final approval from each chamber and the president.

Opponents of the bill, like our Governor Mike Beebe (D-AR), said that the national government should not shove unfunded mandates on states, such as new Medicaid cost. Many Republicans are claiming that Democrats are ignoring the people's reaction to their big government spending. They say the recent $1.2 trillion legislation would add to the skyrocketing debt and that would diminish the opportunities for future generations.

Even though one battle in the health care war has been won, there are still much opposition to face. President Obama and Senate Democrats will have their hands full trying to push this legislation through by the end of the year.