11-9-09 House passes health care bill
In an attempt to get a bill to President Obama’s desk before the end of the year, members of the House spent the weekend hard at work. The result? The House Democrats’ health care bill, the Affordable Health Care for America Act, narrowly passed at 220 to 215.
Representative Anh Cao (R-LA), was the only Republican to vote “yes”. Thirty-nine of the “no” votes came from the Democrats themselves. Most of the naysayers came from districts that Senator John McCain won in the 2008 election.
The Senate still has to pass a health care bill, and then the two houses of Congress will merge the two bills into a final piece to send to the President. Senator Harry Reid is waiting for the Congressional Budget Office to produce a new cost analysis of the Senate health care bill before commencing with a vote, which means that a bill may not reach the President’s desk until sometime early next year.
Currently, the two health care bills differ in some important ways:
- The number of people left uninsured – According to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the House bill would leave 18 million without health care coverage, and the Senate bill would leave 25 million without coverage.
- Cost – The CBO estimates that the $829 billion Senate bill would cost over $200 billion less than the House bill. The Medicare Physician Payment Reform Act was originally part of the House bill but is now a separate bill being considered by the House. If both House medial bills pass, the House health care package would cost over $400 billion more than the Senate’s.
- Funding – The House version creates a new tax on the richest Americans, and the Senate version taxes high-end “Cadillac” insurance plans.
Given that the House bill failed to win support from most Republicans and conservative Democrats, and that such support is even more important in the Senate, it is likely that the final, merged bill will be somewhat more conservative.
Sources:
NPR – Walking Back The 39 Democratic ‘No’ Votes On Health Care
http://www.npr.org/watchingwashington/2009/11/walking_back_the_39_democratic.html
LA Times – Historic healthcare overhaul passes House
Bloomberg – House, Senate Health-Care Legislation: Side-by-Side Comparison
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=alc.ViCBRg9g
