House Passes Landmark Healthcare Bill

03-22-2010

On March 21, 2010, the U.S. House of Representatives passed an historic healthcare bill in a 219-212 vote.  The new bill is now headed for President Obama’s desk to be signed into law.  The primary changes included in the bill are as follows:

- Approximately 24 million Americans without health insurance will be eligible for tax credits to buy insurance on new insurance exchanges.

- Those earning less than 133% of the federal poverty level will become eligible for Medicaid coverage.

- Starting in 2014, Americans will be required to have health coverage or pay a fine of at least $695 a year or 2.5% of their income.

- Insurance companies will not be permitted to drop sick patients or deny patients due to preexisting conditions.

- Insurance companies will not be permitted to place caps on lifetime healthcare expenditures or certain types of annual spending.

- State-based insurance exchanges will allow those who do not have employer-provided health coverage to buy health insurance at seemingly lower prices than exist now.

- The prescription coverage doughnut-hole for Medicare recipients will be closed, covering drug costs for those who spend more than $2,700/yr on medications and those who spend less than $6,154/yr.  These individuals previously paid for medications out of pocket if they exceeded $2,700, but fell short of $6,154.

- Children will be able to stay under their parents’ health coverage until they are 26, while previously children were dropped at age 19 or upon completion of undergraduate study in college.

- Those making more than $250,000/yr will have to pay an additional 3.8% investment tax and will have more tax taken for Medicaid.

- Employers with more than 50 employees will face fines if they do not provide employer-sponsored health coverage.

In addition, the House passed a package of reconciliations to the healthcare bill that will be sent to the Senate for a vote.  These are being categorized as budget reconciliations, meaning they primarily affect the expenditure portions of the healthcare bill, not the content.  Budget reconciliations require only a simple majority for passage (51+ votes), rather than a supermajority (60+ votes).

Opponents of the bill have already vowed to block passage of the reconciliation package.  Additionally, lawmakers and politicians in several states, notably Florida, Idaho, South Carolina, and Virginia, are challenging the constitutionality of a law that requires citizens to have health insurance.  Additionally, Republicans, most of whom staunchly oppose the healthcare bill, have already announced that they will use this as a key item in running for midterm elections this November.  With various grassroots citizen efforts, such as the Tea Party movement, Republicans hope they can appeal to citizens who dislike the healthcare bill in order to generate more Republican votes. 

For more information on the healthcare bill, visit Congressional Quarterly, NPR, or BBC News.