House Health Care Reform Bill Passes; Fate of Senate Bill Unclear
As anticipated last week, on Saturday night the U.S. House of Representatives voted 220-215 to approve H.R. 3922, the oft-discussed health care reform bill that would establish a national public-option plan. Dubbed the “Affordable Health Care for America Act,” the legislation also prohibits health benefits plan from imposing pre-existing condition exclusions, requires the establishment of uniform marketing standards for health benefit plans, and contains revisions to Medicare Parts A-D, among other provisions. The House bill also includes a surtax on individuals earning more than $500,000 a year and couples earning more than $1 million.
Notably, only one House Republican, Ahn "Joseph" Cao (R-La)), voted in favor of the Bill. Additionally, 39 House Democrats voted against it.
The Senate, under the direction of Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev) is still working on combining two versions of health reform legislation, one passed by the Senate Finance Committee (S. 1796, “America’s Healthy Future Act”) and another passed by the Senate Health Committee (S. 1679, “Affordable Health Choices Act). Both include a public option, although the Finance Committee version includes an “escape hatch” provision where individual states can opt-out of the public option. Reid is awaiting a cost analysis from the Congressional Budget Office, so it is unclear when the Bill will be ready.
One the two bills are combined, 60 votes are needed to pass the bill in the Senate. Accordingly, the Democrats must be unanimous in order to overcome a Republican filibuster. For example, Senator Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) has threatened to force the 2,000-page bill to be read aloud on the Senate floor before a vote. Overcoming filibuster stalwarts may prove difficult – several Democrats, including Senator Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, Ben Nelson of Nebraska, and Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas, have voiced opposition to the public option.
