Health care reform passes the House to become law– now back to the Senate
The House of Representatives tonight passed the Senate health care reform bill by a vote of 219-212 with 34 Democrats voting no and not one Republican Member voting for the legislation.
With the passage of the Senate reform bill, the president now has a law to which he can affix his signature. But that law is not yet the legislation the House Democrats want and expect.
The fixes to the Senate bill, which also passed the House by a vote of 220-211, will now go to the Senate where they are expected to be passed using reconciliation to modify the Senate bill to meet the wishes of the House Democrats.
In providing the votes to make the Senate bill law – in the belief that the Senate will add the fixes required by the House through the reconciliation process– the House Democrats take a leap of faith that the Senate can deliver on their promise of success.
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However, Senate Republicans are already insisting that the reconciliation legislation will not be able to proceed due to an obscure rule that Republicans claim will deal a fatal blow to the opportunity to get through a reconciliation bill. The claim involves the prohibition of changing certain elements of the Social Security Law by the use of reconciliation – elements that while not directly included in the health care reconciliation bill, come into play through a GOP twist of logic connecting the proposed health care fixes to o Social Security. While it will be up to the senate parliamentarian to make the call, if I were in the GOP Senate leadership, I would not be holding my breath.
No matter what happens with the fixes that the Senate will take up on Tuesday, one thing is for sure – for the first time since the passage of Medicare in 1965, the United States will see major legislation passed affecting the access and availability of health care to more Americans.
Whether you like the new law or not, it is an historic moment in the nation’s history and one that, when all is said and done, may have only become possible thanks to the agreement reached today between President Obama and Bart Stupak wherein Obama promised an executive order stating that the Hyde Amendment, which bars the federal government from funding abortion, will remain the clear law of the land. It should also be noted that the agreement worked out with Congressional members representing rural areas who traditionally receive lower Medicare payments played a significant role in delivering the necessary votes for victory.
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Glories day, I’ll worry about the Senate on Tuesday, right now I just want to savor this moment.
[...] Health care reform passes the House to become law– now back to the … [...]
I liked that when I was watching Republican lawmakers respond to the Stupak compromise, one said that the executive order was ineffective, and the next one said that it could be repealed any time. And no reporter said, “Pick one, you desperate dogs!”
[...] Health care reform passes the House to become law– now back to the … [...]
Was looking forward to a summary piece by you tonight. Nicely done.
So glad House Democrats did their jobs so you didn’t have to write something completely different!
Me too = my eyes are crossed from staring at the TV all day. If I had to write something substantive, it would have been awful!!!!
In response to another comment. See in context »“an historic moment in the nation’s history”
Indeed:
(ps – nor does the bill regulate reprehensible insurer practices)
Further, whatever benefits this bill will attempt to provide (starting four years from now) can be easily taken away:
But I will acknowledge that the reconciliation bill does provide real reform: Student loan reform. The contrast with the health insurance overhaul couldn’t be greater: One reform ends wasteful subsidies to profit-seeking administrative middlemen who provide no consumer value; the other “reform” increases those subsidies.
One small step for Obama, one giant leap for the corporatist agenda.
Emboldened by this “victory,” Obama will turn to the War on Terror: He will introduce reforms to prevent al-Qaeda from flying jumbo jets, require them to fly prop planes instead, & impose sanctions on any company/nation that refuses to sell them the planes.
(I know, I know – an unfair, inflamatory analogy. Insurance companies and the politicians who empower them are responsible for far, far more American deaths than any group of Foreign Terrorists. My apologies to al-Qaeda.)
In response to another comment. See in context »Welcome, Comrades! You’re gonna love socialism!
Guess we can’t do this anymore:
http://raincoaster.files.wordpress.com/2010/02/at-least-we-have-health-care.jpg
Careful now Lorraine. If Costa Rica comes to its senses, you may be inheriting Rush Limbaugh. I don’t care where he goes, but he is now leaving here.
In response to another comment. See in context »It’s funny. While I think I’ve gained a pretty good understanding of what is in this legislation that, depending on interpretation, can lead reasonable people to different conclusions, I’ve never grasped how this bill can be interpreted as a government take over of health care. By an objective standard, it seems to me that the legislation actually has secured and furthered the payer system control of the private insurance industry. You may like it or you may hate it, but when a bill requires all Americans to purchase private health insurance, how do you make the case that the government has grabbed control of your health care? If your read this page on any sort of regular basis, you probably know that I believe that a government single-payer system is inevitable because the business model of the private insurance system is reaching its end. Again, this is not a wish, an ideological ‘for’ or ‘against’ = it just is what it is. But it seems that if there is one thing this legislation has done, it has given some added years of life to the private health insurance business rather than end it.
In response to another comment. See in context »[...] it’s done. Health care reform passed the House. I’m not surprised, but I remain wary. The “reconciliation” process still has to [...]
[...] down to leverage. A big hospital can demand more money because it has more people. Likewise a laHealth Care Reform Passed – The way it works is: Insurance companies negotiate the rates they'll pay a hospital – so it all [...]
[...] Congress approved historic legislation Sunday night extending health care to tens of milliHealth Care Reform Passed – Health Care Reform Passed. 22.03.10. Summoned to success by President Barack Obama, the [...]
[...] down to leverage. A big hospital can demand more money because it has more people. Likewise a laHealth Care Reform Passed – The way it works is: Insurance companies negotiate the rates they'll pay a hospital – so it all [...]
[...] Health Care Reform Passes The House To Become Law– Now Back To The The House of Representatives tonight passed the Senate health care reform bill by a vote o… [...]
[...] Health Care Reform Passes The House To Become Law– Now Back To The The House of Representatives tonight passed the Senate health care reform bill by a vote of 219-212 with 34 Democrats voting no and not one Republican Member voting for the legislation. With the passage of the Senate reform bill,… [...]
Well here in Cleveland the sun is coming up, you’ll see it in a few hours, not that you were worried about it but some are it seems.
yes, she did. yay, pelosi
[...] – email Dear President Obama, I’m glad you took the advice in my recent letter to you and finished the issue of healthcare, even if it was at the expense of a few key issues such as abortion rights and a public option – [...]