House Passes $1 Trillion Health Care Bill

123jump.com Staff
08 Nov, 2009
New York City

The U.S. House passes historic healthcare bill by a narrow margin. The healthcare overhaul faces an uphill battle in the Senate with Democrats divided and Republican strongly opposed. The bill passed by a vote of 220 to 215 with a support of only one Republican member.

[R]12:30 AM Washington, D.C. – The U.S. House passes historic healthcare bill by a narrow margin and the reforms face an uphill battle in the Senate. The bill passed by a narrow margin of 220 to 215 with a support of only one Republican member.[/R]

The U.S. House of Representatives passed the historic health care bill by a vote of 220 to 215.

Only one Republican member, Anh “Joseph” Cao of Louisiana voted in favor of the bill HR 3962 and 39 Democrats voted against.

The narrow victory in the House came after Democrats agreed to a concession to an amendment that prevented from the use of federal dollars to pay for abortion. The House legislation requires most American to pay for insurance or face a penalty of $750 per family.

The House vote was a major victory for President Obama and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. The goal of universal healthcare has eluded presidents for more than seven decades.

The bill will cost $1.01 trillion over the next ten years and will be mostly paid by a tax on the rich and cost cuts in the Medicare. The new taxes will raise $750 billion.

The House bill requires most Americans to pay for their insurance and sets up an exchange where people can select a government option that competes with the private insurance and also offers low income earners tax credits.

The debate in the House lasted more than five hours that was filled with emotional speeches and at times invoked historic struggle to provide universal care.

The House Democrats say the bill will extend the healthcare to 36 million people who are currently not insured and also prevent insurance companies from denying benefits to people with pre-existing conditions.

Democrat Rep John Dingell of Michigan who has long championed the healthcare overhaul spoke for many in the House when he said, “Today’s may be a tough vote, but it was in 1935 when we passed Social Security.”

Dingell, 83-year old, has introduced healthcare bill in every Congress since 1955 and went on to say, ""It provides coverage for 96 percent of Americans. It offers everyone, regardless of health or income, the peace of mind that comes from knowing they will have access to affordable health care when they need it.”

For the most part the debate in the House focused on the tax consequences and rising budget deficit. The Democrats focused on the “long overdue moral obligation” surrounding the healthcare and the Republicans offered opposition to say that “those who want it should pay for it.”

Republicans stressed that the government should be out of healthcare and but failed to offer a plan that will curtail a sharp rise in healthcare premiums. Democrats for the most part focused on the lack of coverage for 36 million Americans and a sharp rise in healthcare insurance premium in the private sector.

A family of four pays nearly $12,000 in annual healthcare insurance.

Two key moves by the Democratic Party leadership helped to convert several Democratic lawmakers opposed to the bill. A closed-door session with President Obama swayed few Democrats who opposed the bill and last minute move by Speaker Nancy Pelosi to tighten language that restricted federal money for abortion under the government insurance option also helped to tip the balance.

The House vote in favor of universal healthcare has long been sought by the Democratic Party. The Senate has yet to offer its own bill that may be significantly different from the version passed by the House. The passage of the bill in the Senate is not assured.

Several Republican members voiced their reservation about the rising budget deficit and taxes on the rich. Republicans supported an increase in budget deficit and taxes that funded Iraq war but are staunchly opposed to the healthcare overhaul and government competition in the private health insurance marketplace.

The 2,000-page long bill was unanimously opposed by the Republicans on the grounds that it will increase tax and limit insurance choice and lower the quality of medical care.

Earlier in the day, the House rejected the Republican alternative bill by a 258 to 176 vote.

The Congressional Budget Office sharply criticized the Republican bill and said that it extends healthcare to 3 million people only and fails to tackle the rise in healthcare cost and allows insurance companies to deny coverage to people with pre-existing conditions.

The 2,000 page bill took more than six months of negotiations and several debates across the nation that was largely opposed by the Republican leadership.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is still struggling to gather 60 votes needed to begin the debate.