The Beginning of Hope and Change
 

Health care latest: Obama says House made 'the right vote' - CNN.com

Washington (CNN) -- The House passed on Sunday the Senate's health care reform bill and a package of measures meant to reconcile differences between the Senate bill and the one it passed last year.
Here's the latest on what's happening:

11:48 p.m.: President Obama says that the House's vote on health care "wasn't an easy vote but it was the right vote."
Speaking from the East Room of the White House, the president, who made health care reform a priority for his administration, said the vote wasn't a victory for a political party but for the American people.
Obama said the reform plan won't fix everything wrong with the nation's health care system, "but it moves us decisively in the right direction."

11:30 p.m.: The House has passed the package of fixes meant to reconcile differences between the bill the House passed last year and the Senate bill it passed earlier Sunday night.
Those vote was 220-211.
The reconciliation package now heads to the Senate.

11:20 p.m.: The House is voting on passage of the reconciliation bill. This is the final vote of the day on health care reform.
The reconciliation bill is the package of "fixes" to the Senate health care bill that made it more attractive to balking House Democrats.

11:18 p.m.: The House votes down the Republican motion to recommit the bill.

11:08 p.m.: CNN's Brianna Keilar reports: A Republican lawmaker shouted out "baby killer" as Rep. Bart Stupak explained why he would not support the motion to recommit.
Stupak sponsored an amendment in the House bill that included tougher language on restricting federal funding of abortions.
Stupak decided to support the Senate bill after President Obama said he would sign an executive order that would make sure the health care reform law would be consistent with current restrictions on federal funding for abortions.

10:55 p.m.: Republicans have offered a motion to recommit, which is their last chance to kill the bill.
The Republican motion is to amend the language on abortion in the just-passed Senate bill.

10:48 p.m.: The House passes the Senate health care bill, 219-212.
All 178 Republicans opposed it, along with 34 Democrats.
The House then moved on to consider the reconciliation package.

10:31 p.m.: Lawmakers are voting on the health care legislation. The vote will last for 15 minutes.

10:17 p.m.: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi praised the health care legislation for its ability to "unleash tremendous entrepreneurial power into our economy."
Pelosi said the fact that the bill is on the cusp of passing is due to the leadership of President Obama.

She also cited the legacy of the late Sen. Ted Kennedy, who wrote in a letter to Obama that health care is the "great unfinished business of our society."
"That is -- until today," she said.

Well, this will most likely create an acrimonious multi-page firestorm of a thread...

Should be amusing to watch.

I got my popcorn ready. :ywave:

There are multiple perspectives, and I since the OP of the other thread hasn't come back to respond I thought it was fair to present the alternative opinion.

As nay-sayers open umbrellas in anticipation for the falling sky, I think it is fair to say that many...millions...are celebrating this evening for long overdue health insurance reform.

*gets own popcorn and sits down facing the thread door*
*prepares to wait for the other combatants to enter the fray, to amuse the bystanders*

I am just curious if Rush Limbaugh has chosen his new digs in Costa Rica (a country with both universal heath care and legalized prostitution).

Other than that, there isn't much to fight about.

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

Oh, and John Boehner's consistent truisms are no longer true...

big win for the Health Care Industry
 

Monday will come and guess what it's business as usual.
What happened Sun only proves that Democrats can bend over just like republicans can period.
Mar 2010 Counter Punch
Zero Public + One Mandate = Disaster
Congressional Health Care Follies
By NORMAN SOLOMON

Consider this statement: “If I were a senator, I would not vote for the current healthcare bill. Any measure that expands private insurers’ monopoly over healthcare and transfers millions of taxpayer dollars to private corporations is not real healthcare reform.”

That statement is as true today as it was when Howard Dean, former chairman of the Democratic National Committee, made it three months ago in a Washington Post op-ed. But now, a concerted political blitz is depicting anyone who takes such a position as a menace to “real healthcare reform.”

After devoting vast amounts of time, money, energy and political capital to banging the drum for the public option as absolutely vital during 2009 and through this winter, countless liberal organizations and prominent Democrats in Congress have made a short-order shift.

But the White House, even while claiming to want a public option, was cutting deals with the pharmaceutical and hospital industries while ditching the public option. For those who doubt that the administration engaged in double-dealing to such an extent, I recommend the March 16 article by Huffington Post writer Miles Mogulescu, “NY Times Reporter Confirms Obama Made Deal to Kill Public Option.”

Instead of focusing of what this health insurance reform bill that passed tonight doesn't do, let's take a look at what it does do.

CBS seems to be a reliable source here, so here is what they listed.


Coverage:

Would expand coverage to 32 million Americans who are currently uninsured.

Health Insurance Exchanges:

The uninsured and self-employed would be able to purchase insurance through state-based exchanges with subsidies available to individuals and families with income between the 133 percent and 400 percent of poverty level.
Separate exchanges would be created for small businesses to purchase coverage -- effective 2014.
Funding available to states to establish exchanges within one year of enactment and until January 1, 2015.

Subsidies:

Individuals and families who make between 100 percent - 400 percent of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL) and want to purchase their own health insurance on an exchange are eligible for subsidies. They cannot be eligible for Medicare, Medicaid and cannot be covered by an employer. Eligible buyers receive premium credits and there is a cap for how much they have to contribute to their premiums on a sliding scale.
Federal Poverty Level for family of four is $22,050

Paying for the Plan:

Medicare Payroll tax on investment income -- Starting in 2012, the Medicare Payroll Tax will be expanded to include unearned income. That will be a 3.8 percent tax on investment income for families making more than $250,000 per year ($200,000 for individuals).
Excise Tax -- Beginning in 2018, insurance companies will pay a 40 percent excise tax on so-called "Cadillac" high-end insurance plans worth over $27,500 for families ($10,200 for individuals). Dental and vision plans are exempt and will not be counted in the total cost of a family's plan.
Tanning Tax -- 10 percent excise tax on indoor tanning services.

Medicare:

Closes the Medicare prescription drug "donut hole" by 2020. Seniors who hit the donut hole by 2010 will receive a $250 rebate.
Beginning in 2011, seniors in the gap will receive a 50 percent discount on brand name drugs. The bill also includes $500 billion in Medicare cuts over the next decade.

Medicaid:

Expands Medicaid to include 133 percent of federal poverty level which is $29,327 for a family of four.
Requires states to expand Medicaid to include childless adults starting in 2014.
Federal Government pays 100 percent of costs for covering newly eligible individuals through 2016.
Illegal immigrants are not eligible for Medicaid.

Insurance Reforms:

Six months after enactment, insurance companies could no longer deny children coverage based on a preexisting condition.
Starting in 2014, insurance companies cannot deny coverage to anyone with preexisting conditions.
Insurance companies must allow children to stay on their parent's insurance plans through age 26.

Abortion:

The bill segregates private insurance premium funds from taxpayer funds. Individuals would have to pay for abortion coverage by making two separate payments, private funds would have to be kept in a separate account from federal and taxpayer funds.
No health care plan would be required to offer abortion coverage. States could pass legislation choosing to opt out of offering abortion coverage through the exchange.

**Separately, anti-abortion Democrats worked out language with the White House on an executive order that would state that no federal funds can be used to pay for abortions except in the case of rape, incest or health of the mother. (Read more here)

Individual Mandate:

In 2014, everyone must purchase health insurance or face a $695 annual fine. There are some exceptions for low-income people.
Employer Mandate:

Technically, there is no employer mandate. Employers with more than 50 employees must provide health insurance or pay a fine of $2000 per worker each year if any worker receives federal subsidies to purchase health insurance. Fines applied to entire number of employees minus some allowances.

Immigration:

Illegal immigrants will not be allowed to buy health insurance in the exchanges -- even if they pay completely with their own money.

Health Care Reform Bill Summary: A Look At What's in the Bill - Political Hotsheet - CBS News