By Zenitha Prince
Washington Bureau Chief
House lawmakers passed the bill H.R. 3962, a major step forward for President Obama's health care reform agenda. (Courtesy Photo/stltoday.com)
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(November 8, 2009) - For the millions of people in America without health insurance, coverage came one step closer after the Democratically-controlled House passed a bill that signals the first step in health care reform.
The bill, H.R. 3962—Affordable Health Care for America Act—passed in a 220-215 vote just before 11 p.m. Saturday, and signals a hard-fought victory for President Obama, who made health care reform one of his marquee issues on his domestic policy agenda.
“People have been trying to reform our health care system for over 60 years,” Maryland Democrat, Rep. Elijah Cummings told the AFRO. “And now, under the leadership of President Barack Obama, we will.”
For Black activists the bill’s passage was made sweeter by the presence of a reasonably strong public option—a provision that has drawn the most ire from the bill’s detractors.
“Our Congress people made a decision to stop letting so many of our neighbors die for lack of affordable health care coverage. We applaud them for including the public option. The public option means more choice, more competition, lower costs, more families covered, and few forced into bankruptcy,” NAACP President and CEO Benjamin Todd Jealous said in a statement.
But while a battle has been won, the war is far from over, warned GOP lawmakers. The close and clearly lopsided vote is a harbinger of what promises to be a rocky road in the Senate for the legislation, which would cost more than $1 trillion. In the House, only one Republican — Rep. Joseph Cao of Louisiana —voted for the measure. Thirty-nine Democrats voted against it.
“The House bill is dead on arrival in the Senate,” Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said Sunday on CBS’ “Face the Nation”. “It was a bill written by liberals for liberals.”
The House version of the bill:
-Mandates that insurance companies cannot deny coverage on the basis of any pre-existing conditions.
-Creates a government-subsidized insurance option and a national exchange by which individuals and small businesses could purchase insurance.
-Would give loans to assist states with the creation of health insurance co-operatives.
-Forces employers to provide health insurance to their employees or make a contribution to help fund affordable health insurance.
-Provides tax subsidies to small businesses and to individuals between 150 and 400 percent of the federal poverty level.
-Caps deductibles/out of pocket expenses at $5,000 per year.
-Imposes a 5.4 percent tax on individuals making $500,000 and couples making more than $ 1 million.