219 - 212 Health Care Reform Passes

Washington:
The House voted 219 to 212 Sunday to approve an overhaul of the health insurance industry. The vote was a victory for Democrats. All Republicans and 34 Democrats voted against the bill.
The bills passed Sunday should reform the health insurance industry by preventing insurance companies from dropping or denying coverage because of a person's medical history. The bill also "requires" every American to purchase health insurance and fines will be imposed if they do not, it also penalizes large businesses that do not provide insurance for their employees. Individuals should be able to shop for insurance on new health care exchanges, and could be subsidized by the government.

The House voted to approve the Senate bill, then it took up a package of "fixes" to the bill. The first bill was Senate legislation, which some House Democrats opposed. The second "fixes" bill included eliminating the "Cornhusker Kickback," narrowing the effects of the excise tax and adding more funding for subsidies to make insurance more affordable. Unrelated to healthcare, the bill also included overhauling the student loan program The House passed the amendment 220 to 211.

Now that the Senate health reform bill has passed the House, it will go to President Obama to be signed into law immediately. The package of "fixes" will go to the Senate, where they will use budget reconciliation rules to pass the bill, no filibusters will be allowed, but Republicans can offer as many amendments as they want. If a single amendment is passed, the package will go back to the House to be passed again and if the house makes any changes it will be sent back to the senate, if any changes are made again it goes back to the house........ until the two chambers pass identical bills.