The U.S. House of Representatives narrowly passed its health care reform bill Saturday, marking a hard-fought victory for President Barack Obama’s pledge to provide affordable coverage to all Americans.
The bill, which was introduced Oct. 29 by Rep. John Dingell, D-Mich., passed 220-215 with the support of 219 Democrats and one Republican, Louisiana Rep. Anh ‘Joseph’ Quang Cao, according to the roll call, while 39 Democrats and 176 Republicans voted ‘no.’
The Senate must also pass the reform before Obama can sign it into law.
The decision is the culmination of a long crusade by many liberal members of the House, who have argued strongly for a public option that would provide government-funded health care to all. But this point proved contentious for many opponents of the reform, and the final bill emphasizes the wide range of choices, public and private, that will be available.
‘If people like their current plans, they will be able to keep them,’ a House media advisory said. Those seeking new coverage, the advisory said, will find it through a Health Insurance Exchange that will allow comparison shopping between the different private and co-op choices as well as the new public option.
‘The public health insurance option will operate on a level playing field with private insurers, spurring additional competition,’ the advisory said.
Besides new market competition, the advisory said, the reform focuses on care quality, affordability, security and transparency as well as shared responsibility for care between individuals, employers and the government.
The bill, estimated to cost about $891 billion, securely under Obama’s pledged cap of $900 billion, will be fully funded and is expected to reduce the federal deficit by tens of billions of dollars over the next decade as it lessens the strain of health care costs incurred as a result of patchy care.
Obama emphasized how the bill’s key points support his vision in a statement issued after the bill passed.
‘The Affordable Health Care for America Act is a piece of legislation that will provide stability and security for Americans who have insurance; quality affordable options for those who don’t; and bring down the cost of health care for families, businesses, and the government while strengthening the financial health of Medicare,’ he said in a statement.
Proponents of the bill, which projects to cover 96 percent of Americans by 2015, called the vote historic.
‘It is the furthest we have come toward providing affordable and quality health coverage to all Americans,’ Rep. Rush Holt, D-N.J., said in a press release.
Those who opposed the bill continued to point to the public option as the cause for concern.
‘This bill is bad for our patients, bad for our North Alabama hospitals, and bad for our nation’s bottom line,’ Rep. Parker Griffith, R-Ala., said in a statement. ‘As the House and Senate come together, I am hopeful that we see a reform package that aggressively addresses the growing problem of physician shortages in America and increases access to those without insurance without adding trillions to our growing debt.’
Obama said in his statement he is ‘absolutely confident’ the reform will pass the Senate.
‘I look forward to signing comprehensive health insurance reform into law by the end of the year,’ he said.
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