Posted by Phillipa on March 22, 2010, at 0:35:03 [reposted on March 23, 2010, at 1:05:59 | original URL]
Please keep here as of interest to anyone on med as The New Health Care Bill Was Passed Tonight And Then Ammended Less Than A Hour Later. This IS What I Received. Phillipa
Please comments good or bad do you feel?
From Medscape Medical News
House Amends Historic Healthcare Reform Bill
Robert Lowes
March 21, 2010 It seemed like an anticlimax to the history that had just been made on the floor of the House of Representatives, but it was an anticlimax that mattered a lot politically to healthcare reformers in Washington, DC.At roughly 10:45 pm EST, the House approved a Senate bill in a 219 to 212 vote that overhauls the nation's health system and extends insurance coverage to millions more Americans. Less than an hour later, the House amended that measure in a 220 to 211 vote to incorporate key changes sought by its own leadership as well as President Barack Obama.
The revisions to the Senate legislation appear in a budget reconciliation bill that lawmakers use to change revenue and spending lines in the federal budget. Casting those changes in the form of a reconciliation bill is important to congressional Democrats, because such a bill cannot be filibustered in the Senate, where Democrats lack the 60 votes needed to override a filibuster. The Senate is expected to vote on the reconciliation bill later this week to wrap up months of congressional debate on transforming one sixth of the nation's economy.
The Senate healthcare reform legislation that the House passed and then amended would, among other things, require most Americans to obtain health insurance, help needy individuals and families buy coverage through government-operated insurance "exchanges," prevent private insurers from denying someone a policy based on preexisting conditions, and increase Medicaid enrollment by almost 50%.
Amendments Include Medicaid Pay Raise for Primary-Care Physicians
The amendments approved today do not alter the basic framework of the Senate healthcare reform bill, but they do introduce significant embellishments, some key to the measure's passage. The reconciliation bill would:
Add 16 million additional Americans to the Medicaid program compared with 15 million under the Senate plan, and raise Medicaid reimbursement rates to Medicare levels for general internists, family physicians, and pediatricians in 2013 and 2014.
Eliminate a special deal for Nebraska that would have exempted it from funding its share of an expanded state Medicaid program, and instead beef up federal Medicaid funding for all states.
Eventually close the "doughnut hole" in the Medicare Part D prescription drug plan, a coverage gap that forces Medicare recipients to bear the full cost of medications.
Make steeper cuts in payments to private Medicare Advantage plans.
Levy a 3.8% Medicare Part A (hospital insurance) tax on unearned income for individuals who earn more than $200,000 ($250,000 for married couples). This comes on top of a 0.9% increase in the Medicare Part A tax on earned income for these individuals and couples under the Senate bill.
Delay the effective date of an excise tax on high-cost insurance plans from 2013 to 2018, and increase dollar thresholds for insurance costs that are subject to the tax.
Offer more generous subsidies to individuals and families purchasing required insurance coverage.
When the reconciliation amendments are incorporated, the Senate bill translates into health insurance coverage for 32 million additional Americans over 10 years at a cost of $938 billion while reducing the federal deficit by $143 billion during that period, according to the Congressional Budget Office.While the reconciliation bill must now receive Senate approval before the amendments take effect, the Senate bill itself now approved by the House will go to President Obama for his signature, according to a game plan for today's votes published on the Web site of House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD).
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thread:940515
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