President Obama Signs

Historic Healthcare Legislation

2010

Health is Wealth...sounds cliche but, it's really not.  We know that to be healthy is either a "gift" or a "purchase."  If you are lucky enough to be blessed with good health, you are a lucky one!  If you are not healthy, it's going to cost. And, today in the US, over 46 million people have no health insurance.

The issue of healthcare availability and affordability has become and will continue to be a major issue for both the American people and the American individual.  The President and the Congress has been negotiating and debating the right course for reform over the past year and a review of this process is available below. 

On November 8, 2009, the Affordable Health Care for America Act, H.R.3962 narrowly passed The House of Representatives by a vote of 220-215.  

On November 21st, the Senate voted to proceed to debate their version of health care legislation by a vote of 60-39 on a $848 billion 10 year plan with the biggest changes to US healthcare system since Medicare Insurance was created in 1965.  The vote simply got the debate started after the Thanksgiving recess.  If the Senate passes its legislation, the House and Senate bills would become one document and would be voted on again.  

After the House vote earlier in November, The Republican National Committee released a statement and said,  "Today with help from their liberal House allies, President Obama and Nancy Pelosi finally got what they have been creating behind closed doors these past months--a government run health care experiment that will increase families' health care costs, increase the deficit, increase taxes on small businesses and the middle class, and cut Medicare."

After the Senate vote November 21st, Robert Gibbs, White House spokesman stated that the vote "brings us one step closer to ending insurance company abuses, reigning in spirling health care costs, providing stability and security to those with health insurance and extending quality health insurance to those who lack it."  The White House stated the legislation would cost less than $900 billion over 10 years.

President Obama clearly strongly favors legislation and he told lawmakers at the Capitol before the House vote earlier in November that "opportunities like this come around maybe once in a generation."  He went on to tell reporters in the White House rose garden,  "This is their moment, this is our moment, to live up to the trust that the American people have placed in us.  Even when it's hard, especially when it's hard, this is our moment to deliver."

On November 18, 2009, the Senate Majority Leader, Harry Reid, announced a Senate Bill which then passed on November 21st by a 60-39 vote that would be the most sweeping overhaul of the health care system in four decades.   Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said the Bill would cover 94% of Americans or 31 million people and require all Americans to have health insurance. 

On December 15th, 2009 Senators were ready to pass the most extensive overhaul of US healthcare in four decades.  President Obama stated that the overhaul of healthcare, his top domestic priority, is soon to be met including controlling costs, containing the federal budget deficit and expanding coverage.

On December 21st, 2009 Senators voted in the early morning at 1 a.m. on Monday on Healthcare Reform legislation.  The Senate Healthcare Bill passed and Democrats succeeded to cease debate on the $871 billion Bill against opposition from Senate Republicans.  The Senate Democrats in favor were intent on passing legislation before Christmas.  This legislation would not fully go into effect until 2014.

On December 24th, 2009 Christmas Eve, Senators voted at 7 a.m. to approve healthcare reform legislation. 

President Obama remarked just after passage, "Ever since Teddy Roosevelt first called for reform in 1912, seven Presidents--Democrats and Republicans alike--have taken up the cause of reform.  Time and time again, such efforts have been blocked by special interest lobbyists who've perpeturated a status quo that works better for the insurance industry than it does for the American people.  But with passage of reform bills in both the House and the Senate, we are now finally poised to deliver on the promise of real, meaningful health insurance reform that will bring additional security and stability to the American people."

The Senate worked with the House of Representatives to come up with a compromise bill on their two healthcare reform versions.  Democrats wanted to resolve this before President Obama delivered the State of the Union January 27, 2010.  This did not happen.

On February 25th, 2010, President Obama concluded a Health Summit with Democrats and Republicans in Washington DC.

Obama said he did not believe there would be another Health Summit.

On March 8, 2010, President Obama made remarks on health insurance reform and he said "How many years--how many more years can the federal budget handle the crushing costs of Medicare and Medicaid?  That's the debt you're going to have to pay, young people.  When is the right time for health insurance reform?"  He concluded  by stating, "The United States Congress owes the American people a final, up or down vote on health care."

On March 9th, 2010, the Financial Times ran an article, Obama health bill holds key to elderly care fees which stated, "Mr. Obama's fate aside, many healthcare economists believe there are elements of the 2,700-page healthcare bill that could make the difference between US bankruptcy and solvency in coming decades...US entitlement spending is forecast to account for the entire US budget by the middle of the century.  Of this, Medicare is by far the largest item."

On March 17, 2010, Congressional Democrats were trying to finish work on an overhaul of the US healthcare system that was delayed due to the need to cut the federal deficit. Nancy Pelosi, a California Democrat remarked on March 16, 2010, "The numbers have to add up to a drastic deficit reduction."

On March 18, 2010 the House of Representatives indicated the entire healthcare reform legislation will be available online.  A vote on the legislation came on Sunday,  March 21, 2010.

On March 19, 2010, Huffington Post ran  An Historic Sunday:  March 21, 2010.  It states, "Sunday, March 21st, 2010.  Remember that date...This Sunday at 2:00 pm, the House of Representatives will convene to conduct the most important vote it has cast in those forty years.  The vote is historic both on substantive and political grounds."

On March 21, 2010, the House of Representatives voted to approve the historic healthcare reform legislation.  President Obama made a wee hours of the morning speech and said, " Tonight, after nearly 100 years...after decades of trying...the United States Congress finally declared that America's workers...deserve the security of knowing that here, in this country, neither illness nor accident should endanger the dreams they've worked a lifetime to achieve."  He did also say that the historic legislation faced revisions in the Senate and Obama stated, "On Tuesday, the Senate will take up revisions to this legislation that the House has embraced...Some have predicted another siege of parliamentary maneuvering in order to delay adoption of these improvements."  But the Senate approved the package earlier on March 25, 2010 by a vote of 56-43.

On March 23, 2010, President Obama signed historic heallthcare legislation. While  much of the changes in the health care reform legislation will become effective only after the next presidential election in 2012, some of the requirements of the 2400 page bill become law this year.  By September 2010, insurers will be required to provide insurance to kids with pre-exising conditions and allow parents to keep kids on their plan until age 26.  Many of the changes in the bill such as the requirement that all US citizens have health insurance and that employers provide coverage (with minimum number of employees) will take at least two years to go into effect.  While some say even these requirements will be open to debate and possible revision, right now the President has signed the healthcare legislation and the dates for when the requirements take effect are available at HealthReform.gov.

On March 25, 2010, the U.S. Congress made final changes to President Obama's landmark healthcare legislation following Senate approval earlier in the day by a vote of 56-43.  The House of Representative passed a companion package that makes insurance more affordable, raises taxes on the wealthy and closes a gap for prescription drup coverage for the elderly.  President Obama will now sign it into law.  The Republican Party however has vowed to fight the implementation of the legislation before it becomes law, largely in 2014.  By then, there will have been interim and a Presidential election that the Republicans hope to win in order to then repeal and replace this legislation.   Republican Representatie Paul Ryan of Wisconsin has gone on record to say this is a "tall order" but possible.  Time will tell.

On April 22, 2010, the Chief Medicare actuary, Richard S. Foster said the new health care law will not slow the overall growth of health care spending because the new insurance to  34 million previouly uninsured people will be offset by reductions in Medicare and other programs.  Moreover, Mr. Foster said, "Overall national health expenditures under the health reform act would increase by a total of $311 billion" which he compares to the amounts that would otherwise be spent from 2010 to 2019.

President Obama, in signing the health reform law in March said it would "bring down health care costs for families and businesses and governments."

In the last 3 years, health insurance premiums have risen three times...that's times 3 (!) the rate of wage growth. On March 25th, 2010, Center for Studying Health System Change (www.hschange.org) released an HSC (Health System Change) study that one in five Americans--or 19.1% of the non-elderly population lived in families spending more than 10 % of before-tax-income on health care in 2006, up from one in seven Americans--or 14.4% in 2001.  So where does that leave you and your family?  Paying more and more of your income simply to stay healthy if you have health insurance.  And, the aging of the population, or "silver tsunami" is going to, by about 2020, require each person to spend about $1 out of every $5 on healthcare according to the President.  And, President Obama and his Congressional Budget Office believe that dollars devoted to pay for Medicare and Medicaid will be greater in ten years than what the government spends today for EVERYTHING.