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{{Health care reform in the United States}}
{{Health care reform in the United States}}

'''KILL THE BILL!'''


The proposed '''Affordable Health Care for America Act''' (or '''HR 3962''')<ref>({{USBill|111|H.R.|3962}}</ref> is a [[Bill (proposed law)|bill]] that was adopted by the [[United States House of Representatives]] in November 2009 but not passed by the [[United States Senate|Senate]].
The proposed '''Affordable Health Care for America Act''' (or '''HR 3962''')<ref>({{USBill|111|H.R.|3962}}</ref> is a [[Bill (proposed law)|bill]] that was adopted by the [[United States House of Representatives]] in November 2009 but not passed by the [[United States Senate|Senate]].

Revision as of 18:28, 21 March 2010

Affordable Health Care for America Act
Great Seal of the United States
Long titleAn act to provide affordable, quality health care for all Americans and reduce the growth in health care spending, and for other purposes.
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KILL THE BILL!

The proposed Affordable Health Care for America Act (or HR 3962)[1] is a bill that was adopted by the United States House of Representatives in November 2009 but not passed by the Senate.

The bill was introduced on October 29, 2009 and passed on November 7, during the 1st Session of the 111th Congress. Its primary sponsor was the Dean of the House, John Dingell of Michigan. The bill is a revised version of an earlier measure, the proposed America's Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009 (HR 3200 [2][3]). The revisions included refinements designed to meet the goals outlined in the President's address to a joint session of Congress in September, 2009 concerning health care reform.

On December 24, 2009, the Senate passed an alternative health care bill, the proposed Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (H.R. 3590).[4] In 2010, the House abandoned its reform bill in favor of amending the Senate bill (via the reconciliation process) in the form of the Health Care & Education Affordability Reconciliation Act of 2010.

Key provisions

The central changes made by the legislation include:

  • prohibiting health insurers from refusing coverage based on patients' medical histories[5][6]
  • prohibiting health insurers from charging different rates based on patients' medical histories or gender[5][6]
  • repeal of insurance companies' exemption from anti-trust laws[6][7]
  • establishing minimum standards for qualified health benefit plans[5]
  • requiring most employers to provide coverage for their workers or pay a surtax on the worker's wages up to 8%[5][8]
  • restrictions on abortion coverage in any insurance plans for which federal funds are used[6][8]
  • an expansion of Medicaid to include more low-income Americans by increasing Medicaid eligibility limits to 150% of the Federal Poverty Level and by covering adults without dependents as long as either or any segment doesn't fall under the narrow exceptions outlined by various clauses throughout the proposal.[9][10]
  • a subsidy to low- and middle-income Americans to help buy insurance[8]
  • a central health insurance exchange where the public can compare policies and rates[8]
  • a government-run insurance plan (public option);[8] according to some analyses, the plan would be prohibited from covering abortions[11]
  • requiring most Americans to carry or obtain qualifying health insurance coverage or possibly face a surtax for non-compliance.[5][12]
  • a 5.4% surtax on individuals whose adjusted gross income exceeds $500,000 ($1 million for married couples filing joint returns)[5]
  • a 2.5% excise tax on medical devices[5]
  • reductions in projected spending on Medicare of $400 billion over a ten-year period[6]
  • inclusion of language originally proposed in the Tax Equity for Domestic Partner and Health Plan Beneficiaries Act[13][14]
  • inclusion of language originally proposed in the Indian Health Care Improvement Act Amendments of 2009.[15][16]
  • imposing a $2,500 limit on contributions to flexible spending accounts (FSAs), which allow for payment of health costs with pre-tax funds, to pay for a portion of health care reform costs.[5][17]

Comparison with Senate version

The Washington Post published comparison tables of the main House bill passed November 7, 2009, with the Senate version, passed December 24,[18] which may be summarized as:

House Senate Notes
10-Year Cost (billions) $1,052 $848 Net subtracted from deficit
Number uninsured by 2019 (millions) 17 23 54 without bill
Public option Yes No
Individual mandate Yes Yes Penalty tax or fine if coverage not carried
(See Insurance subsidies below)
Employer mandate Yes Yes Small businesses exempted
Abortion coverage No Yes H: No in public option or subsidized plans;
may be covered by separate riders
S: Yes, but must be paid for separately without subsidies
New and increased taxes Yes Yes H: Families with income > $1 million
S: High-cost insurance plans;
Wealthiest Americans Medicare taxes;
Cosmetic surgery
Insurance reforms Yes Yes H: Remove anti-trust exemption
Both: Define qualified health benefit plan
Expand Medicaid Yes Yes Max 2009 Income, Family of 4:
H: $33,000
S: $29,000.
Insurance subsidies Yes Yes Prorated to $88,000 for family of 4 (2009)
H: Premium subsidies; S: Tax credits

Major actions

By the House

The Affordable Health Care for America Act, H.R. 3962, was introduced in the House of Representatives on October 29, 2009 and referred to several Committees for consideration.

On November 6, 2009, the House Committee on Energy and Commerce was discharged. The House Committee on Rules introduced House Resolution 903 (H.Res. 903) along with a Committee Report, No. 111-330. The Committee Report detailed the amendments considered as adopted if and when the bill passed the full House in Parts A & B, it provided the Stupak–Pitts Amendment for consideration in Part C as well as the Boehner Amendment, a substitute for the bill, in Part D. The House Resolution outlined the process to be followed for Parts A thru D in relation to H.R. 3962 and set the rules for debating the proposed bill.

The following day, House Resolution 903 was voted on and passed.[19] This, in effect, added the amendments outlined in Rules Committee Report No. 111-330, Parts A & B, to H.R. 3962. Part C, the Stupak–Pitts Amendment, was brought up, considered and passed.[20][21] Part D, the Boehner Substitute Amendment, was then brought up, considered but failed passage.[22][23]

The newly amended bill eventually passed the House of Representatives at 11:19 PM EST on Saturday, November 7, 2009 by a vote of 220-215. The bill passed with support of the majority of Democrats, together with one Republican who voted only after the necessary 218 votes had already been cast. Thirty-nine Democrats voted against the bill. All members of the House voted, and none voted "present".[24]

Both before and after passage in the House, significant controversy surrounded the Stupak–Pitts Amendment, added to the bill to prohibit coverage of abortions – with limited exceptions – in the public option or in any of the exchange's private plans sold to customers receiving federal subsidies. In mid-November, it was reported that 40 House Democrats said they will not support a final bill containing the Amendment's provisions.[25] Stupak has said that 15–20 Democrats will not support adoption of the Senate bill because of objections to its abortion provisions as well as its tax on high-value health insurance plans.[26][27]

By the Senate

The Affordable Health Care for America Act, H.R. 3962, as engrossed or passed by the House of Representatives, was received in the Senate, read into the record and placed on the Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders (Calendar No. 210, Nov. 16, 2009).

On December 24, 2009, the Senate passed its own bill, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Differences between the two bills were expected to be reconciled by both houses of Congress early in 2010.[28] Republican Scott Brown's victory in the race to fill Ted Kennedy's Massachusetts Senate seat on January 19, 2010 reduced the Democratic majority in the Senate below the 60 votes needed to invoke cloture.[29] Senate Democrats and President Obama are now planning on passing several amendments to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act through the reconciliation process (H.R. 4872), which requires only a 51 vote majority in the Senate to pass, in order to convince enough House Democrats to vote for the already passed Senate bill.[30]

See also

References

  1. ^ (H.R. 3962
  2. ^ (H.R. 3200)
  3. ^ Topline Changes From Introduced Bill to Blended Bill, (PDF), House Committee on Energy and Commerce, October 29, 2009.
  4. ^ Pear, Robert (December 24, 2009). "Senate Passes Health Care Overhaul Bill". The New York Times. Retrieved December 24, 2009.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h Congressional Research Service (CRS) Summary of H.R. 3962 as introduced, the Library of Congress, October 29, 2009
  6. ^ a b c d e Espo, David (November 8, 2009). "Landmark health bill passes House on close vote". PhysOrg.com. Associated Press. Retrieved November 24, 2009.
  7. ^ H.R. 3962 Affordable Health Care for America Act, Division A, Title II, Subtitle F, Section 262, 111th Congress.
  8. ^ a b c d e Hulse, Carl; Pear, Rolbert (November 7, 2009). "Sweeping Health Care Plan Passes House". The New York Times. Retrieved November 24, 2009.
  9. ^ H.R. 3962 Affordable Health Care for America Act, Division B, Title VII, Subtitle A (entire), 111th Congress.
  10. ^ Leary, Alex (November 12, 2009). "Health care reform: Where the House, Senate agree and disagree". St. Petersburg Times. Retrieved November 24, 2009.
  11. ^ Werner, Erica (November 7, 2009). "House passes amendment prohibiting coverage of abortions in government-run healthcare plan". Star-Telegram. Retrieved November 24, 2009.
  12. ^ H.R. 3962 Affordable Health Care for America Act, Division A, Title V, Subtitle A, Part 1, Subpart A, Section 501, 111th Congress.
  13. ^ Cole, Michael (November 7, 2009). "House Passes Health Reform Bill with Key LGBT Provisions". Human Rights Campaign. Retrieved November 9, 2009.
  14. ^ H.R. 3962 Affordable Health Care for America Act, Division A, Title V, Subtitle B, Part 3, Section 571, 111th Congress.
  15. ^ H.R. 3962 Affordable Health Care for America Act, Division D (entire), 111th Congress.
  16. ^ H.R. 2708 Indian Health Care Improvement Act Amendments of 2009, 111th Congress
  17. ^ "A Comparison of House Senate Health Care Bills", Detroit Free Press, December 24, 2009
  18. ^ Health-Care Reform: How the Bills Stack Up, The Washington Post, September 16, 2009 (updated December 24, 2009), Retrieved February 5, 2010
  19. ^ Roll call vote 882, via Clerk.House.gov - H.Res.903: On Agreeing to the Resolution
  20. ^ H.Amdt. 509, the Stupak of Michigan Amendment
  21. ^ Roll call vote 884, via Clerk.House.gov - H.Amdt.509: On Agreeing to the Stupak of Michigan Amendment
  22. ^ H.Amdt. 510, the Boehner of Ohio Substitute Amendment
  23. ^ Roll call vote 885, via Clerk.House.gov - H.Amdt.510: On Agreeing to the Boehner of Ohio Substitute Amendment
  24. ^ Roll call vote 887, via Clerk.House.gov - H.R.3962: On Passage Affordable Health Care for America Act
  25. ^ MacGillis, Alec (November 14, 2009). "Health-care reform and abortion coverage: Questions and answers". Washington Post. Retrieved November 24, 2009.
  26. ^ Kantor, Jodi (January 6, 2010). "Abortion Foe Defies Party on Health Care Bill". New York Times. Retrieved January 7, 2010.
  27. ^ Weisman, Jonathan (February 24, 2010), "Stupak: 15-20 Dems Can’t Back Obama Health Plan", Washington Wire, The Wall Street Journal, Retrieved February 24, 2010
  28. ^ Kram, Barbara (December 24, 2009). "Christmas Eve Activity on Capitol Hill a Rarity". dotmed.com. Retrieved January 6, 2010.
  29. ^ "Brown Win Forces Congress to Get 'Back to Basics'". Fox News. January 20, 2010. Retrieved January 21, 2010.
  30. ^ "Obama Details Plan to Expand Health Care to Uninsured". New York Times. February 22, 2010. Retrieved February 22, 2010.

External links

Latest Congressional Budget Office scoring (all previous scoring for now superseded; H.R. 3200 no longer applies)
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Estimates of the impact of H.R. 3962
Additional House committee generated information accompanying H.R. 3962 (November 6, 2009)
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