Senate and Congress have finally passed the most divisive piece of legislation in US history.
The Health Care Reform bill passed the Senate with an 8 vote majority and has now been signed into law by President Obama.
Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), a former Freedom Rider and Civil Rights leader who was the target of racial epithets on Saturday, said after the vote that he felt “more than gratified.”
“I feel a sense that we’re on the side of the angels,” he said. “When historians pick up their pen and write about this period, they will have to say that the majority party forgot about the politics and did the right thing.”
Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.), chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, said he was “honored” to have participated in the vote. “I can look people in the eye today and say, ‘As of now, as this law is implemented, never again will you lose your health insurance.’”
The law will immediately clamp down on the insurance industry habit known as “rescission” — dropping policyholders when they get sick — but the major reforms will happen in 2014, when consumers will be able to choose an insurance policy among several available on an “exchange.” There will be caps on out-of-pocket costs and subsidies depending on income. And insurance companies will no longer be able to deny coverage based on preexisting conditions.
The measure mandates all Americans hold health insurance and does not provide for a public option.
Some reforms will take effect almost immediately: Within 90 days of the president putting his signature on the bill, the Department of Health has to set up a $5 billion “interim high-risk pool” for people who are essentially uninsurable because they’re sick. Within six months, insurance companies will not be able to deny coverage to children because of preexisting conditions.
“This isn’t radical reform, but it is major reform,” President Obama said in a statement after the vote. “This is what change looks like.”
And this is the email letter President Obama send to me and many others who helped push along this reform:
[ Pano --
I'm writing to you on a great day for America.
This morning, I gathered with members of Congress, my administration, and hardworking volunteers from every part of the country to sign comprehensive health care reform into law. Thanks to the immeasurable efforts of so many, the dream of reform is now a reality.
The bill I just signed puts Americans in charge of our own health care by enacting three key changes:
It establishes the toughest patient protections in history.
It guarantees all Americans affordable health insurance options, extending coverage to 32 million who are currently uninsured.
And it reduces the cost of care -- cutting over 1 trillion dollars from the federal deficit over the next two decades.
To ensure a successful, stable transition, many of these changes will phase into full effect over the next several years.
But for millions of Americans, many of the benefits of reform will begin this year -- some even taking effect this afternoon. Here are just a few examples:
Small businesses will receive significant tax cuts, this year, to help them afford health coverage for all their employees.
Seniors will receive a rebate to reduce drug costs not yet covered under Medicare.
Young people will be allowed coverage under their parents' plan until the age of 26.
Early retirees will receive help to reduce premium costs.
Children will be protected against discrimination on the basis of medical history.
Uninsured Americans with pre-existing conditions can join a special high-risk pool to get the coverage they need, starting in just 90 days.
Insured Americans will be protected from seeing their insurance revoked when they get sick, or facing restrictive annual limits on the care they receive.
All Americans will benefit from significant new investments to train primary care doctors, nurses, and public health professionals, and the creation of state-level consumer assistance programs to help all patients understand and defend our new rights.
As I've said many times, and as I know to be true, this astounding victory could not have been achieved without your tireless efforts.
So as we celebrate this great day, I want to invite you to add your name where it belongs: alongside mine as a co-signer of this historic legislation. We will record the names of co-signers as a permanent commemoration of those who came together to make this moment possible -- all of you who refused to give up until the dream of many generations for affordable, quality care for all Americans was finally fulfilled.
Please accept my thanks for your voice, for your courage, and for your indispensable partnership in the great work of creating change.
History, and I, are in your debt.
President Barack Obama ]
Yours,
Pano
PS:
Little else has been as divisive as this issue for the polarized US political arena.
But now the balance of power has shifted favourably for Obama to such a degree that He will attempt the passage of comprehensive Climate legislation next.
We wouldn’t expect anything else.
Bravo.
Well Done.
