On November 21, the U.S. Senate voted to move forward to debate the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (HR 3590) introduced recently by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. This bill merges the two health care reform bills passed earlier by the Senate’s Finance Committee and the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee.
Sixty votes were needed to invoke cloture and proceed under Senate rules, and the Senate’s 58 Democrats – including Michigan’s Sens. Debbie Stabenow and Carl Levin – along with two independents voted to move forward. Floor debate is scheduled to begin following the Thanksgiving recess.
The bill is projected to extend health insurance coverage to 94% of Americans (31 million) who are eligible at a cost of $848 billion over the next 10 years. It would expand Medicaid coverage to all individuals and families with incomes below 133% of the federal poverty level, and it calls on Congress to provide funding to expand the reach of America's Community Health Centers as well as provide scholarship and loan repayment assistance to primary care clinicians who agree to serve in communities lacking sufficient numbers of health care professionals. Click here for an analysis by the National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC) of the bill's key provisions of interest to Health Centers, including those that were dropped out and/or modified during the merge of the two Senate bills.
Michigan Primary Care Association thanks Sens. Stabenow and Levin for supporting health care reform. During his speech on the Senate floor, Sen. Levin addressed the need for reforming “a health care system so broken that it crushes Americans under a mountain of debt” by highlighting the struggles of several Michigan residents. Click here to read Sen. Levin’s statement.
The Senate began floor debate on the bill on Monday, November 30, which is expected to continue until December 23. During that time Senators will consider amendments in the hopes of passing a bill out of the chamber and into conference committee before they adjourn until the new year.
Senate floor proceedings are broadcast on CSPAN2 on network television and online streaming. To stay up-to-date on daily updates about the bill, visit the Senate’s web site. “It’s worth remembering that we aren’t sure when or how amendments will come up that impact Health Centers, so be sure to keep a close watch on your email inboxes for advocacy alerts and updates" (National Association of Community Health Centers' blog).