US House of Representatives votes to approve healthcare reform
Sunday, November 8th, 2009 456 views
After a vote that went down to the wire, House Democrats cheered a vast overhaul of the US healthcare system early Sunday morning. In a phone call to House leaders, President Obama called it “a great victory for the American people.”
The $1 trillion-plus measure could add some 36 million people to the ranks of the insured by expanding the scope of Medicaid, creating exchanges where individuals could shop for insurance, and including a public option – a government-run insurance plan that would compete with private insurers. The legislation would also ban insurance companies from refusing or dropping coverage on the basis of health status.
Under the terms of the bill, which passed 220 to 215, individuals would be required to purchase health insurance and employers to cover their workers, with penalties for noncompliance. Costs would be covered by a surtax on high-income Americans and by reducing costs, especially in Medicare.
