AFFORDABLE HEALTH CARE FOR AMERICA ACT PASSED BY HOUSE

November 9, 2009

Late Saturday night, the House of Representatives passed the Affordable Health Care for America Act (H.R. 3692), by a vote of 220-215. Representative Joseph Cao (R-LA) was the lone Republican to vote for the legislation, while 39 Democrats voted against the bill. The Affordable Health Care for America Act includes the following: an individual mandate for most individuals; an employer mandate for payrolls over $500,000; and the elimination of pre-existing condition discrimination and other insurance market reforms. The bill would be financed by a surcharge tax on the wealthy ($500,000 for individuals and $1 million for families) and taxes on certain medically-related industries. Even Senator Reid concedes the House bill is dead on arrival in the Senate. He does not expect to pass anything in the Senate this year. That means it will be more difficult to pass anything like H.R. 3692 in 2010 because Senators will be more concerned about voters reaction in an election year.

Last Tuesday, House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) introduced the "Common Sense Health Care Reform and Affordability Act" that focused on expanding coverage and controlling health care costs. This Republican proposal was voted down on Saturday night, but key provisions of the bill included: a cap on medical malpractice damages; increasing incentives for health savings accounts (HSAs); allowing insurance companies to sell across state lines; and allowing small business and associations to band together to purchase health insurance. The proposal did not include a public option and did not create an individual or employer mandate. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated the bill would have cost $60 billion through 2019 and would have covered an additional 3 million individuals. You can expect Republicans to continue to work to include provisions from their proposal in anything that is considered in the Senate in 2010.