Senate Approves Healthcare Bill

This morning, the Senate voted 60-39 along party lines to approve the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (H.R. 3590), the Senate’s healthcare overhaul bill. On Monday, the Senate voted to end debate on the package of amendments to the bill known as the “manager’s amendment,” enabling the amended legislation to be voted on before the Senate recessed for the holidays.

The House of Representatives narrowly approved their own healthcare reform bill, the
Affordable Health Care for America Act (H.R. 3962), last month.  Both bills exceed 2,000 pages, and contain some important differences. For example, the House bill contains a public insurance option, while the Senate bill does not. Under the House bill, most large employers would be required to either offer their employees health insurance or contribute funds (in the form of an 8 percent payroll tax) on their behalf to help subsidize the coverage they would instead obtain through a national health insurance exchange. Under the Senate bill, employers would not be required to provide health insurance to their employees, but those with more than 50 employees would have to pay a $750 fee for every employee if at least one qualifies for federal subsidies to obtain insurance through state-based insurance exchanges. The Senate bill, unlike the House bill, would impose a 40 percent excise tax on high premium health insurance plans. Both bills, however, would prohibit insurers from denying coverage or charging higher premiums based on pre-existing conditions or gender, and instating lifetime or annual coverage limits. The two bills will need to be reconciled to produce a final, unified healthcare bill that will need to once again be approved by both chambers.