US House passes health reform
pharmafile | March 22, 2010 | News story | Sales and Marketing | Obama, US healthcare
The US House of Representatives has passed an historic bill which represents a major reform for America’s healthcare system.
Passed by the narrowest of margins (219 votes to 212) the bill was opposed by all Republicans, with Democrats winning through only after hours of heated debate which illustrated the deep divide in Congress and the country as a whole.
The bill extends insurance to 32 million Americans who currently have no coverage and seeks to address the fast-increasing costs of healthcare costs to the nation.
Among its measures is a reform which ends the situation where some patients having to pay prescription costs directly, the so-called ‘doughnut hole’.
The reforms will cost $940 billion over 10 years, and are likely to reduce the US fiscal deficit by $143bn. In order to pay for the reforms, Obama wants to introduce tax increases for the richest, a move which Republicans have vowed to block.
The reform will mark the biggest change to the US healthcare system in decades, though most of its changes won’t come into force until 2014.
“We proved that we are still a people capable of doing big things,” said President Obama shortly after the vote.
“This legislation will not fix everything that ails our healthcare system, but it moves us decisively in the right direction.”
Obama is expected to sign the legislation into law shortly, but the President and his Democrat party could still encounter major problems in the Senate.
The bill must now move to the Senate, where Democrats and Republicans will vote on which amendments to the bill should be added or removed from the final legislation.
Republicans say they will go one further and seek to repeal the bill, by claiming the way it has been approved is unconstitutional, and will co-ordinate moves in each State to block it becoming law.
But US pharma industry lobby group PhRMA welcomed the bill’s passing.
“The existing barriers to quality health care simply are not acceptable. Today’s important and historic vote in the House will help to expand health care coverage and services to tens of millions of Americans who are uninsured and often forced to forego needed medical treatments,” a spokesman said.
“Throughout this long process, we have been guided by a belief that all Americans should have access to high-quality, affordable health care coverage and services. This legislation, while not perfect, is a step in that direction.”
The body said it was concerned about ‘overly broad powers’ of a non-elected Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB), which it says could enact sweeping Medicare changes without the need for Congress or legal permission.
PhRMA says it wants to work with Congress to address these and other concerns and to identify ways to contain medical costs without creating new barriers to quality health care.
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