General Features of the House Bill

On October 29, the House leadership introduced the Affordable Health Care for America Act (H.R. 3962), the 1,990-page melded version of the health care reform bills passed earlier by the Energy and Commerce, Ways and Means, and Education and Labor committees. On November 7, the bill was debated on the House floor and passed late that night by a close vote of 220-215 with a compromise amendment related to federal funding for abortion.

Among its major provisions, the House bill: requires individuals to buy health insurance and provides a federal subsidy for those below a specific income threshold; mandates employers (except small businesses) to cover their employees; creates an insurance exchange with a government insurance option (i.e., the “public option”) for individuals who do not have employer coverage; expands Medicaid to persons with incomes below 150% of the federal poverty level; and prohibits discriminatory practices by the insurance industry related to preexisting conditions, premium disparities, and lifetime limits.

Source: American Psychological Association

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