Historic Health Care Legislation Signed Into Law

Signing of Laws

Update 3/25/10: The Senate passed the reconciliation package by a vote of 56 to 43. The reconciliation bill was then passed by the House by a vote of 220 to 207 and will be sent to the White Hosue for President Obama's signature.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The House passed the health legislation (Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act -H.R. 3590) on Sunday on a vote of 219-212 and then passed a reconciliation bill 220-211 (Health Care and Education Affordability Reconciliation Act of 2010 - H.R. 4872) that now goes to the Senate for approval. President Obama will sign the health legislation into law.

In addition, the White House announced it would sign an executive order that will “reaffirm its consistency with longstanding restrictions on the use of federal funds for abortion.” That promise convinced pro-life Democratic legislators to vote for the bill.

The Center supported the legislation.

The health care legislation would:

Expand healthcare coverage to an estimated 32 million Americans without health insurance.

Prohibit insurers from denying coverage to patients with pre-existing conditions.

Mandate coverage for most Americans.

Create a small business tax credit for employers with fewer than 25 employees for purchasing healthcare coverage.

Health Care Bill Summary (CBS)