The nation’s focus today is on the historic moment that took place as the President signed the health care reform bill into law. The moment in which, as Obama said, “health care reform is no longer an unmet promise.  It is the law of the land.”

This is significant for all the uninsured, for all those struggling with health care costs and for this economy.  But I want to make today about the activists; those that have been fighting for progressive change from day one. I want to make this day, particularly, about the young activists.

Tens of thousands of young people were first inspired to get involved in the work leading up to the 2008 election because they identified with the message of hope and the desire for change. These young organizers worked tirelessly, put in 20 hour days for months, moved across the country – were plopped down into unknown (and undecided) territory- and fought tooth and nail, through ugly rhetoric about their leader, to get Obama elected.

On November 4, it was a proud and tearful day for most. But for many of these young organizers, as they watched their personal hard work culminate into the moment when the newly elected President took the stage, it was a life changing moment.  In 2009, Washington DC, Congress, the Administration, and so many non-profit advocacy and service groups saw an influx of young faces, freshly inspired by their experience working for change and dedicated to continuing that work post-campaign. Organizing For America, the campaign’s continuing organizing arm now based out of the DNC, picked up many of the organizers and delved right into the health care fight.

Throughout this entire debate, young organizers, volunteers and students made calls, sent letters to Congress, joined countless rallies and held their signs defiantly across from the teabaggers.  Despite the media leaving young people out or casting them to the side as “young invincibles” who don’t care about health care, young activists took to the streets or tweeted the latest action they just took online to support health care.  Some lobbied their representatives and many expressed their frustration with the losses in the debate, such as the public option or women’s rights.  But through it all, young activists kept fighting and just like the old campaign days, they stuck in there.  As Obama said today,

“..it was your work, your commitment, your unyielding hope that made this victory possible.  When the special interests deployed an army of lobbyists, an onslaught of negative ads, to preserve the status quo, you didn’t give up.  You hit the phones and you took to the streets.  You mobilized and you organized.  You turned up the pressure and you kept up the fight.”

And today, many of them were able to watch their President sign into law a bill that realizes their original desire for change.  (A bill that as our Vice President Joe Biden stated perfectly “is a big fucking deal.”)

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Last night, while the capital city quieted down after a long weekend of  marches against the war and rallies in support of immigration reform, members of the House were in the Capitol casting their votes on a historic piece of legislation.

The bill for health care reform has been making its rounds through Congress for the past year, and the House made its final vote to pass reform last night, with 219 Democrats voting in favor of the legislation (34 Democrats voted no).  The House passed not only the Senate health care bill which will become law by the stroke of Obama’s pen tomorrow, but they also voted on a “clean up” bill that includes budget-related provisions aimed at strengthening the original legislation. The “clean up” bill, or the reconciliation package, was passed with 220 votes. The only steps that remain now are for the President to sign the legislation and the Senate to pass the reconciliation bill too, which is expected by the end of this week.

The final passage of these bills is particularly significant for young Americans for two reasons; the first is that millions of young adults will be able to access health insurance through several affordable options (outlined below) and will no longer have to worry about losing or being denied coverage because of pre-existing conditions. The second reason is one that may have easily been overlooked by many Americans following the health care debate. Just a couple weeks ago Congress inserted the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act (SAFRA) into the reconciliation package that was passed last night. SAFRA is a bill that will eliminate wasteful subsidies given to student lenders and put that money – $67 billion to be precise- into the student aid system and increase Pell grants. Putting students over banks, basically.  SAFRA passed the House last year and was on its way to being killed in the Senate until it was saved by being included in the reconciliation bill.

So in one vote, Democrats passed two pillars of reform.

What does all of this mean for you? Other than the historic step forward in reforming both our health care and education systems, young adults will benefit greatly and those benefits will kick in soon.  Check out this statement from Campus Progress and the Y.I. Want Change Coalition for how this bill will impact young adults:

Immediate Health Care Benefits for Young Adults

90 Days After Passage (June 2010)

• Access to insurance through a temporary “high-risk pool” for Americans who were denied coverage due to a pre-existing condition. This will benefit the 15 percent of young Americans who suffer from chronic conditions.

6 Months After Date of Passage (September 2010)

• Allow young Americans to remain on their parents’ health insurance until their 26th birthday. Over 2 million previously uninsured young adults will benefit from this provision.
• Prohibit health plans from dropping individuals’ coverage when they get sick.
• Ban lifetime limits on covered benefits.
• Prohibit restrictive annual limits on benefits (all annual limits banned by 2014).
• Require pre-deductible preventive care services with no cost-sharing under all new plans (applies to all existing plans by 2018).

January 1, 2011

• Require all plans to spend 80 percent (for small/individual plans) or 85 percent (for large group plans) of premiums on medical services. Those who fail to do so must submit rebates to consumers.

Benefits After Full Implementation (January 1, 2014)

• Expand Medicaid to cover every American earning less than 133 percent of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL), providing coverage to 9 million currently uninsured young adults.
• Provide tax credits for purchasing health insurance to individuals who lack employer-provided insurance and earn less than 400 percent of the FPL.
• Ban denial of coverage based on pre-existing conditions.
• Limit insurance companies to charging older adults no more than three times the insurance premiums of younger adults.
• Establish state insurance exchanges to facilitate market competition and enforce minimum benefit standards.

Immediate College Affordability Benefits

• 500,000 students will not lose their Pell grants, and Pell grant awards would not be cut by 60% for the millions of other students in the program. Instead, the maximum Pell grant award would increase to $5,550.
• All new federal student loans will be originated through the Direct Student Loan program, as opposed to the Federal Family Education Loan program, which offers large subsidies to banks that function as middlemen in the student loan process.
• Students should notice little if any change to the process of getting a loan, or on the terms of the loans. When they enter repayment, however, their loans will not be sold off to other companies, and there will be greater oversight by the Department of Education over loan servicing.
• The biggest benefit: this will save $61 billion over ten years, which funds most of the other benefits for students in the reconciliation bill.
• Begin a five year $750 million investment into the College Access Challenge Grant.
• Congress would begin its ten year $2.55 billion investment in minority serving institutions and historically black colleges and universities.

These benefits, however, are just the beginning of the kind of change young progressives hope to accomplish. Make no mistake, this bill suffered through endless industry lobbying efforts, political bickering and compromises, and the end result leaves out many issues that young Americans care about and fight for everyday. The fact is that this health care system still has a long way to go in terms of providing true universal coverage for all through a public option or a single-payer system, adequately including women’s rights, protecting the LGBTQ community, strengthening access for minority communities and undocumented immigrants and improving affordability for young and low-income adults.  The passage of this bill is just the first step down that road, and one that advocates have been working for for decades.  So while some might be disappointed with things lost throughout the long debate in this bill, take this minute to remember that there are millions of Americans that are sitting in their homes right now sighing with relief and happiness that they will now be able to afford college or finally buy health insurance after being denied all these years.  Now we have a strong foundation for change that we can all continue to build on.

For more about the health care bill, click here.  For more on how the bill will affect you, click here.

On a sunny Wednesday afternoon, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi along with House Education and Labor Committee Chairman George Miller held a press conference where they discussed two of the biggest issues affecting today’s young people: health care and college affordability. In each of their talking points, the two lawmakers urged the need to pass health care reform and SAFRA (Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act) through a combined effort. “It is a perfect climate for us to pass a wonderful bill to expand opportunity to access health care and education in our country,” said Pelosi.

Behind the Speaker, stood several young people representing youth organizations such as Campus Progress Young Invincibles, Young Democrats, and USSA. As Pelosi stated in her opening remarks, “young adults have come to Capitol Hill from across the country to add their voices to their voices to the chorus of taking our country in a new direction.” These groups represent millions of young people who are uninsured and face high amounts of student debt.

The press conference also featured Samuel Bergh, a first generation college student who would not have the opportunity to attend college if it were not for Pell Grants, which are in danger of being lowered if SAFRA is not passed. Eric O’Connor, a graduate student at the University of Wisconsin also shared his story, revealing that he had been denied health insurance due to a pre-existing condition.  Samuel’s and Eric’s stories are a strong reminder of how both issues affect today’s young people. As Pelosi put it, both these bills are “about our young people, their opportunity, and the competitiveness of our country.”

* This post was written by CP Intern, Yosef Getachew

Health care reform is nearing its final stages, and key changes have occurred. Here are the updates of what’s going on  in the health care debate this week.

Today’s Updates:

The biggest news this week for young Americans is the merging of health care reform and student aid reform into one bill. This reconciliation bill now represents two critical pillars of our future and two issues that brought young voters to the polls in 2008; health care reform and college affordability.

Student Aid Bill Could Attract Health Care Votes

Key Democrats are arguing that the health care bill would get more votes by attaching the Student Aid bill (SAFRA) to the legislative package. The student aid bill, which cuts private lenders out of the federal loan program, has already passed the House by 247 votes, 27 more votes than the health care bill received back in December. Since the student aid bill has been attached to the health care bill through the budget reconciliation process, more Democrats should be in favor of passing health care reform. This bill now has a double impact for our generation.

House May Pass Senate Health Care Bill Without Voting on it

Through a congressional process known as ‘self-executing rule,’ House Speaker Nancy Pelosi believes the House will be able to pass the senate health care bill without having members actually voting on it. Using this procedure, the House would essentially vote on a more popular package of amendments to the Senate bill, thereby ‘deeming’ the health care bill passed. Pelosi, along with House leadership believe that this process would protect lawmakers who are hesitant to show their support for the Senate bill.

Health Care Bill in Final Stages (Finally)

After a year-long push for health-care reform, the House Budget Committee reported out the health care reconciliation package yesterday, signifying that debate is at an end and the bill will be passed soon. Although the 216 votes necessary for the bill’s passage have not yet been secured, top Obama aides as well as House leadership are confident that that they will have enough votes to pass the bill.

House Leadership Walks Away from Making Deal with Stupak

Democrats are expecting Rep. Stupak and his group of pro-life democratic supporters to vote against the bill; but at this point, lawmakers are moving on from Stupak’s constant complaints.

*This post was written by CP Intern, Yosef Getachew