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

The push for health care reform is back on! Enjoy these semi-daily “Health on the Hill” updates to help keep track of this complex debate.

Today’s Updates – 3/8/10:

Stupak Amendment trying to make its way back into the health care debate

Although provisions have been made in the health care bill that prohibit funding for abortion, Rep. Stupak (D-MI) is still continuing to make unreasonable demands regarding the language on abortion in the Senate version of the health care bill, which is the version likely to be passed through the reconciliation process. In fact, Stupak along with at least eleven other house democrats are threatening to vote against the legislation if their demands are not met. However, the fact of the matter is that the final health care bill will not use tax payer dollars to fund abortions, making Stupak’s demands seem irrational.

Obama shifts health care focus onto insurance industry, sets deadline for reform passage

President Obama was in Philadelphia earlier this morning where he gave a speech criticizing the health insurance industry’s rising premiums and lack of coverage for millions of Americans. As the president continues his populist format in gaining support for health care reform, he hopes that Congress will be able to pass the health care bill by March 18, which would be before the congressional two-week Easter recess.

Health Care Rally on March 9

Heath Care for America NOW is hosting a rally in Washington DC tomorrow, March 9^th. The insurance industry’s lobby front group is back in DC and protestors will gather at Dupont Circle and place a mass citizens’ arrest of the health insurance companies. Howard Dean has just announced that he will joint he protest as well! You can join virtually if you are not in DC. For more information about tomorrow’s health care rally, click here.

How health care reform could affect “young invincibles”

This article in Kaiser Health News touches on an issue we have been fighting hard for, to avoid “insurance in name only” for young adults. The provisions for Catastrophic plans in the Senate bill could still leave millions of young adults who would get only small subsidies, or none at all, without adequate coverage:

“This plan is insurance in name only,” a group called Y.I. Want Change said in a letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada. The coalition of liberal groups such as College Democrats of America, the youth arm of the Center for American Progress, and the Young Invincibles, wants emergency-room care and three primary-care doctor visits covered before the deductible is paid.

*This blog was written by CP Intern, Yosef Getachew

For more info on health care reform and young people, click here