U.S. House passes 'fixes' bill
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U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday passed the Senate-revised healthcare "fixes" bill, which will be sent to President Barack Obama for his signature. Together with the Senate bill already signed into law, Congress has passed the full set of healthcare legislation.
The House passed the final piece of healthcare legislation, formally known as reconciliation bill, in a completely party-line vote of 220 to 207.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and fellow Democrats stood up and applauded when the for-votes hit 216, enough for the measure to clear the lower chamber.
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The reconciliation bill would add more than 60 billion dollars in cost to the overall legislation that has already become the law of the land. It will expand insurance subsidies for middle-and lower-income families, while scaling back the bill's taxes on expensive insurance plans.
The overall healthcare legislation will expand government health plan for the poor, and cover some 32 million Americans who are currently uninsured. It will impose new taxes on the rich and prohibit insurance companies from refusing coverage for people with pre-existing medical conditions.
However, Republicans did not give up their efforts to derail healthcare reform, Obama's first domestic priority.
Shortly after Obama signed Senate bill, Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell rolled out his party's new campaign slogan for November: "Repeal and replace," vowing to continue to fight until the bill is repealed and replaced with "common-sense ideas that solve our problems without dismantling the healthcare system."
In addition, attorney generals of 14 U.S. states filed lawsuits challenging the healthcare law, claiming it's unconstitutional to require everyone to have healthcare coverage.
