What's Next for Health Care Reform

Tomorrow President Obama will sign the health care reform bill, but right now, the reconciliation bill--a collection of changes to the original bill--is headed back to the Senate, which may vote on it this week. Or not.

CD News has our Congressman McDermott's speech from yesterday: "In 2010 the country needs healthcare reform, and the Democrats will answer tonight." Washington state's Representatives voted yea or nay according to party lines, with Adam Smith and Brian Baird, the two Democratic hold-outs, agreeing finally to vote in favor.

Much of the reform would not roll out until 2014, but there are "early deliverables" that will arrive this year, as Kaiser Health News reports:

Dependent children could remain on their parents’ health insurance plans until age 26. Senior citizens would get more help paying for drugs in Medicare. People with health problems that left them uninsurable could qualify for coverage through a federal program. Other first-year items include a ban on lifetime limits on medical coverage, more oversight of premium increases and tax credits for some small businesses.

The New York Times has put together this more comprehensive detail of reform's effects, both immediately and in 2014, when the state-run insurance exchanges would begin operation.