219 Yea, 212 Nay as House Passes Health Reform

WASHINGTON — Even as bitter protests on both sides of the
aisle and the issue continued through the weekend, the House of
Representatives passed historic health care reform legislation late
March 21.

The bill passed 219 to 212 with no Republican votes. In a switch
that gave the measure some Sunday afternoon momentum, key Democrat
Rep. Bart Stupak of Michigan, who had withheld his support over
inclusion of abortion funding, changed his vote to “yes.”

The House also approved a reconciliation bill including
consensus revisions to the reform bill.

Democrats say the measure will extend health insurance to 30
million uninsured and limit insurance company abuses. Republicans
believe the reforms are unaffordable and represent a government
takeover of health care.

The bill that the House voted through, which was approved by the
Senate in December, contains a number of provisions that impact
HME, including the expansion of Round 2 of competitive bidding,
elimination of the first-month purchase option for standard power
wheelchairs and elimination of the 2 percent add-on payment (above
CPI) for DME in 2014.

In addition, the measure includes an annual $2 billion excise
tax on medical device manufacturers that Elyria, Ohio-based
Invacare Corp. has said could send manufacturing jobs out of the
country and crimp research and development.

President Obama is expected to sign the legislation, the Patient
Protection and Affordable Care Act, on Tuesday.

Check upcoming issues of HomeCare Monday as details
continue to unfold.