Hooray for the House! Health reform passes!

They say the first step is always the hardest, and when it comes to health reform, that first step is almost like trying to walk through quicksand. But in the wee hours of last night in the U.S. House of Representatives, lawmakers managed to wrangle the votes to pass H.R. 3962, the Affordable Health Care for America Act, in a squeaker vote of 220 to 215.

While the health reform process is far from over — next it’s up to the Senate to vote on their version of a bill — the House bill would expand coverage to 96 percent of all Americans, bar insurance companies from discriminating based on pre-existing medical conditions, create a public option insurance program and provide billions of dollars in prevention and wellness funds. Hooray for the House!

(Although there is a bit of a “boo” in the House bill: An amendment passed that would restrict access to reproductive health services both in the private insurance market and in the proposed public option. According to advocates such as Planned Parenthood, the amendment is an “unacceptable addition to the health care reform bill that, if enacted, would result in women losing health benefits they have today.”)

Wanna find out more and take some action? Read APHA’s news release and visit our health reform page.