Sunday night President Barack Obama and the Democratic Party prevailed in their 13-month battle for healthcare reform. The House of Representatives passed the Affordable Healthcare for America Act,more commonly known as the health care bill, with a vote of 219-212.
Over the past year, the House of Representatives and Senate debated over an effort by Obama to reform healthcare. This bill stems from a promise made by President Obama during his 2008 presidential campaign.
Obama stated in his Sept. 9, 2009 healthcare proposal that the bill would provide lower costs, guarantees choices and enhance quality healthcare for all Americans.
As of Tuesday morning, 12 states had called for the overturn of this bill.
Though politicians have debated for months over the bill’s effectiveness, many college students are left wondering how the bill will affect them.
Shekinah Ball, 18, is one of them. “I’m excited that we finally got bill passed, but I’m also interested in seeing what impact this bill is going to have in the long-run,” said the first-year pharmacy student from Fort Lauderdale.
One of the biggest changes with the potential to affect college students is the line item that would allow
college students to remain covered by their parents insurance while they complete higher education.
US Congressman Allen Boyd, D-North Florida, is one of the many legislators who voted this bill into law. He changed his original vote on the health care bill from a firm no based on some key changes he felt had to be made.
He stated that he initially voted against the controversial bill because he felt that it did “very little to address healthcare.”
Boyd had several key requirements for this legislation that needed to be met before he cast his final vote on
healthcare.
“The four principles that needed to be addressed were: lowering costs, addressing the people who are uninsured, allowing people to keep their current healthcare plans, and fiscal responsibility,” Boyd said.
According to Boyd the new version follows these four principles and stands to become one of the most
celebrated demonstrations of freedom in history. “I’ve even heard it compared to the Civil Rights Movement,” said Boyd.
Though he offered initial criticism, State Sen. Al Lawson, D-Tallahassee, supports Boyd’s decision.
According the Web site allawsonforcongress.com, Lawson gave the following statement: “Last fall,
Congressman Boyd ignored the 126,000 members of his district that lacked coverage and voted with the insurance companies. I am glad our campaign was successful in forcing Allen Boyd to abandon his special interest friends and instead cast a vote for the constituents of his district.”