The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act in regards to Individual Mandate:

[Drew Richards]

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act in regards to Individual Mandate:

In some current active threads on the Internet, people are still spewing out conservative talking points or as I like to call it...blatant bulls**t... about the PPACA and how it got passed.

Here is the fact of the matter on the Individual Mandate Proposal:

HOUSE BILL:

Liberals and Moderates wanted Universal Health Care or Expansion of Medicare...a Public Option... Pelosi and her assistants had to spend months hammering out difficult compromises to satisfy the Liberal, Moderate and Conservative wings of both parties.

The House Bill had the Public Option, and the Individual Mandate was added as an appeasement to Republicans in the House.

The exact same individual mandate proposed in the 90's by Republicans...BOB DOLE, RICHARD LUGAR, CHARLES GRASSLEY, ORIN HATCH, JESSE HELMS and TRENT LOTT. Exactly the same, Word for Word...

Individual Mandate was and is a Republican proposal added on in negotiations for Republican support prior to the bill being sent to the Senate. The legislation was passed 220-215 shortly after House members added an additional provision that prohibits federally subsidized insurance plans from offering abortion services. Only one House Republican, Rep. Anh "Joseph" Cao of Louisiana, voted for the bill. Thirty-nine Democrats voted against it.


SENATE BILL:

The Individual Mandate was part of the agreement required for the Republicans to support the Health Care Bill...and still they 99% voted against the updated bill... (Senator George V. Voinovich, Republican of Ohio, was not present and did not vote.) This also was a way for the Republicans to continue to fight the bill, citing it as unConstitutional to force citizens to purchase insurance from a private company...Just as the Democrats cited in the 90's. Which is one of the reasons it did not pass the first time the Republicans attempted passing the Individual Mandate.

In the Senate, only one Republican, Sen. Olympia Snowe of Maine, voted for either of two committee bills being merged by Democratic majority leader Harry Reid.

To carry the bill forward, Democrats needed to appease DINO's, Social Conservatives, and the two Independent senators. One point of contention: abortion funding. a final hour agreement was made with some 40 social conservatives to exclude public funding of abortions. The amendment passed, 240 to 197, with 64 Democrats voting with Republicans on the measure.

The Senate Republicans then Stripped the Public Option out in negotiations prior to the final vote; saying they would "consider" voting for the bill, if it did not contain the Public Option... Harry Reid agreed to the removal of the Public Option to get Health Care passed...but of course, the Republicans reneged and still voted 99% against...

The PPACA passed the Senate on December 24, 2009, by a vote of 60–39 with all Democrats and two Independents voting for, and all Republicans except one voting against. Republican Sen. Jim Bunning of Kentucky was the lone senator to miss voting on the bill.

The PPACA passed the House of Representatives on March 21, 2010, by a vote of 219–212, with 178 Republicans and 34 Democrats voting against the bill.
President Obama did not Veto the PPACA bill containing the Individual Mandate but, no Public Option because; even a partial bill gave additional coverage to millions of men, women and children.

Pretty slick on the Republicans part! You have to admire how they keep moving the central goal post further and further to the extreme Right and never capitulate on anything in negotiations...

It is time to stop blaming President Obama for the Republicans duplicity in the Health Care Bill in regards to the Individual Mandate and the Public Option.

If we just have to blame a Democrat rather than the Republicans for the way the bill came out...blame the one in charge...Harry Reid.

We should praise Obama for getting any health care passed, and instead of complaining, help Democratic Moderates and Liberals retake the House and strengthen the Senate, Dump the DINO's! in both the House and Senate and demand Democrats Fix This Bill!

We need to repeal the Individual Mandate and reinstate the Public Option Now!


http://healthcareforamericanow.org/site/content/step_3/
http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/2009/1108/us-house-of-representatives-votes-to-approve-healthcare-reform
http://www.chicagotribune.com/health/chi-health-care-congressnov08,0,7158692.story
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2009/11/08/us/politics/1108-health-care-vote.html
http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=111&vote=00396
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patient_Protection_and_Affordable_Care_Act