Reconciliation bill passes Senate, sent back to House for final passage

Today, the U.S. Congress completed its work on health system reform by passing H.R. 4872, the “Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010.”  H.R. 4872 includes changes or “fixes” to H.R. 3590, the “Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act,” the health reform bill signed into law by President Obama on March 23, 2010.   

The Senate approved H.R. 4872 by a vote of 56-43.  However, during Senate consideration technical changes were made to provisions regarding student loans in the legislation.  Because both houses of Congress must pass identical versions of the legislation in order for it to be enacted into law, H.R. 4872 was sent back to the U.S. House of Representatives where it is expected to pass tonight.