First Edition: March 22, 2010

Today's headlines detail yesterday's historic House vote on health reform while also looking forward to how action might play out in the Senate, how the legislative package impacts the current political dynamic and what its effects will be on consumers and stakeholders.

Consumers Guide To Health Reform Kaiser Health News staff writer Phil Galewitz writes about the impact of the legislative package approved yesterday by the House of Representatives. "The health overhaul package passed by the House Sunday and sent to the Senate for final action is the most far-reaching health legislation since the creation of the Medicare and Medicaid programs" (Kaiser Health News).

The Immediate Effects Of The Health Reform Bill Kaiser Health News staff writers Julie Appleby and Kate Steadman write about the health bill's early deliverables. "Obama administration officials and wonks call them "early deliverables." They're the benefits of the health legislation that would kick in this election year" (Kaiser Health News).

How The Senate Will Tackle Health Reform Now Kaiser Health News staff writer Mary Agnes Carey writes about health reform's next steps. "Byrd droppings. Swiss cheese. Vote-a-rama. These are some of the less-than-elegant phrases being tossed around the halls of Congress now that the House has approved a $940 billion health care package. The main piece of the package, the underlying Senate bill, will be sent to President Barack Obama for his signature. The other piece - a reconciliation bill that would make several changes to the new law -- goes back to the Senate (Kaiser Health News).

House Passes Health-Care Reform Bill Without Republican Votes House Democrats scored a historic victory in the century-long battle to reform the nation's health-care system late Sunday night, winning final approval of legislation that expands coverage to 32 million people and attempts to contain spiraling costs (The Washington Post).

House Approves Health Overhaul, Sending Landmark Bill To Obama House Democrats approved a far-reaching overhaul of the nation's health system on Sunday, voting over unanimous Republican opposition to provide medical coverage to tens of millions of uninsured Americans after an epic political battle that could define the differences between the parties for years (The New York Times).

Historic Healthcare Bill Passes Ending the Democrats' decades-long quest to create a healthcare safety net to match Social Security, the House of Representatives on Sunday night approved sweeping legislation to guarantee Americans access to medical care for the first time, delivering President Obama the biggest victory of his young presidency (Los Angeles Times).

Senate Has Some Work Left On Health-Care Bill Leaving a meeting of House Democrats, Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (Nev.) walked off quietly Saturday afternoon with a few aides but was stopped in his tracks by an unfamiliar face (The Washington Post).

Get Ready For The Senate's Health Vote Slog Action on health care legislation now shifts to the Senate, where the process is expected to be slow and frustrating. In other words, business as usual in that chamber (NPR).

Healthcare Fight Was Obama's Proving Ground Rarely does a president bet everything on a single card, but Barack Obama did it on healthcare. Almost from the beginning, the White House was guided by one priority: Nothing must get in the way of healthcare. Everything else would have to wait (Los Angeles Times).

Big Win For Obama, But At What Cost? The House's passage of health care legislation late Sunday night assures that whatever the ultimate cost, President Obama will go down in history as one of the handful of presidents who found a way to reshape the nation's social welfare system (The New York Times).

With The Vote, A New Stature For Obama President Obama scored a stunning political and legislative victory on health care last night that not only will earn him a place in history books, but promises to establish him as a stronger leader of the Democratic Party after a tumultuous first year (The Boston Globe).

After Healthcare Vote, Democrats Turn To Damage Control Democrats may feel today as though they just fought -- and won -- the equivalent of a 100-year war. The House passage Sunday night of sweeping healthcare legislation ends months of caustic debate over the plan and the way it was enacted, marked by a steep decline in approval for Democrats almost everywhere (Los Angeles Times).

For Consumers, Clarity On Health Care Changes American consumers, who spent a year watching Congress scratch and claw over sweeping health care legislation, can now try to figure out what the overhaul would mean for them (The New York Times).

In Reform, Boons For Hospitals And Drug Makers With a sweeping overhaul of the nation's health care system, Congress would be giving the health care industry as many as 32 million additional paying customers in the next few years (The New York Times).

Effects Of health Overhaul Will Take Time To Become Clear Giant health insurers could see revenue jump under Washington's new health overhaul that will require millions of additional customers to sign up for coverage in the coming years (Los Angeles Times).

Legal And Political Fights Loom For Democrats The battle over health care is poised to move swiftly from Congress back to the country as Democrats, Republicans and a battery of interest groups race to define the legislation and dig in for long-term political and legal fights (The New York Times).

Another Long March In The Name Of Change Forty-five years ago, John Lewis began the third of what became society-shifting civil rights marches from Selma to Montgomery, Ala. On Sunday, the anniversary of that famous trek, he joined hands with fellow House Democrats and marched past jeering protesters into the Capitol to remake the nation's health care system (The New York Times).

Republican Lawmakers Stir Up The 'Tea Party' Crowd The Democrats were blamed for many horrible things -- tyranny! socialism! corruption! -- as they marched toward Sunday night's passage of health-care legislation, but nobody ever accused them of making health reform look easy (The Washington Post).

A Historical Look At Health Care Legislation A list of pivotal moments in American health care history capped by the House vote Sunday night passing President Barack Obama's comprehensive plan (The Associated Press/Washington Post).

Huge Win For Barack Obama, But Split Decision For House Democrats
It's hard to overestimate the magnitude of President Barack Obama's historic victory on health care reform Sunday night - but the win was a split decision for Democrats, not a knockout (Politico).

Next Front: Selling What Congress Did With sweeping health care reform almost reality, another battle is about to begin to define what it means for a skeptical public (Politico).

Mike Doyle Facilitated Critical Bart Stupak Talks The fate of health care reform may have turned on a single relationship.
When they needed to find a way to unlock the votes of a group of anti-abortion lawmakers led by Michigan Rep. Bart Stupak, Democratic leaders turned to Stupak's roommate, Pennsylvania Rep. Mike Doyle, to facilitate the critical talks (Politico).

House Delivers Health Care Victory For President Obama Congress completed action Sunday night on the major portion of President Obama's top priority, a historic restructuring of the nation's health care system that has eluded his predecessors for more than a century (USA Today).

House Passes Historic Health Bill The biggest transformation of the U.S. health system in decades won approval on Capitol Hill late Sunday, the culmination of efforts by generations of Democrats to achieve near-universal health coverage. Facing voters' judgment in the fall, Democrats bet they could overcome public misgivings on a bill that reshapes one-sixth of the U.S. economy. The final battle on the House floor exposed again the divisions that have riven Congress and the nation over the past year (Wall Street Journal).

Now, The Campaigning Begins Sunday's House vote on health care may well have saved Barack Obama's presidency, but a year of caustic debate has revived a fundamental argument over the reach of government, and possibly turned the sweeping legislation into a new dividing line in U.S. politics (Wall Street Journal).

Vast Ambition, Colossal Risk Capital Journal: As a piece of social policy, the health bill passed Sunday night by the House of Representatives ranks up there with the Great Society programs of Lyndon B. Johnson in ambition and scope. But here's one big difference: The Great Society programs were enacted in an era when Americans still tended to trust the government to get things done (Wall Street Journal).