Although the needs of U.S. territories are addressed in the Health Care Reform bill passed this weekend by the U.S. House of Representatives, it’s unclear whether that’s still going to be the case once the Senate and House hammer out a final version of the bill.
"I’m a little concerned because we really don’t know what’s going to happen, but so far so good," said Delegate Donna Christensen, during a brief phone interview Tuesday. "There are people that continue to weigh in on our behalf."
According to national news reports, the House’s 220-215 vote on the Affordable Health Care for America Act went along party lines, leaving many to speculate that the House bill would be "dead on arrival" at the Senate.
But Christensen said that representatives never thought the Senate would adopt the bill, which she said costs more than the Senate’s $900 billion plan and includes a public option for health insurance.
Instead, once the Senate passes its own bill, both sides should be conferencing to work out the major issues before anything is signed by President Barack Obama, she said. Senate leadership is currently trying to fuse two different health care proposals passed its own Finance and Health committees.
Benefits extended to the territories in the House bill include a $10.35 billion increase in Medicaid over the next nine years and a place in the Health Insurance Exchange, which will provide subsidies to low-income patients.
"Inclusion in the exchange will ensure that territorial residents have a wide range of insurance options, to include a public option," Christensen said recently. "This will represent a significant increase in public health care funding as well as more affordable coverage."
The bill also contains items geared toward addressing health care disparities for minorities, including training for minority physicians and health care providers.
