House Looks Ahead to a Healthcare Vote
BY LAUREN UZDIENSKI, MARCH 16, 2010
Congress appears to be moving closer to a vote on healthcare reform. While no vote has been scheduled, Speaker Pelosi believes she has the support of House legislators as well as the mechanics in place to pass the legislation. Interestingly, the method by which the Senate's version of the bill will become law will not require a House vote, a process known as "deeming" a bill.
For several weeks, it appeared that the way forward for healthcare reform was for the House was to pass the Senate's healthcare legislation, then passing a series of fixes through budget reconciliation, which would require only a simple majority to pass. However, the House would have to vote for the Senate bill before the reconciliation bill could be passed, which some members were wary to do in an election year, and there were also concerns that the Senate would balk at some of the changes. The alternative is for the House to pass the fixes along with a rule that says the Senate version is "deemed" to have passed - getting around a House vote. Speaker Pelosi seemed confident that Congress would move ahead with this strategy, and she described the bill to the Washington Post as "locked down," with only numbers from the Congressional Budget Office outstanding.
As reform picks up some of the steam it lost in the early part of this year, the device industry is rallying to protect its own interests, namely regarding the $20 billion tax that will support the overhaul. Last week AdvaMed spoke to the press about seeking a cap on the tax, and the lobby, along with the Medical Device Manufacturers Association and the National Venture Capital Association, has followed up with a letter to the White House requesting that the tax not exceed $20 billion over ten years.
