At 7 a.m. on the morning of Christmas Eve, the Senate passed its version of health care reform legislation.  The bill will now have to be reconciled with a differing House-passed bill before it can become law.  Sen. Bernie Sanders voted in favor of the legislation.  Upon his return to Vermont later that morning, Sanders told reporters: "We have been talking about health care reform in this country now since Teddy Roosevelt. This is the strongest health care reform passed in this country since Medicare."  The senator noted that the bill is not as strong as he wanted and that he will work to improve it before it is signed into law.  He was very pleased that funding for community health centers, which provide affordable access to primary, dental, and mental health care to underserved areas across the country, received a significant boost in the legislation.  The legislation would provide health insurance for 31 million people and end the odious practice of denying care for people with pre-existing conditions.  Sanders was also glad that the legislation will not penalize Vermont and Massachusetts for taking an early lead in providing greater coverage to their citizens.  

Vermont and Massachusetts provide the broadest Medicaid coverage in the nation and, under previous drafts of the legislation, would have been punished for these innovative efforts. The Senate bill would require all states to expand their Medicaid programs to cover more low-income individuals and increases Medicaid payments to cover the expansion.  Vermont has already expanded its coverage using the Medicaid program and thus would have been effectively penalized for their early efforts. Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) was a leader in successfully fighting for this fix.  To read more, click here.  

In the Senate bill, Sanders was able to secure $10 billion for the nationwide Federally Qualified Health Center program while the House version of the bill has $14 billion in funding thanks in large part to the work of House Majority Whip James Clyburn of South Carolina.  The House funding level would increase the number of people served by the centers from 20 million to 45 million over the next five years.  The investment would more than pay for itself by saving Medicaid $23 billion over five years on reduced emergency room use and hospital costs, according to a study conducted by George Washington University. To read more, click here.