House Passes Health Reform Bill with Key LGBT Provisions HRC Back Story

Late this evening, the House passed the Affordable Health Care for America Act, H.R. 3962, by a vote of 220 to 215. While this is a historic step toward improving health care for all Americans, it is also a tremendous advance for the health needs of LGBT people. HRC lobbied the three committees involved in drafting the bill to include provisions that would help LGBT people in particular obtain the improved access to health care that the Act is designed to provide. Some of these measures have been part of HRC’s legislative agenda as free-standing bills for many years. The key provisions in the bill that the House passed are:

[Tokkar]

...and they tacked on an amendment measure that would outlaw abortion.

It's not expected to make it through the Senate, and with that bullsh** rider attached to it, I'm glad it won't pass.

This so-called "reform" measure is just more of the same with a couple of small bones thrown out here and there. It aids nobody but the pharmaceutical companies, the for-profit hospitals and the insurance conglomerates.

Until a single-payer option (note: not the so-called "public option" that they bandied about) is passed, there won't be any true reform. Instead, there will just be re-edited and re-submitted.

[ltndncr59]

Is this true? Will I finally stop being taxed on my husband's medical and dental benefits that I get from my company?
And what about FMLA? Have the Family Medical Leave Act provisions been changed as well, so that if I need to care for my husband and absent myself from work to do so I can, for up to twelve weeks, without fear of losing my job? That's the kicker for me, as my husband is not in the best of health.

[Robert]

We'll see if it makes it through the reconciliation process with the Senate, which I doubt.
You know how quick the democrats are to throw us under the bus.

[CHAS]

The provision prohibits federal funds for abortion, it does not prohibit abortion.

[nhjeff]

ltndncr59 wrote:

Is this true? Will I finally stop being taxed on my husband's medical and dental benefits that I get from my company?
And what about FMLA? Have the Family Medical Leave Act provisions been changed as well, so that if I need to care for my husband and absent myself from work to do so I can, for up to twelve weeks, without fear of losing my job? That's the kicker for me, as my husband is not in the best of health.

You can be sure that all those politicians who proclaimed their goodwill and concern about GLBT families while opposing marriage equality and civil unions will do all they can to scuttle this. They'll say they really really REALLY love gay people, but it will cost the treasury money.

[Tokkar]

CHAS wrote:

The provision prohibits federal funds for abortion, it does not prohibit abortion.

Argh...I had a few things typed that I didn't like, so I did the old cut & paste switch of a couple of things and deleted the rest. Looks like I deleted and didn't notice when I hit "post".

That'll teach me to post prior to caffeine.