After more than a year of debate, Congress has completed work on a comprehensive health care reform package.
The “Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act” (PPACA) (P.L. 111-148) became law on March 23, 2010. Following House passage of the “Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010″ (H.R. 4872) on March 21, 2010, the Senate approved the reconciliation bill on March 25, 2010 by a vote of 56-43 (only 51 votes were needed to pass the reconciliation bill). However, due to some changes the Senate made to the bill (unrelated to health reform), the reconciliation bill had to go back to the House for another vote. The House approved the Senate changes to the reconciliation bill later in the evening of March 25, 2010, clearing the bill to be sent to President Obama to sign into law.
The Special Report linked to at right provides a preliminary analysis of the new law (including the reconciliation bill) and its impact on employers.
