Healthcare reform measures have been introduced as far back as 1993 when President Bill Clinton had tried to pass a bill that had many similar components to those that exist in the current Affordable Care Act. Among them was a mandate requiring companies to provide insurance coverage to employees.
President Clinton’s proposal ultimately failed. Yet his efforts weren’t a total loss as he worked with Congress to establish the State Children’s Health Insurance Program.
In 2006, insurance reform became an issue in the state of Massachusetts as an insurance expansion bill was brought using an insurance exchange system along with an individual mandate where every person living in the state had to have some form of coverage. Mitt Romney was governor at the time and, while he vetoed the bill, state Democrats were able to push it through and Romney signed it into law.
Healthcare reform is one of those issues that seems to come around every few years. It was certainly a hot topic during the 2008 Democratic Primary race between Obama and Hillary Clinton.
However, it wasn’t until 2010 that President Barack Obama was able achieve that which so many had tried before him. He put into place a law that would take steps to fix a very broken healthcare system that saw high rates, inadequate coverage, and people being denied policies due to their health.
This groundbreaking legislation came under intense scrutiny and Republicans and Democrats went back and forth with competing bills, conducting town halls with their constituents, and negotiating across the aisle in ways that many felt favored the Republicans who were able to strip down many facets of the original law. In March of 2010 the refined bill was put to a vote and, despite some hurdles, including the first of 50 attempts to repeal the bill by House Republicans, the Affordable Care Act was signed into law.
These are the Senators in Congress who voted in favor of Obamacare. Every Republican voted Nay, along with 14 Democrats:
Akaka (D-HI), Yea
Baucus (D-MT), Yea
Bayh (D-IN), Yea
Begich (D-AK), Yea
Bennet (D-CO), Yea
Bingaman (D-NM), Yea
Boxer (D-CA), Yea
Brown (D-OH), Yea
Burris (D-IL), Yea
Byrd (D-WV), Yea
Cantwell (D-WA), Yea
Cardin (D-MD), Yea
Carper (D-DE), Yea
Casey (D-PA), Yea
Conrad (D-ND), Yea
Dodd (D-CT), Yea
Dorgan (D-ND), Yea
Durbin (D-IL), Yea
Feingold (D-WI), Yea
Feinstein (D-CA), Yea
Franken (D-MN), Yea
Gillibrand (D-NY), Yea
Hagan (D-NC), Yea
Harkin (D-IA), Yea
Inouye (D-HI), Yea
Johnson (D-SD), Yea
Kaufman (D-DE), Yea
Kerry (D-MA), Yea
Kirk (D-MA), Yea
Klobuchar (D-MN), Yea
Kohl (D-WI), Yea
Landrieu (D-LA), Yea
Lautenberg (D-NJ), Yea
Leahy (D-VT), Yea
Levin (D-MI), Yea
Lieberman (ID-CT), Yea
Lincoln (D-AR), Yea
McCaskill (D-MO), Yea
Menendez (D-NJ), Yea
Merkley (D-OR), Yea
Mikulski (D-MD), Yea
Murray (D-WA), Yea
Nelson (D-FL), Yea
Nelson (D-NE), Yea
Pryor (D-AR), Yea
Reed (D-RI), Yea
Reid (D-NV), Yea
Rockefeller (D-WV), Yea
Sanders (I-VT), Yea
Schumer (D-NY), Yea
Shaheen (D-NH), Yea
Specter (D-PA), Yea
Stabenow (D-MI), Yea
Tester (D-MT), Yea
Udall (D-CO), Yea
Udall (D-NM), Yea
Warner (D-VA), Yea
Webb (D-VA), Yea
Whitehouse (D-RI), Yea
Wyden (D-OR), Yea
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