Deeming
Now under consideration in the House is the use of "Deeming", a procedure that would see passage of the Senate version of the health care bill without a vote. This is the only way that the legislation could be passed if the Democratic House leadership can't come up with the 216 votes they need for a role call yes or no.
The Senate bill, as a resolution within the bill to "fix" it would be "deemed" to have been passed without an up or down vote. The thought process is that those Representatives who can't be persuaded to vote for the Senate bill would be willing to vote for the Reconciliation Fixes that would be sent to the Senate for consideration.
This is not a new practice, but has never been used to pass major legislation. There is a parliamentary question as to how a revision bill to fix legislation can be voted on before that legislation has actually been signed into law by the President. There will be much said and written as to it's legitimacy and the matter may eventually be decided by the courts.
The Impact of Passage
This week should bring the culmination of a year of both public and back room politics that will see the Senate's version of health care reform passed by the House...... or the end of President Obama's desire to sign into law a massive health care bill.
If It Fails:
There will be pressure applied and promises made in the House to obtain enough votes to pass the "fix" even if there aren't 216 votes available for passage of the Senate bill.
In the unlikely event it does fail, there will still be changes. Despite the onerous nature of the current legislation, there are issues that need to be addressed. The discussion for the need for universal health insurance is one for another day, but the need to slow the increase in health care costs is still paramount to the economic growth of this country. The American People will demand that Congress address this issue.
If It Passes:
With the prospect of revision through Reconciliation, no one knows what the final bill will contain. Additionally, the results of the mid term elections in November may lend themselves to modification or in the extreme, repeal of the bill.
What we do know is that there will be no immediate implementation of "Insurance Exchanges" - they don't arrive until the year 2014. This next four years will be a time for redefining our roles as agents, the nature of how we practice our profession and the products we offer to our clients. There will be a place for the agent in the future, but those who continue to do "business as usual" will not find long term success. At AMG, we are working with our partner agents to develop profitable business models that will adapt to the changes this legislation will bring.
| 
