Congressional Update

More great news to report!

The U.S. Senate has approved an amendment authored by Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-Maryland) that would expand women's preventive health care, allowing the government to require insurers to cover preventive care and screens at little or no cost to patients. This was the first amendment to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to pass in the Senate.

The Senate has also rejected an amendment to the health care reform bill that would place restrictions on private insurance coverage for abortion procedures. Senators Ben Nelson (D-Nebraska) and Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) attempted to introduce Stupak-like language into the Senate version of the bill. In a 54-45 vote, the Senate tabled the amendment which successfully prevented further deliberation.

There are many more twists and turns yet to come so stay tuned. President Obama hopes the Senate is ready to vote on a final health care reform bill before the end of the year. Abortion language is expected to become an issue again once the Senate does pass its bill and merges its version with the bill the House passed last month.

We will continue to monitor the progress of health care reform in Washington, so please visit the Action Network to get the most current updates!

On the state level, the Indiana General Assembly is gearing-up for another session set to begin Tuesday, Jan. 5. Legislators have already begun filing bills which we will be tracking. We will need your help to ensure reproductive rights are protected in the state of Indiana, if you're interested in signing on to be a Capitol Activist, email us at advocates@ppin.org.

Don't forget, 2010 is an election year! Be sure you are registered to vote!