The House of Representatives on Friday voted 220-213 in favor of President Joe Biden’s Build Back Better Bill. Although it’s significantly scaled back from the originally proposed $3.5T package, it’s unclear whether it will pass the Senate, where it needs 51 votes.
The bill includes:
- $165 billion for health care spending that would be used to reduce premiums under the Affordable Care Act and expand Medicare coverage to include hearing benefits
- $150 billion for funding a Medicaid program that supports in-home health care and aims to reduce the number of people waiting to receive subsidized home care and improve provider wages
Proponents of the bill say the spending package will pay for itself via tax increases on high earners and corporations. The Congressional Budget Office on Thursday estimates that the legislation would result in a net increase in the deficit totaling $367 billion over 10 years.
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