A Quick Tip by Jeff__

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (H.R. 3590) was signed into law by President Barack Obama on March 23, 2010. Along with the Health Care and Education Affordability Reconciliation Act of 2010, the act is a product of the health care reform agenda of the Democratic-controlled Congress and the Obama administration.

The bill was originally drafted by the U.S. Senate as an alternative to the Affordable Health Care for America Act, which was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives two months earlier on November 7. However, after the Democrats lost their supermajority in the Senate on January 19, 2010, the House decided to pass the Senate version and amend it with a third bill. This will allow the Senate to pass the amendments via the simple-majority reconciliation process.

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act passed the Senate on December 24, 2009, by a vote of 60–39 and passed the House on March 21, 2010, by a vote of 219–212, with no Republicans in either house voting for the bill. At the time of the vote, there were 4 vacancies in the United States House of Representatives.