It Passed the House. Now What?

Now that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (H.R. 3590, a/k/a health reform) and the Health Care and Education Affordability Reconciliation Act of 2010 (H.R. 4872, a/k/a reconciliation) have passed the House, what next?

Well, I'd start by reading summaries of the bill. If you're like most (sane) people, the back-and-forth of parliamentary maneuvering got the best of you. You still tuned into the debate but specific provisions? You have some sort of vague impressions.

Let's fix that.  I'd recommend using the Kaiser Family Foundation's Side-by-Side comparison tool for an easy glance at the provisions across several topic areas. Trust for America's Health has a good summary of the Senate bill too.

The Majority Leader's website has a collection of information too, from ten immediate benefits to the Congressional Budget Office report. Likewise, the Democratic Policy Committee has a slew of press releases and video clips, as well as section-by-section bill analysis and all the fact sheets you ever wanted.

Why the prep work? We must be ready to speak truth to power as the Senate readies for debate on the reconciliation act.