‘Euphoric’ Hill hails health care bill

IDS: Some people are calling the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act the biggest and most important piece of legislation since the passage of Medicare in 1965. What was it like to be a part of the passage of health care reform?
Hill: Well it was a historical day and I think everybody in Congress knew it. It is being equated with Social Security and Medicare and these two programs are two of the most important programs that have affected senior citizens for the last 60 or 70 years and so this is equated with that. I think it will be one of those threshold bills that will affect lives for a very long time. I’m glad we did it. It was a historical time and a historical piece of legislation.

IDS: And as a result of the new law, what is the first big change that residents of the 9th Congressional District should expect to see?
Hill: A large portion of the bill doesn’t go into effect until 2014. But there are some things that go into effect right away. For example, there is a high-risk pool that has been created. People with preexisting conditions can get insurance coverage right now, even though they might have diabetes or some other disorder. Now that will change in 2014. It won’t  be a high-risk pool any longer. Everybody will have access to health insurance without having to go into a high-risk pool. So preexisting conditions will be completely eliminated in 2014. But, right away, people will be able to buy coverage for pre-existing conditions. There is a small business tax credit that will go into effect right away. Employers who have 25 or fewer employees on their payroll will be able to get a 35 percent tax credit in what they pay in insurance premiums. That goes into effect right away. Pre-existing conditions for children will be immediately
eliminated.

IDS: What exactly would be the first big change that, for example, students at IU would see as a result of the law?
Hill: Well, that’s a good point. I mean one of the things that will happen here is if you’re getting ready to graduate from college and you’re on your mother and father’s insurance policy, you will be able to stay on that policy until you are 26.

IDS: And is this one of the changes that will occur in 2010 or will it occur in 2014?
Hill: 2010.

IDS: Also, I spoke with a representative for the Indiana Attorney General yesterday, and he confirmed to me that they do plan to present a legal challenge against the new health care law at some point. He specifically expressed concern about the mandate requiring health insurance. What are your thoughts about the lawsuit?
Hill: I don’t think it will hold up in court at all. This plan is similar to the one in Massachusetts. There’s a little bit of difference, but Massachusetts also has a mandate. And I understand it’s been able to  withstand legal examination there. So I don’t think they have a way to stand for it. And they shouldn’t be spending the money to do it in light of the fact that legal challenges like this have been tried before, up there in Massachusetts, and they have not been successful. So I think people are acting in emotional ways that they should not be acting.

IDS: I understand that Governor Daniels wrote you a letter six days before the final vote asking you not to vote for the health care bill. How will your vote in support of the bill affect your reelection campaign?
Hill: Well that’s a question I can’t answer. I didn’t look at this piece of legislation through the scope of the next election. I’ve been talking about health care ever since I started running for Congress 10 years ago. I believe that we need it. And I was completely on the issue of public policy. Politics did not enter into the equation of my decision making. This is a good bill. It’s not a perfect bill. But it’s the first time in the history of this country that we have universal insurance, and people will have access to health care today that they’ve never had access to before.

IDS: What kind of feedback have you received from residents of the 9th Congressional District thus far since the bill was signed into law?
Hill: Actually we’ve had a very positive response now that the phone lines are less busy. Before the vote, there was a lot of angry people who were calling in and encouraging me to vote “no.” But since the vote has been taken, we’ve had, by far, positive people calling in and thanking us for the vote.

IDS: When Sen. Evan Bayh announced he would not seek reelection this year, he referred to his frustration with Congress. Since your election to Congress in 1998, what changes have you observed over the past 12 years?
Hill: Well, Congress is a partisan institution, and that’s disappointing. I think Republicans and Democrats ought to do a better job of trying to work together. And I think that’s what Sen. Bayh was expressing frustration over — the partisan tone that exists here in Washington D.C.

IDS: Describe to me what it was like on the House floor when the bill was passed.
Hill: Well, for those people who supported the bill, it was euphoric. Health care is a Democrat issue and, unfortunately, we had to pass it with no Republican support. So the Republicans were not very happy, and Democrats were.

IDS: So how would you
describe the mood of the House in
anticipation of the final vote?
Hill: There was a strong feeling that we had the votes to pass the piece of legislation. So there was not a lot of anxiety up to the point where we knew it was going to pass. But once it went past the massive 216-vote margin that was required of passage, there was a lot of happiness. I would classify it as euphoric on the Democratic side.  

IDS: Now that the House is finished with health care, what is next on the legislative agenda? And what do you think is the most important issue Democrats should focus on next?
Hill: Jobs and the economy. We have passed some job bills, but we need to pass more. There’s a jobs bill that is coming up (Wednesday) afternoon that will create some summer jobs for young people, such as yourself, looking for a job this summer. So that’s the thing we need to turn and pivot on, to get back on the issue of the economy and jobs.

IDS: And how are you going to go about creating more jobs for your constituents in the 9th Congressional District through these bills?
Hill: Well the bill we’re going to be voting on this afternoon is a job-creating bill that will appropriate about a billion dollars nationwide for summer school children’s jobs. It will be parks jobs, working in the Department of Natural Resources, city parks, doing those kinds of jobs that will put people to work.