After three weeks of around the clock debate, this morning the Senate passed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (H.R. 3590), by a straight party-line vote of 60–39. The Senate version of health care reform must now be merged with the version passed earlier this year by the House of Representatives. The conference committee members are expected to be appointed soon after the holiday break. Although there are significant differences between the two bills, Congressional leadership plan to send a health care reform bill to the president in time for the State of the Union address in late January.

The Senate bill would:

• Identify as a basic benefit rehabilitative and habilitative services and devices
• Exempt hearing aids from the medical device tax
• Extend the therapy cap exceptions process for one year
• Provide for a .5% increase to the Medicare Part B payments for 2010, offsetting a 21% cut.

The House bill includes hearing aids under the medical device tax, calls for a 2-year extension of the therapy cap exceptions process, and would replace the current Medicare Part B Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) methodology with any increases based on a percentage of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). For further information, please contact Ingrida Lusis, ASHA's Director of Federal and Political Advocacy, at ilusis@asha.org.