The illness prevented Tifanny from going to work, and Gina said her daughter lost her health insurance when she lost her job. Without adequate access to health care, she later lost her life.

“Tifanny was a health-care activist, like I am. She started working with me on health care about two years before she died,” said Gina. “And that’s one of the main things that she wanted from the health care bill, was to see that employers offered employees health care.”

Gina and Marcelas began telling Tifanny’s story at health-care reform rallies in Olympia and around the state of Washington.

Eventually, her story reached the other Washington, and the Owens were invited to speak at a health-care press conference in D.C. in early March. After the health care bill passed the House of Representatives by a razor-thin 219-212 margin on March 21, the White House invited Gina and Marcelas to return to Washington, D.C. to witness the signing. In photos that appeared in dozens of major
newspapers, one can see Marcelas, dressed sharply in a tie and vest, standing at Obama’s side as the president signs the bill into law.

The bill makes sweeping changes to the health care industry that will affect millions of Americans, but most important to Gina is also its most basic — that everyone in America will have access to coverage.

“One of the big reasons that we fought so hard for health care was because we wanted everyone to be covered, and a lot of the people in SHA housing are either uninsured, or they are underinsured,” Gina said. “I’m really happy that this type of bill is going to give everybody the type of coverage they need.”

Partisan rancor underscores health care debate While many Democrats hailed the passage of the health care bill, Republicans cried foul, arguing that the bill amounted to a trillion-dollar boondoggle that will unfairly burden taxpayers.

President Obama had pledged a postpartisan future in Washington when he took office in 2008, but the health care debate split Congress largely along party lines. Thirty four Democrats joined House Republicans to oppose the bill, while all 219 voting in favor were Democrats.

Among Washington Representatives, Democrats Brian Baird, Norm Dicks, Jay Inslee, Rick Larsen, Jim McDermott and Adam Smith voted in favor of the bill; Republicans Doc Hastings, Cathy McMorris
Rogers and Dave Reichert opposed it.

Shortly after the president signed the bill, the attorneys general of 13 states — including Washington attorney general Rob McKenna — filed a lawsuit alleging that parts of the bill are unconstitutional. They’ve argued that the federal government does not have the authority to require individuals to purchase health insurance. Starting in 2014, the new law would require individuals to have health insurance, either through their job or by purchasing a plan. Anyone who doesn’t comply would face tax penalties.

Washington governor Christine Gregoire, a Democrat, expressed outrage that McKenna, a Republican, elected to join the lawsuit without consulting the state’s Democratic leaders. The attorney general is entitled under state law to bring lawsuits on behalf of the citizens of Washington, and does not necessarily need to consult state officials.

What will it do?

Much attention has been paid to the debate over health care, but what will the bill actually accomplish? For one, the bill will make it easier for people to get health insurance — a major benefit for the estimated 32 million Americans who do not have it. By the time the law takes full effect in 2014:

• Insurance providers will no longer be able to deny people coverage due to a preexisting condition — an underlying health condition such as diabetes, heart disease or cancer that was diagnosed before an individual applied for coverage.

• Employers with 50 or more workers will be required to provide health insurance, or face federal fines.

• Children will be allowed to remain on their parents’ insurance plan until age 26.

• Insurance providers will no longer be able to place lifetime limits on coverage, and will not be able to cancel an individual’s plan if he or she becomes sick.

• Medicaid coverage will be expanded to include individuals and families with incomes up to 133 percent of the federal poverty level.

By 2014, the bill will also create an insurance marketplace where consumers can shop for health insurance. Competition in the marketplace will in theory yield lower insurance rates. And the new health care overhaul will require most people to have health insurance beginning in 2014. Uninsured individuals and families above 133 percent of the poverty level but below 400 percent would receive subsidies to offset the cost of coverage.

Overseeing the implementation of the new legislation is where activists like Gina and Marcelas Owens come in. As the calendar slowly ticks toward 2014, Gina said that accountability could become the new watchword for health care reform.

“We’ve come along way with this bill, but we still have a lot to accomplish,” Gina said. “Because they signed the bill doesn’t mean that it’s going to actually take effect. That’s the type of accountability I’m looking for.”