The Healthcare and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010, which was signed into law March 30, provides legal citizens with a blanket of basic health care options and gives more financial support to students.

According to bill, students will benefit from the health care system outlined which allows for parents to keep their children on their insurance until they are 26, increases the tax credit and subsidies for buying insurance to lower income groups, and also lowers the penalty for not having insurance.

According to Health Services coordinator Mary Sullivan, “certain healthcare is a right for all human beings. Basic healthcare is a right not a privilege.” “I am really happy Obama is able do this after 45 years of trying to pass a similar bill.”

This bill will make sure that everybody has access to basic immunizations, Sullivan said. According to Sullivan, Immunizations can prevent people from dying of measles and polio, and preventative health care will ensure this.However, some students feel that reform will cost the taxpayers, and that Obama chose inappropriate moment to pass health care. The reform “will increase the public deficit and turn the country to a socialist system. That’s good for the poor people but bad for the economy,” business administration major Anis Jermouni said. The bill also makes an effort to reform the financial aid system. According to the bill, the process of the federal government giving subsidies to private banks to give out federally insured loans will end. Instead loans will be administered by the Department of Education. The Pell Grant Award will be increased, and several billion will be used to fund historically poor and minority schools, as well as increasing community college funding.

The De Anza financial aid system will shift to the Direct Loan Program, where students will be getting loans from the federal government instead of private banks, financial aid director Cindy Castillo said.

This change will not affect new students, but will make loans more “self-serve” for those already in the financial aid program.