President Barack Obama signed into law the final piece of his administration’s historic health care overhaul last Tuesday, containing both sweeping national health care reform as well as signficant revisions to federal student loan processes.

The Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 contains revisions to health care reforms passed by the Senate Dec. 24, 2009, including tax credit subsidies to help moderate-income Americans buy private health insurance, revising the penalty for those without a minimum level of health insurance and closing the “doughnut hole” Medicare coverage gap for prescription drugs.

The law also includes sweeping changes to the student loan program which were contained in the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibilty Act and passed in the Reconciliation bill.

SAFRA increases the maximum Pell Grant amount and eliminates the middleman role of private banks in issuing federal student loans. The government is now assuming the role of issuing the majority of these loans directly. SAFRA also increases financial support for community colleges and black colleges.

Cutting out government subsidies given to banks for student loans is estimated to generate about $68 billion, according to the Congressional Budget Office, an amount the White House claims will pay for the education provisions of the reconciliation bill.

“Some banks have stopped lending to students due to the financial crisis, making it harder to count on getting a loan from the same bank each time,” Sara Goldrick-Rab, professor of educational policy studies at the University of Wisconsin, said. “This way, students can get their loans direct from the Feds.”

Wisconsin and its students are anticipated to eventually receive more than $444 million dollars in benefits for higher education, a White House statement said.

However, despite its title, the reconciliation bill did not necessarily represent an end to the partisan struggles surrounding the health care debate, with Republicans unanimously opposed in both the House and Senate.

“Much of the partisanship around this bill has to do with the Republicans and their Tea Party allies rather than the Democrats,” Barry Burden, UW professor of political science, said. “The Republicans have been remarkably unified and vocal in their opposition.”

Democrats touted the reconciliation bill as the final step to extend health care coverage to all Americans.

“I am proud to have helped pass legislation that will bring access to health care to tens of thousands of Wisconsinites,” Rep. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., said in a statement.

Meanwhile, Republicans remain adamantly opposed to a law they see as perpetuating the fundamental problems of the original health care bill.

“It’s clear that what we have is a bill chock full of gimmicks and hidden mandates,” Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., said during a speech in the House.

Additionally, attaching the student loan reforms as a rider to the health care budget provisions caused some congressmen to vote against both issues in protest of just one.

“Rep. Petri would have liked to vote for the provisions closing down guaranteed student loans and strengthening direct lending,” Neil Wright, spokesperson for Rep. Tom Petri, R-Wis., said.

Petri ultimately voted against the bill in protest of the health care section, Wright added.