Welcome to a special edition of Friday Favorites! This week we saw the historic passing of healthcare legislation. Whether you love the bill or hate it, most people have some very real questions about what it all means. I’ve tried to find a variety of websites that explain aspects of the bill, though not all of these are from blogs.

First up, here is a copy of the bill that was just passed (HR 3590), courtesy of the Library of Congress. You can also see the copy of the changes made to it, HR 4872. Please let me know if the 2nd link didn’t work for you!

The New York Times article Proposed Changes in the Healthcare Bill talks about the proposed financial penalties for not having coverage, the exemptions, and the changes the Senate is/was expected to make.

Blogger Jodi Jacobsen of RH Reality Check: Information andAnalysis for Reproductive Health discusses the “wins” and “losses” to women’s health in her article (Updated) The Health Care Bill and Women’s Health: Wins, Losses, and Challenges. Yes, it’s opinion as to whether something constitutes a “win” or a “loss,” but there are great facts as to what is covered and not covered in this new bill as far as women’s health.

FactCheck.org, a non-partisan non-profit dedicated to unearthing the truth behind politicians’ statements, analyzes some of the statements we’ve heard about this new legislation in their article A Final Weekend of Whoppers?.

CNN did a kind of Q&A with readers about their particular scenarios and how the new bill might affect them. I’m not a huge fan of the article but someone may find it useful.

My friend Ben runs a blog called Sports, Politics, and…well, who knows. He writes about, you guessed it!, sports and politics. Healthcare is Getting Closer is a short opinion piece he wrote about three things the new bill includes. He also links to “a statement from Rep. Brian Baird (a former medical professional) who voted no on the original house bill” but voted yes on this one.

POST-EDIT: Please also check out this article by the National Marfan Foundation. It includes a great timeline, very easy to read!!!