Health Bill Is Rx for Student Loans, Too

(CBS) Part of the Democratic health care reform was sent back to the House of Representatives Thursday because of two minor changes to a section of the bill that has nothing to do with health care.

In fact, until now, many people didn't know that tucked into the health care bill are some of the most sweeping changes in decades in a different area - helping students pay for college.

CBS News correspondent Ben Tracy reports Colin and Corey Fequa are caught in the middle of the fight raging in Congress. They had to drop out of Delaware State after racking up a combined $55,000 in debt for tuition, room and board, and books - in just two years.

"You need some type of degree to go far and get some type of career," Corey Fequa said.

For their single mom, Karen, the college costs were crushing.

"I try to be a good mother," she said. "I felt I failed as a mother."

But now they may get help from the health care bill. The new law includes $36 billion for Pell Grants, free government funds given to 6 million low-income students. The maximum Pell Grant would jump from $5,300 this year to nearly $6,000 by 2017. Without the new law, it would have dropped to $2,150 next year.

"It adds up to $1,600 over four years," said Lauren Asher, president of the Project for Student Debt. "That's a lot of money that people won't have to borrow and will help them pay for college."