Health Reform in the House | Fact of the Day Over a quarter of workers have not had a health check-up in the past two years and low-income workers are far more likely not to have had a check-up than higher income workers - in every industry.
(Kaiser Family Foundation) | Health Resources |
Under the Microscope CHARTBOOK: State Variation & Health Reform
Health reform initiatives will have differential effects on states. As the health reform debate progresses, the impact of reform on individual states will vary based on their economic situation, current health insurance coverage, and health care expenditures. This analysis pulls together key information related to state variation. [Kaiser Family Foundation, July 2009]
Health Care Headlines Obama Tells Health Care Negotiators to Keep Working
President Barack Obama on Thursday told a group of six Senate Finance Committee members to continue working toward a bipartisan health care bill, but stressed the urgency of getting a bill done this year. [Roll Call, 8/6/2009] White House Vows to Defend Democrats on Health Reform
Top Obama aides promised Senate Democrats that the White House would defend them on health care if opponents attack, part of an organized effort to arm Democrats as they head out of town for the August break. [Wall Street Journal, 8/6/2009]
Related articles in Politico, Roll Call and The Hill. Gibbs on Health Care Information Effort: ‘Nobody is Collecting Names’
White House spokesman Robert Gibbs today refuted accusations by Texas Republican Sen. John Cornyn that the administration’s use of an official e-mail address for citizens to report “fishy” behavior on health care was inappropriate and unprecedented.
[Wall Street Journal, 8/6/2009] Rahm Warns Liberal Groups to Stop Ads
White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel warned liberal groups this week to stop running ads against Democratic members of Congress. [Politico, 8/6/2009] Democrats Say No to Cost Cap for Drug Makers
Congressional Democrats said Thursday that they intended to push the Obama administration to back away from its deal with the drug industry to cap its share of the costs in a health care overhaul.
[New York Times, 8/6/2009] Democrats Weigh the Calculus of Public Insurance
As Congress breaks for its August recess, the debate back home will center on Democratic proposals to create a government-run insurance option, which insurers and Republicans are casting as a step toward socialized medicine. [Washington Post, 8/7/2009] Democrats Strike Back Against Health Insurers
Just as insurance companies have stepped up their August recess messaging against a public health insurance option, progressive Democrats and organizations are striking back in an attempt to build support for what they view as a crucial aspect of health care reform. [Roll Call, 8/6/2009] Denied Claims Placed at Health Insurance CEO’s Doorstep
A new video puts denied health insurance claims on United Health Care CEO Stephen Hemsley's doorstep. The video, made by Brave News Films' Robert Greenwald, intercuts stories of people suffering because of denied claims with images Hemsley's fancy homes, along with details about how much money Hemsley's got ($744,232,068 in unexercised stock options, for example).
[Huffington Post, 8/6/2009] Business Group Presses Finance Panel to Succeed
A leading business group today backed Senate Finance Committee efforts to draft a bipartisan healthcare bill and urged senators to continue negotiating -- because it sees bills passed by other committees as much worse. [CongressDaily, 8/6/2009] Related story in Roll Call. More Answers to Your Health Reform Questions
While lawmakers are home for the August recess, they’re likely to get plenty of questions from constituents about the big health bills being debated in Congress. [Wall Street Journal, 8/6/2009] OPINION: The Town Hall Mob
By Paul Krugman
There’s a famous Norman Rockwell painting titled “Freedom of Speech,” depicting an idealized American town meeting. The painting, part of a series illustrating F.D.R.’s “Four Freedoms,” shows an ordinary citizen expressing an unpopular opinion. [New York Times, 8/6/2009] OPINION: GOP Using Paranoia to Push Reason Out of Health-Care Debate
By Jay Bookman, author of the book “Caught in the Current” and deputy editorial page editor of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Obama White House has asked supporters of health-care reform for examples of emails that make allegations about reform that sound outlandish, fishy or misinformed. For example, that ObamaCare is going to force your grandpa to commit suicide. [Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 8/6/2009] OPINION: U.S. Psyche Bedevils Health Effort
By Gerald F. Seib, co-author with John Harwood of “Pennsylvania Avenue: Profiles in Backroom Power”
I hate the health-care system -- but don't you dare mess with it. [Wall Street Journal, 8/4/2009]
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