Health Reform in the House | Fact of the Day From 2004 to 2007, 12.6 million adult Americans – 36 percent of those who tried to purchase health insurance directly from an insurance company in the individual insurance market – were denied coverage, charged a higher rate or otherwise discriminated against because of a pre-existing condition, according to a recent national survey. (Commonwealth Fund) | | Follow Health Insurance Reform
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At the Time This Daily Dose Was Sent, Insured Americans Had Paid a “Hidden Tax” of $49,996,136,903 since January 1, 2009 in Additional Premium Costs to Cover Care for the Uninsured. Under the Microscope A WEEK WORKING FOR PATIENTS & CONSUMERS Throughout the week, Democrats demonstrated their commitment to fighting for patients and consumers. Wednesday, the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations held a hearing to investigate recent rate hikes of up to 39 percent in California by WellPoint’s Anthem Blue Cross. That same day, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced that she has invited health insurance company chief executive officers to a March 3rd meeting to discuss their companies’ insurance premiums. Also this week, the House passed the Health Insurance Industry Fair Competition Act, to repeal the blanket antitrust exemption afforded to health insurance companies. And on Thursday, the President and House and Senate Members held a bipartisan meeting to discuss what they could do to lower costs for American families and small businesses, expand protections for consumers, and slow the growth of health care spending and its impact on the budget. OPINION: At Summit, Republicans Prove They Aren't Putting America's Health First
By Steven Pearlstein
I'm not sure what else was accomplished at Thursday's Blair House summit, but surely one result is that we learned what Republican "leaders" really think about health care and health insurance. [Washington Post, 2/26/2010] OPINION: Democrats Are Listening to the American People
By House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD)
On Thursday, I sat down with President Obama and my congressional colleagues from both parties to try to find a way out of the health care crisis threatening our families and businesses. [AOL, 2/26/2010]
Health Care Headlines President Urges Focus on Common Ground
If there was any question about how deeply divided Republicans and Democrats are about how to reshape the American health care system, consider that they spent the first few hours of President Obama’s much-anticipated health care forum on Thursday arguing over whether they were in fact deeply divided. [New York Times, 2/26/2010] At Health-Care Summit, Obama Tells Republicans He's Eager to Move Ahead
President Obama declared Thursday that the time for debate over health-care reform has come to an end, closing an unusual seven-hour summit with congressional leaders by sending a clear message that Democrats will move forward to pass major legislation with or without Republican support. [Washington Post, 2/26/2010] Bottom Line on Health Care Summit: Dems Push Ahead
President Barack Obama strongly signaled that Democrats will move forward on a health care overhaul with or without Republicans, preparing his party for a fight whose political outcome will rest with voters in November. [Associated Press, 2/26/2010] Large Coalition of Religious Groups Urges Passage of Health Bill
An unusually broad array of religious groups sent a letter to President Obama and members of Congress on Wednesday calling on them to pass a comprehensive health care bill. The 58 national and 80 local groups signing the letter represent evangelicals, most mainline Protestant denominations, Roman Catholics, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Quakers and Mennonites. [New York Times, 2/24/2010] Read the letter. EDITORIAL: After the Summit
The main lesson to draw from Thursday’s health care forum is that differences between Democrats and Republicans are too profound to be bridged. That means that it is up to the Democrats to fix the country’s dysfunctional and hugely costly health care system. [New York Times, 2/26/2010] EDITORIAL: The Way Forward
The televised healthcare reform summit that President Obama convened Thursday didn't produce any Kumbaya moments or ground-breaking compromises. [L.A. Times, 2/26/2010] OPINION: Afflicting the Afflicted
By Paul Krugman
If we’re lucky, Thursday’s summit will turn out to have been the last act in the great health reform debate, the prologue to passage of an imperfect but nonetheless history-making bill. [New York Times, 2/26/2010] OPINION: Not As Dull As Expected!
By David Brooks
Going in, I was as cynical as everybody else about the Blair House health care forum. I was planning to watch for a half-hour and then write about something else. But the event was more meaningful than that.
[New York Times, 2/26/2010] | 