Health Reform in the House | Fact of the Day Forty-one percent of adults under the age of 65 have accumulated medical debt, had difficulty paying medical bills, or both during a recent one year period. Forty-one leading economists, including three Nobel Prize winners, sent a letter to President Obama and Congress yesterday urging the swift passage of comprehensive health insurance reform to curb skyrocketing health care costs. | | Follow Health Insurance Reform
 facebook  twitter |
|
| Health Resources |
At the Time This Daily Dose Was Sent, Insured Americans Had Paid a “Hidden Tax” of $51,653,949,224 since January 1, 2009 in Additional Premium Costs to Cover Care for the Uninsured. Under the Microscope HEALTH REFORM WILL SLOW THE GROWTH OF HEALTH CARE SPENDING Americans are seeing their health care costs increase dramatically from one year to the next. Rapidly increasing health costs is why 41 percent of adults under the age of 65 have accumulated medical debt, had difficulty paying medical bills, or both during a recent one year period. Health insurance reform legislation being considered in Congress has many provisions that will slow the growth of health care spending. Yesterday, a letter to the President and Congress from 41 leading economists, including three Nobel Laureates, detailed the measures that will slow the growth of health costs. Cost cutting provisions were also outlined by Harvard economist David Cutler in a Wall Street Journal piece this week: Health Reform Passes the Cost Test Peter Orszag, Office of Management & Budget Director, wrote a blog post, and Center for American Progress wrote a memo on the strength of the cost savings from health reform. TODAY’S HEALTH REFORM NUMBER: 41
Forty-one percent of adults under the age of 65 have accumulated medical debt, had difficulty paying medical bills, or both during a recent one year period. Watch Laura Klitzka from Wisconsin tell her story about crippling health care costs and ask how many more Americans need to be burdened with medical debt before we reform our health insurance system. Every idea has been put on the table. Every argument has been made. Everything there is to say about health reform has been said. Let’s get it done. Follow the health reform daily numbers on WhiteHouse.gov and on Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and LinkedIn.
Health Care Headlines White House Memo Argues Health Care Support Is Increasing
A new polling memo from Joel Benenson, the White House's pollster of choice, argues that support for President Barack Obama's health care plan has been building in the wake of his State of the Union speech in late January. [Washington Post, 3/11/2010]
Read the polling memo. Democrats Seek Healthcare Consensus
Democratic leaders on Capitol Hill worked throughout the day Thursday seeking intraparty agreements over abortion, federal insurance subsidies and other issues in a healthcare package they hope to send President Obama before the end of the month. [L.A. Times, 3/12/2010] Biggest Medicare Drug Plans Raise Prices 10 Percent On Average
While the premium increases are far lower than those for many health care policies sold to individuals and small businesses outside Medicare, the rate rise is still many times higher than inflation, which is 2.6 percent for the last year. [Kaiser Health News, 3/10/2010] Democrats Move Toward Grouping Health Reform With Student-Aid Bill
Democratic leaders said Thursday that they were increasingly inclined to release a final health-care bill that could accomplish two of President Obama's top domestic priorities: guaranteeing coverage to 30 million uninsured Americans and vastly expanding federal aid for college students.
[Washington Post, 3/12/2010] Read a related article. Faith Leaders Say Abortion Provisions Adequate In Health-Care Bill
Twenty-five evangelical and Catholic leaders wrote members of Congress March 11 urging them not to let a dispute over abortion derail passage of health-care reform. [Associated Baptist Press, 3/11/2010] EDITORIAL: Cost Control's the Key
Critics of the comprehensive healthcare reform bills pending in Congress have trotted out a number of hyperbolic arguments against the legislation, some of which are easy to refute. [L.A. Times, 3/12/2010] OPINION: Baucus: We Must Reform Health Care Now
By Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT), Senate Finance Committee Chairman
If we do nothing, even some individuals and families who can pay for insurance today may not be able to find it. Without reform, anyone with a pre-existing condition can be denied coverage when they need it most.
[Roll Call, 3/8/2010] OPINION: Health Reform Myths
By Paul Krugman
Health reform is back from the dead. Many Democrats have realized that their electoral prospects will be better if they can point to a real accomplishment. Polling on reform — which was never as negative as portrayed — shows signs of improving. [New York Times, 3/12/2010] OPINION: Painting a Prettier Picture
By A.B. Stoddard
We've brought you a lot of news and commentary about the ugly underbelly of the process Democrats are engaging in to try and pass healthcare reform, we have assessed the politics of the effort again and again and we have also reported on the problems both Republicans and Democrats have with the substance of the bill. [The Hill, 3/11/2010] | 