Health Reform in the House | Fact of the Day Small businesses pay up to 18 percent more per worker than large firms for the same health insurance policy.
(White House Council of Economic Advsiors) | Health Resources |
Under the Microscope WEEKLY ADDRESS: Health Insurance Reform, Small Business and Your Questions
In his weekly address on Saturday, President Obama discusses a key factor that has been considered in the development of the health insurance reform proposals that are being considered: the impact of reform on small business. Watch the video, download for your portable music player, or read the transcript of the Weekly Address. [White House, 7/25/2009]
RELATED REPORT: The Economic Effects of Health Care Reform On Small Businesses and Their Employees
The White House Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) released a major report on the subject in conjunction with the President’s address. Small businesses are severely disadvantaged by the current U.S. health care system relative to their larger counterparts. This CEA report examines the challenges faced by smaller firms under the current health care system, and the likely impacts of health care reform on small businesses and the workers they employ.
[White House Council of Economic Advisors, 7/25/2009]
Read the CEA report as a web page, in pdf form, or through Slideshare.
INTERACT: Send a response through WhiteHouse.gov
During the weekly address, the President asked that small business owners and employees give comments and questions on the report, such as experiences with health care of those involved in small business, and thoughts and questions on the new CEA report (see below) in light of those experiences. Take part in the discussion CEA Chair Christina Romer initiated on the social networking site LinkedIn. Romer will be answering some responses in a live video discussion this Wednesday at 3:00 PM EDT.
Obama: Health Plan Would Buoy Small Businesses
President Obama sought Saturday to spin the national discussion back to healthcare overhaul, focusing his national address on how small businesses would be helped by reform. [The Hill, 7/25/2009]
Health Care Headlines Wider Employer-Provided Coverage Projected Under House Plan
The Congressional Budget Office, answering questions by Republican critics of the health care legislation proposed by House Democrats, said on Sunday that the bill would drive 9 million people off of employer-provided insurance plans but that 12 million people who do not have such coverage now would get it — a net increase of 3 million people insured through their employers by 2016. [New York Times, 7/26/2009] Focus on Health Savings Obscures Other Issues
President Obama says the primary goal of health reform is to rein in runaway spending, and he points to real-world examples in which doctors and hospitals have improved care and reduced costs.
[Washington Post, 7/26/2009] Reach of Subsidies is Critical Issue for Health Plan
The major health care bills moving through Congress would require nearly all Americans to have health insurance. But as lawmakers struggle to achieve the goal of universal coverage, a critical question is whether the plans will be affordable to those who are currently uninsured. [New York Times, 7/26/2009] Medical Groups Wary, Debate Proceeds
Few groups have weaved as intricate a pattern of policy agreement and divergence as physicians and nurses, two of the most visible stakeholders in the debate over a healthcare overhaul.
[CongressDaily, 7/27/2009] OPINION: Health Care Status Quo Would Be Disaster For Middle Class
By House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD)
How’s this for a health care plan? It will make your premiums go up—in fact, it will double health costs over the next ten years. It will strip millions of Americans of their coverage. It will send our deficit through the roof. [Yahoo News, 7/26/2009] OPINION: Health Reform Must be Fiscally Responsible
By Rep. Glenn Nye (D-VA)
I spoke recently with a veteran from Virginia Beach, Va., who served more than 20 years in the Navy. He told me about his daughter, a college student working toward her teaching degree, who had cancer when she was 3 years old and who continues to take expensive medication to keep the disease in remission. [Politico, 7/27/2009] OPINION: Public Plan Should Build on Medicare Network
By Rep. Lynn Woosley (D-CA)
At least 46 million Americans are uninsured now, more than 85 percent of them in working families. Another 25 million are underinsured. By the end of the day, 14,000 more Americans will lose their coverage. [Politico, 7/27/2009]
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