Health Reform in the House | Fact of the Day The reforms contained within House bill H.R. 3200 extend the solvency of the Medicare Trust Fund by at least five years. | | Health Resources |
At The Time This Daily Dose Was Sent the Hidden Health Tax On Insured Americans Was $30,434,829,203 Under the Microscope On Saturday, President Obama spoke in his Weekly Address and at a Minneapolis rally about a newly released staggering Treasury report on the risk of losing health insurance, showing that about half of all Americans under 65 will lose their health coverage for at least six months over a ten year period. And more than a third of Americans will go without coverage for longer than one year. This is further enforced by the Census report that came out last week on health coverage and the uninsured in the United States. Listen to the full audio of the President’s Weekly Address or view the video online. Read coverage of the new Treasury Report:
Seeking To Woo the Uninsured, Obama Sites Risk of Losing Coverage [New York Times, 6/12/2009]
Obama Frets For Those With, Without Insurance
[Chicago Tribune, 9/12/2009]
Yes, Those Uninsured Numbers Are Legit
[New Republic, 9/14/2009] Meanwhile while Americans are facing increasing instability in their health insurance coverage, Rep. Charles Boustany (R-LA), the congressman Republicans tapped to speak for them following the President’s Joint Address to Congress last week, says he agrees with 80 percent of what’s in the House bill. This seems to contradict Republicans’ calls to scrap the current legislation and start over. “In fact, I would venture to say that we agree on about 80% of the issues right now. It's just a matter of hashing out those few areas where we disagree.” –Rep. Charles Boustany, 9/10/2009. Watch Rep. Boustany on MSNBC here. Newt Gingrich and Senator Cornyn asserted the same on Meet the Press last Sunday. New Resources: The Office of the Majority Leader and the House Committee on Education and Labor have worked together to come up with an interactive health insurance reform graphic to help constituents understand how H.R. 3200 might be relevant to them. Also, Health Care for America Now has come up with a chart showing how health insurance reform would work under H.R. 3200.
Health Care Headlines Obama On Health Bill: "I Own It"
President Obama tells Steve Kroft in an interview airing Sunday on CBS News' "60 Minutes: "I intend to be president for a while and once this bill passes, I own it. ... So I have every incentive to get this right."
[Politico, 9/12/2009] Read a related article. Obama Follows Up Address By Pushing Healthcare Talking Points On The Road
Before a packed Target Center in Minneapolis, the president reaffirmed his plan to lower the cost of care, cover more Americans and prohibit insurance companies from denying coverage based on pre-existing conditions. [The Hill, 9/12/2009] Read related articles in Politico and Roll Call. Near Deadline, Health Care Negotiators Pare Costs
Senate health care negotiators said Monday they've cut the cost of their 10-year coverage plan to under $880 billion as they labored for an elusive bipartisan deal with just a day or so left after months of talks.
[Associated Press, 9/14/2009] The Tea Party Vs. The Polls
What you saw at the Tea Party this weekend was a lot of certainty about health-care reform. "No" polled at 100 percent. The American people, however, evince no such clarity. [Washington Post, 9/14/2009]
Read a related article. Anything Goes In Health Care Ad Wars
A wave of inflammatory ads bashing President Obama's health care plan has prompted liberal groups to push back with letters, petitions and calls for media outlets to pull the spots. [National Journal, 9/14/2009] Dole, Politics Aside, Pushes for Health Care Plan
When former Senator Bob Dole was the Republican minority leader, he helped deep-six President Bill Clinton’s health care plan. This year, Mr. Dole, 86, who left the Senate in 1996 to run for president, is working behind the scenes to help resurrect one. [New York Times, 9/11/2009] Read a related article. Health Care Bill Could Hinge On Byrd Rule
Without meaning to, Robert C. Byrd , the most jealous guardian of senatorial privileges and prerogatives, long ago set the stage for giving an unelected official what could be great power in the Senate’s attempt to overhaul the nation’s health care system. [CQ Weekly, 9/14/2009] EDITORIAL: If Congress Does Nothing, Health Care Will Still Change
Suppose Congress does nothing on health care this year. No legislation passes. Would it matter to Montanans? [Montana Billings Gazette, 9/13/2009] OPINION: The Body Count At Home
By Nicholas Kristoff
In the debate over health care, here’s an inequity to ponder: Nikki White would have been far better off if only she had been a convicted bank robber. [New York Times, 9/12/2009] OPINION: The Wild Card
By Bob Herbert
There’s a lot to appreciate in the latest incarnation of the Democrats’ Sisyphean-like campaign to overhaul the nation’s health care system. In the current environment, matters are growing worse almost by the hour.
[New York Times, 9/11/2009] | 