Health Reform in the House | Fact of the Day Under the House bill, if you need to purchase health insurance on the individual market, new transparency laws will allow a side-by-side true comparison of a variety of health insurance plans, so you can find the best and most affordable plan in the Health Insurance Exchange. | | Follow Health Insurance Reform
 facebook  twitter |
|
| Health Resources |
At The Time This Daily Dose Was Sent the Hidden Health Tax On Insured Americans Was $31,256,624,197 Under the Microscope White House, Senate and House: Action on All Fronts
Over the weekend President Obama hit an unprecedented five Sunday talk shows, appearing on CNN, NBC, ABC, CBS, and Univision to talk about his number one domestic priority, health insurance reform. He conveyed the message that health insurance reform will mean increased stability and affordability of health coverage for Americans.
On Friday, former hospital executive, First Lady Michelle Obama, and HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius spoke to leaders of several women’s groups on the importance of health insurance reform for women and families. Earlier in the week the Administration had released a report on how health insurance reform will in particular help America’s older women. Read their remarks here and read how the current health system does not work for America’s women.
Michelle Obama Turns To Health Care Overhaul
“If we want to achieve true equality for women, if that is our goal . . . we have to reform the system. The status quo is unacceptable. It is holding women and families back, and we know it,’’ she said at an event sponsored by the six-month-old White House Council on Women and Girls.
[Boston Globe, 9/19/2009]
Also on Friday, Senate Finance Committee members filed 564 amendments to Baucus’ mark released last week. The long-awaited SFC markup begins tomorrow. Read about Senator Snowe’s amendments and some amendments that will benefit community health centers. The other four House and Senate committees with jurisdiction over health insurance reform have already reported.
Today in the House, Rep. Bobby Scott (D-VA) ran circles around House Minority Whip Eric Cantor in a debate on health insurance reform. We’ll bring you news coverage from the debate in tomorrow’s Daily Dose.
Fall Come-Back – Setting the Record Straight
An analysis of 65 recent polls shows that while reform may have had a bumpy ride this summer, support has since picked up starting in late August. This news comes after last week’s Bloomberg poll showing a majority of Americans see many of the scare tactics led by the opposition, as, well, scare tactics. This came on the same day as a Quinnipiac University survey showed Ohio voters siding with Obama on health care.
Speaking of scare tactics, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services launched an investigation Friday into Humana Inc.’s possible violation of marketing rules. Seniors in several states received letters stating they could “lose their important benefits and services” under health insurance reform. Chairman Baucus today also urged a crackdown on insurance companies using unscrupulous tactics to scare seniors. Read the letter from CMS to Humana, Inc.
Read the Tri-Committee Medicare Advantage fact sheet and check out the Des Moines Register editorial below.
Health Care Headlines Obama Calls For "Civil" Tone On Healthcare
President Obama sought to blanket the airwaves with an impassioned defense of his health-care reform effort Sunday during back-to-back broadcasts of taped interviews on five morning news programs.
[Washington Post, 9/21/2009] Read a related article. Obama Insists That Insurance Will Be Affordable
President Obama on Sunday pushed back against the argument from liberal Democrats that the leading health care bill in the Senate would place a new financial burden on the middle class, saying in a series of television appearances that insurance would be made affordable through a competitive exchange and subsidies. [New York Times, 9/21/2009] Read a related article. The Rose Garden: Obama's New Messaging Accentuates Positive
"Fired up! Ready to go! Fired up! Ready to go!” No, this not the triumphant call of some backyard chef starting up his Weber grill. It’s the zippy new refrain of President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul drive.
[Roll Call, 9/21/2009] Proposing A Public Health Option As A "Safety Net"
Senator Olympia J. Snowe, a pivotal Republican, described on Saturday the changes she wanted to see in a comprehensive health care bill to make insurance more affordable, and she proposed a government insurance company as a possible backup to the private market if coverage remains too costly.
[New York Times, 9/20/2009] Read about Sen. Snowe’s amendments here. For Many, Health Policy Jargon Is Clear As Mud
Neil Dukas knew little about health insurance because he had always been healthy. When he and his wife bought a high-deductible policy in 2008, he didn't know the difference between a deductible and an out-of-pocket limit. [L.A. Times, 9/21/2009] Is The Mayo Clinic A Model Or A Mirage? Jury Is Still Out
The Mayo Clinic looms out of the prairie here like the mecca it has become, a world-renowned medical complex that is often cited by President Obama as his model for national health-care reform.
[Washington Post, 9/20/2009] Will Docs Tune In To Comparative Effectiveness Studies
With Congress poised to spend possibly billions of dollars in coming years on research to help doctors identify the most worthwhile medical treatments for various conditions, how doctors respond to that research is key to the hopes of policy makers that it will “bend the curve” in health spending growth. [CQ HealthBeat, 9/18/2009] Senator Kennedy Speaks Out On Health Care Reform
One of the most important developments in the health care debate during the Congressional recess was the death of Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) on Aug. 25. Kennedy first called for national health insurance for all Americans during a speech in 1969, and he fought for that goal for the rest of his life. [Roll Call, 9/21/2009] EDITORIAL: Kill Subsidy For Medicare Advantage Plans
It's not often Congress has an opportunity to cut a program and feel pretty darn good about it. But lawmakers have that opportunity now - in health care, of all places. [Des Moines Register, 9/21/2009] OPINION: Miller: Every American Will Benefit From Health Care Reform
By Rep. George Miller (D-CA), chairman, House Committee on Education & Labor
President Barack Obama has been clear about the urgency of enacting health insurance reform this year.
[Roll Call, 9/21/2009] OPINION: Stupak: Uninsured Are A Cost Burden On Everyone
By Rep. Bart Stupak (D-MI), member, House Commitee on Energy & Commerce
When we discuss paying for health care, the facts speak for themselves. Every American is already paying a steep price as a result of America’s broken health care system. [Roll Call, 9/21/2009] OPINION: Rockefeller: An Opportunity We Can't Pass Up
By Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-MI) chairman, Senate Finance Subcommittee on Health
Earlier this month, the president outlined a clear vision for health care reform — a plan that will put families ahead of corporate profits, reduce skyrocketing health care costs and provide a strong pathway for more Americans to access meaningful and affordable care. [Roll Call, 9/21/2009] OPINION: Conrad: No Reform Without Cost Savings
By Sen. Kent Conrad (D-ND), chairman, Senate Budget Committee
While debate continues over various health care reform proposals, there can be no debate that reform is needed. The status quo on health care is simply not an option. [Roll Call, 9/21/2009] LETTER: Small Business And Health
By John C. Arensmeyer, founder and chief executive, Small Business Majority
“Bristling at Health Plan to Cover Early Retirees” (“The Work-Up” series, news article, Sept. 9) pegs health care coverage for early retirees as exclusively a labor issue. In fact, this is an issue for all Americans.
[New York Times, 9/21/2009] | 