THE DAILY DOSE: TUESDAY, JULY 14, 2009

Daily Dose
For Immediate Release:
2009-07-14T00:00:00
Contact Info:
Katie Grant
Stephanie Lundberg
(202) 225 - 3130
Health Reform in the House

Fact of the Day

One in five Americans—59 million people—reported not getting or delaying needed medical care in 2007, up from one in seven—36 million people—in 2003.
(Center for Studying Health System Change)

Health Resources

Under the Microscope

Markup Bill: Tri-Committee Introduces America’s Affordable Health Choice Act
On July 14, 2009, the House Tri-Committee introduced the America's Affordable Health Choice Act of 2009. The three committees with jurisdiction over health policy in the House have been working together as one committee to develop a single bill that fulfills President Obama's goals of reducing health care costs, protecting and increasing consumers' choices, and guaranteeing access to quality, affordable health care for all Americans.
[Committees on Energy & Commerce, Ways & Means, and Education & Labor, 7/14/2009]

Read Fact Sheets And Other Resources on America’s Affordable Health Choice Act.

See President Obama’s statement on the House markup bill.

Read preliminary coverage from Reuters, The Boston Globe, and Fox News.

Health Care Headlines

  • POLL: Americans Want Health-Care Bill, But Not Cost
    Most Americans want a big health care bill passed this year, a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll finds, but they are less enthusiastic about paying for it. [USA Today, 7/13/2009] Read the Speaker’s fact sheet on the latest polling.
  • Obama Prods Lawmakers in Meeting on Health Bill
    President Obama had a message on Monday for critics who think he has lost momentum in his bid to overhaul health care: “Don’t bet against us.” [New York Times, 7/13/2009] Read a related article in CQ Today.
  • On Health-Care Reform, Obama Looks to the LBJ Model
    "There are two qualities these presidents have in common," said White House senior adviser David Axelrod. Like Obama, Johnson "had a big vision and drove the country toward it, and second, he had a great appreciation for the legislative process." [Washington Post, 7/14/2009]
  • Health Insurers Discuss $100 Bln Savings
    U.S. health insurers are in talks with the Senate Finance Committee to reach savings in the federal Medicare program of $100 billion over a decade, a source familiar with the talks said on Monday.
    [Reuters, 7/13/2009]
  • Sick and Getting Sicker
    Rising health-care costs are pushing entrepreneurs to the limit. Some are changing coverage. Some are eliminating coverage. And some are deciding not to go into business at all. [Wall Street Journal, 7/13/2009]
  • GOP Looks for Health Language
    With Democratic infighting slowing health care reform’s momentum, Republicans are using the opportunity to beef up party rhetoric that has yet to gain much public traction. [Politico, 7/13/2009]
    Read the GOP strategy memo here.
  • Blue Dogs Targeted in Pro-Reform Ads
    Healthy Economy Now, a coalition of groups supporting the push for health care reform, is dropping $7 million on a new television ad campaign to build momentum for a reform bill and to keep six moderate House Democrats from walking away from supporting legislation as it moves through Congress in the coming weeks. [Roll Call, 7/14/2009]
  • Obama Names Surgeon General
    Regina M. Benjamin, an Alabama family physician who served for almost two decades as one of the few doctors in a shrimping village along the Gulf Coast, was nominated as U.S. surgeon general yesterday by President Obama. [Washington Post, 7/14/2009] Read more about Dr. Benjamin’s background here.
  • Abortion Issue Could Derail Health Care Overhaul
    More than nearly any other issue, abortion has the potential to throw a wrench into the already fragile gears of the major health care overhaul now starting to churn on Capitol Hill. [NPR, 7/14/2009]
    Read about amendments in the HELP markup.
  • How Health-Care Reform Could Hurt Doctor-Owned Hospitals
    Buried in the 850-page House health-reform draft is a provision that could in effect ban further construction of doctor-owned, for-profit specialty hospitals and prohibit existing ones from expanding. [Time, 7/13/2009]