Health Reform in the House | Fact of the Day 18.7 million non-elderly Americans are in families that will spend more than 25 percent of their pre-tax income on health care in 2009. (Families USA) | Health Resources |
Under the Microscope REPORT: The Economic Case for Health Care Reform
As Congress and the President move to reform our health care system, a report released today provides context for what health care reform means for the American economy. It includes an analysis of where the country is headed in the absence of reform, as well as the potential impact on our economy of slowing health care cost growth and expanding coverage. [Council of Economic Advisors, 6/2/09]
Read News Coverage of the White House’s CEA Report by CNN, Bloomberg News, Politico, The Washington Post,
The Atlantic, and Fox Business.
PROPOSAL: Stakeholders Write to President Obama
Yesterday, six major health care organizations from across the stakeholder spectrum followed up on their promise and delivered to the President a more detailed proposal of where they could save the health care system $2 trillion over 10 years. [Stakeholders letter to the President, 6/1/09]
Read News Coverage of the Stakeholders’ Proposal by
CQ Today, The Financial Times, The Wall Street Journal, and HealthLeaders Media.
Health Care Headlines Democrats Clear Decks for Healthcare
Democrats and the Obama administration are shoving aside issues that divide their party to clear the deck for healthcare reform, which is likely to dominate the rest of the legislative year. [The Hill, 6/2/09] Dems Make Recess Push Over Energy, Healthcare Agenda
For a man who isn’t sick, Rep. Travis Childers (D-Miss.) spent a lot of time in hospitals last week. As part of his four-day healthcare tour, he visited three hospitals and attended an AARP meeting in Tupelo, Miss. [The Hill, 6/2/09] Sebelius, DeParle Ready to Tackle Healthcare Overhaul
Kathleen Sebelius and Nancy-Ann DeParle first met at the White House mess in 1997, during the battle for a patients' bill of rights to combat the constraints of managed care. The friendship they forged then could pay big dividends for President Obama now. [USA Today, 6/2/09] Biggest Guessing Game in Washington? Health Reform
Winners and losers among drugmakers, insurers and other health companies could emerge as soon as next week as U.S. lawmakers prepare to unveil their long-awaited healthcare reform proposals.
[Reuters, 6/2/09] Liberal Groups Bolster Obama Healthcare Plans
Leaders of the country's largest and most influential liberal groups said yesterday they are poised to spend $82 million to help push through sweeping healthcare legislation this year. [Boston Globe, 6/2/09] Health Plans Abound for Republicans
Republicans have no shortage of ideas about how to tackle the issue of health reform. What they don’t have is agreement — between the Senate and the House or between conservatives and moderates. [Politico, 6/2/09] Gregg Gives Health Reform a Go
Sen. Judd Gregg (R-N.H.) broke ranks with his Senate colleagues Monday and offered his own competing plan for health care reform — a proposal he said embodies what he would do if he had “a magic wand.” [Politico, 6/2/09] All Aren't Happy With Health Insurance For All
Today, three years after its health care law passed, 97 percent of [MA] residents are insured, the highest coverage rate in the country. But a primary tool to achieve that rate — the individual insurance mandate, enforced with a hefty fine at tax time — remains the most controversial part of the state's health reform efforts. [NPR, 6/2/09] EDITORIAL: Reforming Health Care ReformBy Diana J. Mason, PhD, RN, FAAN
Reforming health care is not a matter of paying for all Americans to access our chaotic, expensive health care system. According to the government report The Costs of Inaction: The Urgent Need for Health Reform, in 2007,40% of obese adults weren’t advised about exercise, and nearly half of children weren’t routinely taught about healthful eating. Something has happened to our commitment to prevention. [American Journal of Nurses, 6/2/09] OPINION: Health Care Reform Can’t Afford to WaitBy Senator Max Baucus
Health care spending is outpacing economic growth at an alarming rate, growing on average 2.4 percentage points faster than the GDP since 1970. And Since 2000, the cost of insurance has increased 2.5 times more than wages per year. [The Hill, 6/2/09] OPINION: Health Reform Generates Savings MythBy Maya MacGuineas, Washington Post writer
"Health-care reform is entitlement reform" has become a mantra of the Obama administration. The idea is that Congress can add a massive health-care program this year -- covering the uninsured -- and use the same measures that pay for the health reform to fix the broader budget problems. [Detroit News, 6/2/09]
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