Health Reform in the House | Fact of the Day From 2000 to 2009, the number of people in families spending more than 10 percent of their pre-tax income on health care will grow by nearly 22.7 million—an increase of 54.4 percent. [Families USA] | Health Resources |
Under the Microscope STUDY: Out-of-Pocket Health Care Costs Rise for Workers With Employer Coverage
The 161 million Americans with employer-sponsored health insurance are facing substantial increases in out-of-pocket costs, according to a study funded by The Commonwealth Fund that examines trends in the comprehensiveness of employer-sponsored insurance from 2004 to 2007.
[The Commonwealth Fund, 6/2/09]
REPORT: Limiting the Tax Exclusion for Employer-Sponsored Insurance Can Help Pay for Health Reform
Analysis in a report by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities finds that limiting the tax exclusion for employer-sponsored health insurance could provide significant revenues for health reform without eroding employer-sponsored insurance or causing other undesirable side effects — if the cap and the rest of the health reform legislation are well designed.
[Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, 6/2/09]
Health Care Headlines Obama Urges Quick Action on Insurance
President Obama on Tuesday affirmed his support for the creation of a government-sponsored health insurance plan, but he acknowledged that such a plan would sharply reduce the chances for Republican support of legislation to overhaul the health care system, Democratic senators said. [New York Times, 6/2/09] Obama Focused on Bottom Line
Obama summoned Democrats from two key Senate committees to the White House on Tuesday to make clear that the bill must control health costs and not add to the deficit demands that make their task even more challenging, because it means finding enough upfront spending cuts and tax increases to pay for the overhaul. [Politico, 6/3/09] "Make or Break" Time for Health Reform: Obama
President Barack Obama stepped up efforts to build public support for a broad revamp of U.S. healthcare on Tuesday, saying the country could no longer afford the soaring costs of the current system that leaves millions without medical coverage. [Reuters, 6/2/09] Long, Hot Summer Ahead for Health Care Policy
For many veterans of past health care battles, the arrival of a long, hot summer of debate brings back memories of 1993, the last time Congress considered a really big overhaul of the system. But in some important ways, it feels more like 2003. [CQ Today, 5/27/09] Obama Urging Senate Health Care Vote By August
With a mission of urgency set by the White House, Senate Democrats intend to move a single health care bill to the floor within weeks, despite concerns about disparities between versions shaping up in two different committees. [CQ Today, 6/2/09] Cornyn Warns That Obama's Pace on Health Care Is Perilous
With their leader Sen. Charles E. Grassley of Iowa immersed in bipartisan negotiations, Senate Finance Committee Republicans are keeping fairly quiet about the fast pace of legislative action Democrats are pursuing to overhaul the health care system. [CQ Today, 6/2/09] Mandate in Health Care Seen as a Sleeper Issue
As a candidate, Barack Obama dismissed the idea of requiring everyone in America to buy health insurance. In fact, that was one of the biggest domestic policy differences between Obama and then-Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York in the Democratic primaries. [CQ Today, 6/1/09] Three Big Health Lobbies to Watch
It isn’t just the insurance industry that overhaul advocates must worry about. Big employers, labor unions and hospitals that are a political force in every congressional district can wage a powerful campaign of opposition to any health provision they don’t like. [CQ Today, 5/27/09] Medical Equipment Suppliers Begin New Effort to Stop CMS Program
Just as the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is gearing up to restart a controversial competitive bidding program to supply Medicare patients with wheelchairs, oxygen equipment, diabetic supplies and other forms of durable medical equipment, a lobby that represents those suppliers is preparing to urge Congress once again to stop the program. [CQ Today, 6/2/09] Baucus to Meet with Single Payers
It may not be in the packed committee room they had hoped for, but advocates for a single-payer, government-run health care system will finally get a meeting with Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus. [CQ Today, 6/2/09] EDITORIAL: A Healthy Tax
The problem with obesity has become so overpowering in America that no single remedy guarantees a solution. But a proposal now being considered by some in Congress to tax drinks loaded with sugar would certainly help. [New York Times, 6/3/09] OPINION: More on Where Your Raise WentBy Timothy Noah
To demonstrate how dire a problem medical inflation had become, I reproduced a bar graph from the U.S. Health and Human Services Department comparing wage increases during the years 1999-2008 with increases during that same period in employer-sponsored health-insurance premiums. [Slate, 6/2/09]
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