Health Reform in the House | Fact of the Day If health insurance reform doesn’t happen, by 2019, employment-based spending on health care at large employers will be 166% higher than today on a per-employee basis. (Business Roundtable) | | Follow Health Insurance Reform
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At the Time This Daily Dose Was Sent, Insured Americans Had Paid a “Hidden Tax” of $50,455,559,983 since January 1, 2009 in Additional Premium Costs to Cover Care for the Uninsured. Under the Microscope THE COSTS OF FAILURE An examination of trends in health spending over the past 50 years shows that if health insurance reform measures proposed by previous presidents had been enacted and slowed the growth in spending by as little as 1.0 or 1.5 percentage points annually, spending trends in the U.S. would have been closer to those seen in other major industrialized countries and fewer adverse health consequences and economic burdens would have been borne by American families, businesses, and government. The Commonwealth Fund has released a report demonstrating the The Costs of Failure. Accompanying the report is an interesting graph that was featured in the New York Times, on what percent of GDP we would be spending on health care in this country had health reform been enacted in yesteryear. A larger economic and financial burden is not the only cost of failure, inaction also costs human lives. Families USA released a state-by-state report today called Lives on the Line: The Deadly Consequences of Delaying Health Reform. One of the findings of the report states that in the 15 years since health reform was last debated (1995-2009), more than 290,000 American adults (25-64 years old) died prematurely due to a lack of health coverage. The Bottom Line: The cost of doing nothing far outweighs the cost of action.
Health Care Headlines Obama Calls For Adding GOP Ideas to Health Plan
President Barack Obama said Tuesday he was open to four new Republican proposals on health legislation in a gesture of bipartisanship meant to jump-start his stalled overhaul drive. [Associated Press, 3/2/2010] Obama to Highlight Cost in New Health Bill Push
President Obama this week will begin a climactic push to rally restive Congressional Democrats to pass major health care legislation by hammering the argument that the costs of failure will be higher insurance premiums and lost coverage for individuals and businesses. [New York Times, 3/1/2010] Warren Buffet: ‘I Would Vote for the Senate Bill’
I've been getting some e-mail lately about Warren Buffett apparently attacking health-care reform. Turns out he didn't, but that Fox News is saying he did. [Washington Post, 3/2/2010] Some House Foes Eye Switch to ‘Yes’ On Health Care
Ten House Democrats indicated in an Associated Press survey Monday they have not ruled out switching their "no" votes to "yes" on President Barack Obama's health care overhaul, brightening the party's hopes in the face of unyielding Republican opposition. [Associated Press, 3/1/2010] MedPAC Again Targets Medicare Advantage for Cuts
The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission in its annual report to Congress issued Monday rapped the continuing payment disparity that benefits private Medicare health plans over traditional Medicare.
[CQ HealthBeat, 3/1/2010]
Read the MedPAC press release, fact sheet or report on Medicare’s payment policy. Activists in Final Health Care Push
Progressive advocacy groups like Health Care for America Now and Families USA are organizing supporters and protests across the country, reminding Americans and lawmakers why inaction is unacceptable.
[Politico, 3/2/2010] Most Seniors Using Specialty-Tier Drugs Hit Hard By ‘Doughnut Hole’
The Government Accountability Office released a report Monday saying that 55 percent of Medicare enrollees taking at least one of a category of high-cost pharmaceuticals known as “specialty tier” drugs reached what Medicare considers to be “catastrophic” levels of out-of-pocket drug spending. [CQ HealthBeat, 3/1/2010] Consumer Group Sues California Health Insurer
Consumer advocates filed a class-action suit against Anthem Blue Cross on Monday, accusing California's largest for-profit health insurer of illegally using drastic rate hikes to force customers into inferior health plans. [Reuters, 3/2/2010] Read a related article. COMMENTARY: A Reconciliation Primer
By Ezra Klein
It is amazing how few reporters understand what the budget reconciliation process is: Either how it works, or what it's traditionally been used for, or what Democrats are proposing to use it for. That confusion creates comical exchanges like this one, where Bob Schieffer and Politico listened to Kent Conrad argue for a reconciliation strategy and walked away believing he'd thrown cold water on the idea.
[Washington Post, 3/1/2010] INTERVIEW: Reconciliation Won’t Be Smooth Ride For Health Bill
Democrats face a bumpy road ahead as they prepare an attempt to pass a version of health care overhaul legislation by using a Senate procedure that circumvents a GOP filibuster. So who better to explain how the coming weeks may unfold on the Hill than the man [Robert Dove] who helped write the road rules?
[NPR, 3/1/2010] | 