Health Reform in the House | Fact of the Day 72 million, or 41 percent, of nonelderly adults have accumulated medical debt or had difficulty paying medical bills in the past year. A full 61 percent of those with difficulty had insurance.
(The Commonwealth Fund) | Health Resources |
Under the Microscope REPORT: Out-of-Pocket Expenses: Americans Shoulder the Burden of Growing Health Care Costs
The White House Office of Health Reform released a new report showing the incredible financial burden of rising health care costs and inadequate coverage on individuals and families. The report contains numerous facts on the out-of-pocket expenses Americans face under the current health care system, underscoring the need to enact reform that contain costs and make health care more affordable and accessible.
(White House Office of Health Reform)
Health Care Headlines Gibbs Says Obama Isn’t Backing Away from Public Option
The White House on Tuesday denied that comments by Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius were meant to signal that President Barack Obama is backing away from a public insurance option. [Roll Call, 8/18/2009] Obama to Hold Call With Supporters
Seeking to recapture the energy of his campaign organization, President Barack Obama is holding “a live strategy meeting” on health care — online and via conference call — with grass-roots supporters on Thursday at 2:30 p.m. Eastern.
[Politico, 8/18/2009] PhRMA Defends Itself From Boehner Criticism
The prescription drug industry’s lobbying arm is defending its deal with President Barack Obama in the wake of criticism from House Minority Leader John Boehner, who charged it with “appeasing” the Obama administration. [The Hill, 8/18/2009] ‘Grassroots’ Notion
Michael Steele, the chairman of the Republican National Committee, said the false “death panel” rumor about President Obama’s health care plan is a “grassroots” notion that he does not know if he believes.
[Politico, 8/19/2009] Current Healthcare System Is Immoral, Bioethicists Say
If healthcare reform truly involved “death panels,” would bioethicists support it? Of course not. And they are making their case that it’s the current healthcare system – not any of the proposed changes – that fails to meet ethical standards. [LA Times, 8/18/2009] Study Finds End-of-Life Counseling Improves Mood
As a political uproar rages over end-of-life counseling, a new study finds offering such care to dying cancer patients improves their mood and quality of life. [Associated Press, 8/18/2009] Probing Doctors’ Ties to Industry
You may not be able to trust your mortgage broker, your car salesman or your congressman, but you can trust your doctor. Can't you? [Washington Post, 8/18/2009] OPINION: Dispute Over ‘Public Option’ Veers Into Fantasyland
Depending on who you listen to, a central feature of President Obama's health care overhaul — a government-run insurance plan known as the "public option" — is either dead or on life support. That it is in trouble at all reflects the Alice-in-Wonderland nature of the medical discussion. [USA Today, 8/19/2009] |