Health Reform in the House | Fact of the Day Nine states and the District of Columbia still do not have a specific law that makes it illegal for insurers to reject applicants who are survivors of domestic violence by citing the history of domestic violence as a pre-existing condition. (National Women’s Law Center) | | Follow Health Insurance Reform
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At the Time This Daily Dose Was Sent, Insured Americans Had Paid a “Hidden Tax” of $52,244,427,141 since January 1, 2009 in Additional Premium Costs to Cover Care for the Uninsured. Under the Microscope FROM DAY ONE - DEMOCRATS ARE ON YOUR SIDE What will health insurance reform do starting the first day it becomes law? - On Day One, annual caps on coverage would be eliminated
- On Day One, rescissions - the practice of dumping people even if they have paid their premiums – would be eliminated
- On Day One, pre-existing condition exclusions for children would be eliminated, and over time all pre-existing condition exclusions would be eliminated
- On Day One, parents would be allowed to carry their children on their health insurance policy until their 26th birthday
- On Day One a down payment toward completely closing the Donut Hole for seniors would be met with a $250 rebate for those in the Medicare Part D coverage gap
MIDDLE CLASS SHOULDERING BRUNT OF HEALTH INSURANCE CRISIS A state-specific analysis -- Barely Hanging On: Middle-Class and Uninsured -- highlights a worsening situation. The two recessions that Americans have weathered in the first decade of the 21st century have taken a tremendous toll on people's ability to afford health insurance - and employers' capacity to offer it. A new report from the nonpartisan Robert Wood Johnson Foundation documents that while the situation has been tough for everyone, it's America's middle class that has been hardest hit. The number of middle-income earners who obtained health insurance from their employers dropped by 3 million people from 2000 to 2008. Just 66 percent of people in families earning roughly $45,000 to $85,000 are now insured through their employer -- a drop of seven percentage points from 2000 to 2008. TODAY’S HEALTH REFORM NUMBER: 9 9 -- that's number of states and the District of Columbia where there is still no specific law that makes it illegal for insurers to reject applicants who are survivors of domestic violence by citing the history of domestic violence as a pre-existing condition. Unfortunately, the gender inequalities across our broken heath care system don't end there. In many states, insurance companies can still discriminate on the basis of gender -- charging women higher premiums than men simply because of their gender or denying coverage because of so-called "pre-existing conditions" like being pregnant, experiencing a prior pregnancy complication, or having undergone a C-section. And health plans in the individual market often do not cover basic maternity care. President Obama's proposal for health insurance reform would end the days of discrimination based on gender. Insurance companies would be banned from denying coverage because of a pre-existing condition and would have to cover preventative care like mammograms. Every idea has been put on the table. Every argument has been made. Everything there is to say about health reform has been said. Let’s get it done. Follow the health reform daily numbers on WhiteHouse.gov and on Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and LinkedIn.
Health Care Headlines Obama’s Health-Care Reform Speech in Ohio Convinces a Few Skeptics
Retirees who voted Republican in the last presidential election, Carol and Paul Gerhardstein were unhappy about Democratic plans to overhaul the nation's health-care system. But they showed up at a rally this week to hear President Obama defend his proposals, and a funny thing happened. [Washington Post, 3/17/2010] Catholic Nuns Urge Passage of Obama’s Health Bill
Catholic nuns are urging Congress to pass President Barack Obama's health care plan, in an unusual public break with bishops who say it would subsidize abortion. [Associated Press, 3/18/2010] House Democrats Scramble To Ensure Adequate Deficit Reduction In Health Bill
"It is very important to us that this legislation be fiscally sound -- that is, save $100 billion in the first 10 years and $1 trillion in the second 10 years.” [Washington Post, 3/17/2010] Insurer Targeted HIV Patients To Drop Coverage
In May, 2002, Jerome Mitchell, a 17-year old college freshman from rural South Carolina, learned he had contracted HIV. The news, of course, was devastating, but Mitchell believed that he had one thing going for him: On his own initiative, in anticipation of his first year in college, he had purchased his own health insurance. [Reuters, 3/17/2010] Big Insurance Rate Increase For Pennsylvania Poor
Facing a sharp rise in costs, Pennsylvania has almost doubled the monthly bill for a state health insurance program for poor people who do not qualify for Medicaid and are on a waiting list for a less costly option.
[New York Times, 3/16/2010] Drug Prices Rise For Seniors Who Reach Medicare Part D Coverage Gap
Seniors who hit the coverage gap in their Medicare prescription drug plans and must use their own money to buy drugs are facing price increases that are far outpacing inflation, a new study finds.
[Kaiser Health News, 3/16/2010] Patients Bear Brunt As Cancer Care Spending Hits $90 Billion
The cost of cancer treatment is "skyrocketing" — both for individual patients and the nation, a new analysis shows. [USA Today, 3/18/2010] OPINION: The Time Is Now For Health Reform
By Sr. Carol Keehan, DC, Catholic Health Association President and CEO
As I watched our president present his plan to pass the health reform legislation, it was clear this is an historic opportunity to make great improvements in the lives of so many Americans. Is it perfect? No. Does it cover everyone? No. But is it a major first step? Yes. [Catholic Health World, 3/15/2010] COMMENTARY: Eric Cantor Agrees That ‘Deem and Pass’ Is Legitimate
Jonathan Chait argues that political reporters and bloggers have failed to “fully explain” deem and pass “to their readers and put them in the proper context.” [Think Progress, 3/18/2010] COMMENTARY: Hypocrisy: A Parliamentary Procedure
By Norman J. Ornstein
In the last Congress that Republicans controlled, from 2005 to 2006, Rules Committee Chairman David Dreier used the self-executing rule more than 35 times, and was no stranger to the concept of “deem and pass.
[The American, 3/16/2010] | 