Health Reform in the House | Fact of the Day The House bill significantly increases physician payment rates under the Medicaid program, bringing them up to the levels paid by Medicare, thereby increasing Medicaid patient access to health providers and making it more affordable for doctors to practice. | | Health Resources |
At The Time This Daily Dose Was Sent the Hidden Health Tax On Insured Americans Was $30,663,521,330 Under the Microscope Today in Congress: Moving Forward on Health Insurance Reform
Today House Democrats continued Caucus meetings on H.R. 3200. Also today the House Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on Domestic Policy held a hearing that included personal testimony of insurance companies delaying or denying live-saving treatments. In the Senate, Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) released the Senate Finance Committee mark, the second and final Senate Committee to present a reform bill. Majority Leader Reid has announced a special Senate Democratic caucus meeting tomorrow on health insurance reform and it is expected that hearings on the Chairman’s mark will begin next week. Baucus Offers Health Plan, Trimming Cost to $856 Billion
Senator Max Baucus, the Montana Democrat, on Wednesday unveiled his plan to extend health coverage to more than 30 million uninsured Americans, providing a detailed look at a legislative proposal that meets many of the requirements that President Obama laid out in his address to Congress last week. [New York Times, 9/16/2009] Instability Faced By America’s Families: More Reason for Reform The White House has compiled 50 State Reports arming lawmakers with fresh state facts from the newly released 2008 Census figures. The state data includes the increased number of uninsured, including the number working but with no insurance, and the erosion of private employer-based coverage. Following the Census and Treasury Report, the Administration also released a report showing growing instability for families in the ongoing erosion of employer-based health coverage: Insurance Insecurity: Families Are Losing Employer-Sponsored Insurance Coverage
http://healthreform.gov/reports/insurance/index.html
Health Care Headlines Ohio Voters Side With Obama On Health Care
More Ohio voters are siding with President Barack Obama than congressional Republicans in the debate over health care reform, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released Wednesday.
[Cincinnati Inquirer, 9/16/2009] Average Family Health Insurance Policy: $13,375, up 5%
An average family health insurance policy now costs more than some compact cars, and four in 10 companies will likely pass more of that expense on to workers, according to a closely watched survey of businesses released Tuesday. [USA Today, 9/15/2009] Baucus's Bill Gets No Love From GOP
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) will release his long-awaited health care reform bill Wednesday – but without the Republican support he has sought for months. [Politico, 9/15/2009]
Read a related article. When Getting Beaten By Your Husband Is A Pre-Existing Condition
With the White House zeroing in on the insurance-industry practice of discriminating against clients based on pre-existing conditions, administration allies are calling attention to how broadly insurers interpret the term to maximize profits. [Huffington Post, 9/14/2009] There's No Market For GOP Health Care Bills
With only a few exceptions, this year's health overhaul debate has been pretty much an all-Democrats affair. [NPR, 9/15/2009] Read more from the House Majority Leader’s office on the GOP and Bipartisanship. AMA Does 180 On Health Care
Some 60 years ago, bannering charges of "socialized medicine," the American Medical Association led a devastatingly successful campaign against President Harry Truman's effort to pass the first comprehensive health care overhaul of modern times. [Chicago Tribune, 9/13/2009] 50 Million New Patients? More Primary Docs A Must
When Dr. Robert Flaherty launched a private practice in 2001, he soon found himself cramming in as many patients as possible to make ends meet, leaving little time to discuss with them the steps they could take to prevent future health troubles. [Yahoo News, 9/13/2009] Study Gives High Marks To Retailers' Clinics
Walk-in medical clinics run by CVS, Wal-Mart and other retailers provide care for routine illnesses that is as good as, and costs less than, similar care offered in doctors' offices, hospital emergency rooms and urgent care centers, according to a new Rand Corp. study. The cost savings over emergency rooms, in particular, was quite dramatic. [9/15/2009] OPINION: Gaps In The Healthcare Debate
By Mark Mellman, democratic pollster
Two gaps are shaping the terrain for the healthcare debate. One of them has persisted for at least the 18 years we have been working on healthcare reform — the gap between the number who are dissatisfied with the system generally and those who may feel the same but are satisfied with their own coverage.
[The Hill, 9/16/2009] OPINION: The Senate Is Ready To Act On Health Care
By Senator Max Baucus (D-MT), chairman, Senate Finance Committee
Over the past decade, American families and businesses have seen their health-care costs skyrocket.
[Wall Street Journal, 9/16/2009] OPINION: How Corporate P.R. Works To Kill Healthcare Reform
By Wendell Potter, former CIGNA communications officer
Very little by comparison has been written about the millions of dollars that special interests are spending on P.R. activities to accomplish the same goal and that are vital to successful lobbying efforts.
[Salon.com, 9/15/2009] | 