Former Senate majority leaders team up on health reform issues

In other health reform policy developments, Stateline reports on how Christian health co-ops are interacting with the health overhaul.

Politico: Tom Daschle, Bill Frist Join Forces On Health Care Reform
Former Senate Majority Leaders Tom Daschle and Bill Frist are hoping to achieve at the state level what federal lawmakers weren't able to do: bipartisan health reform (Haberkorn, 1/18).

Stateline: Christian Health Co-ops Cater To 'Obamacare' Opponents
The health care law does in fact contain language exempting faith-based groups from the requirement that all Americans be enrolled in a conventional health insurance plan by 2014 or face penalties. The number of Americans who rely on these organizations, called "health care sharing ministries," is currently small — only 100,000 households are members nationwide — but Christian Care Ministry hopes to find an eager market in the 11 million Americans that it estimates profess Christian faith and are not covered by an employer's insurance plan. ... Members exchange more than $60 million annually to help one another cover health expenses ... Legislation related to health care sharing ministries will be debated this year in at least seven states — Arizona, Georgia, Indiana, Maine, Montana, North Carolina and South Carolina (Maynard, 1/18).