Health policies part of political buzz words in presidential, congressional races

While GOP presidential hopeful Rick Santorum says the health law could discourage marriage, first lady Michelle Obama is courting women to back her husband's re-election efforts.

Reuters: Santorum Calls Obama Health Program Bad For Marriage
Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum accused Democratic President Barack Obama's administration on Monday of implementing health care policies that discourage marriage and hurt families. The former Pennsylvania senator, trying to rally conservative voters and put pressure on Republican rival Mitt Romney, said Obama's 2010 health care overhaul gave couples financial incentives to remain unmarried (Jacobs, 2/20).

Bloomberg: Michelle Obama Courts Women Voters On Campaign
Michelle Obama is being billed as the featured attraction in house parties her husband's re-election campaign is organizing around the country tomorrow to try to boost his support among women voters. The first lady is to appear via conference call at the "Women for Obama" gatherings, President Barack Obama's re-election campaign said in an e-mail sent to supporters last night. … The e-mail mentions access to contraception without a co-pay among the administration's accomplishments for women, in addition to Obama's signing of the "Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act" and the 2010 health care overhaul that includes mammogram coverage and a restriction on charging women higher premiums than men (Talev, 2/21).

The Associated Press: As Santorum Seizes Social Issues, Romney Demurs
Philosophical differences between the top two Republican presidential candidates are becoming starker as Rick Santorum drives harder on religious and social issues that Mitt Romney rarely discusses in detail. In recent days, Santorum has questioned the usefulness of public schools, criticized prenatal testing and said President Barack Obama's theology is not "based on the Bible" (Babington and Hunt, 2/20).

Denver Post: Ad Supporting Rep. Mike Coffman Attacks Obama On Unemployment, Health Care
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is running a TV ad supporting Rep. Mike Coffman, a two-term GOP congressman from Aurora, that makes two central claims in attacking President Barack Obama's policies. ... The ad also claims that "Obama-care will kill jobs." There are scores of studies and opinion articles regarding the Affordable Care Act's potential impact on employment. The bottom line with any of the claims is that they are largely hypothetical because many aspects of the law have not been implemented (Painter, 2/21).