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APHA urges Congress to press ahead and send comprehensive health reform legislation to the president

The American Public Health Association today urged Congress to press ahead and send comprehensive health reform legislation to the president in the coming weeks.

27 Jan 2010

Democratic leaders still pondering reconciliation pros and cons for health bill

Congressional Democrats are facing a critical decision about whether to use the procedural maneuver known as budget reconciliation to pass a health care reform bill, The New York Times reports.

27 Jan 2010

Doctors react to recent health overhaul developments

Some doctors are already living in a post-health-reform world because of their own initiatives, including efforts to control costs and improve the quality of care, reports The (Riverside, Calif.) Press-Enterprise.

27 Jan 2010

Bayh urges Dems to move to the center; Nelson says he cannot support national exchange

The Wall Street Journal: "Sen. Evan Bayh of Indiana, the very embodiment of calm understatement, seems an unlikely character to play the role of scold. But in recent weeks—particularly after last week's Massachusetts mauling—he has been scolding his Democratic Party, and sternly.

27 Jan 2010

As state legislatures gear up, federal health overhaul is on their agenda

The New York Times Prescriptions Blog: "The question of equality, or inequality, among states is a major reason President Obama's overhaul of the health care system, and the legislation in Congress to make it happen, seemed to reach the brink of collapse last week." The issue also reflects "one of the biggest challenges" the President and Congressional leaders face in their efforts to overhaul the health care system. The key question: "how to devise a national solution for a problem that varies sharply from state to state."

27 Jan 2010

First Edition: January 25, 2010

Today's news begins to set the scene for the President's upcoming State of the Union address, and provides continuing coverage of Democrats' efforts to regroup on health reform.

25 Jan 2010

Democrats float ideas on future of health reform

Politico: "Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi have begun considering a list of changes to the Senate bill in hopes of making it acceptable to liberal House members, according to sources familiar with the situation.

24 Jan 2010

Democrats suggest efforts on health reform will continue

Politico has a compilation of comments by Washington officials on the Sunday morning talk shows, including discussions about the health care overhaul legislation, which is facing a serious challenge following the election last Tuesday of Republican Scott Brown to the Senate seat of the late Sen. Edward Kennedy.

24 Jan 2010

Americans are divided about health reform proposals overall, but the public, including critics, becomes more supportive when told about key provisions

A new Kaiser Family Foundation poll finds that Americans are divided over congressional health reform proposals, but also that large shares of people, including skeptics, become more supportive after being told about many of the major provisions in the bills.

23 Jan 2010

CWLA implores Congress to proceed with healthcare reform

The Child Welfare League of America (CWLA), the nation’s oldest and largest membership-based child welfare organization, is urging Congress to proceed with health care reform and is working with its members to advocate for reform. On the eve of its Washington, DC-based National Conference, CWLA leaders are preparing their membership to take this message to Capitol Hill.

23 Jan 2010

Obama: Not going to walk away from health reform

New York Times' The Caucus blog: "Conceding his health care overhaul had 'run into a bit of a buzz saw,' President Obama vowed on Friday to keep fighting for legislation that will 'hold the insurance industry accountable and bring more stability and security to folks in our health care system'" (Stolberg, 1/22).

23 Jan 2010

States worry about Medicaid stimulus money drying up under scaled-back health bill

News outlets report on health care funding gaps in state budgets, including Massachusetts, Maryland, Georgia and Wisconsin, and the possible impact of a scaled-back federal health bill.

23 Jan 2010

Searching for consensus, Dems consider potential of paring back health reform

"Passage of a comprehensive [health] bill looked impossible after the Democrats' loss of a Senate seat in Massachusetts. As an alternative, lawmakers in both parties said, some pieces of the bills already passed by the House and the Senate could be pulled out and packaged together in a measure that would command broad support."

23 Jan 2010

Democrats struggle to revamp health reform strategy

Efforts to save the reform effort were teetering "on the brink of collapse Thursday as House and Senate leaders struggled to coalesce around a strategy to rescue the plan," Politico reports.

22 Jan 2010

First Edition: January 22, 2010

Today's news highlights the continued efforts by Democrats to plot a new health reform strategy.

22 Jan 2010

Braille Institute launches Solutions in Sight to help people find fulfillment in different aspects of life

Although there is controversy over almost every detail of health reform legislation, no one disputes the inescapable fact underlying the deepening the health care crisis: the US population is aging.

22 Jan 2010

Obama Administration made no major effort to educate public about working of the Senate health bill: NCPA

The National Center for Policy Analysis is in direct contact with more grassroots opponents of Obama health reform than any other organization. NCPA President John C. Goodman says, "What we saw yesterday in Massachusetts is reflective of what we see all across the country."

22 Jan 2010

Why public support for health reform faltered

Kaiser Health News staff writers report, "As a candidate, Barack Obama promised to pass a health plan with important benefits for the average American.

22 Jan 2010

Republican leaders: Dems aren't reaching out to pass health reform bill

The Christian Science Monitor: Even after the GOP win in Massachusetts that cost Democrats their "filibuster-proof margin in the Senate," congressional Republican leaders say Democrats don't appear to want to work with them on a health care plan that could clear Congress, according to The Monitor Breakfast.

21 Jan 2010

State organizers mobilize against national health reform

State organizers are creating obstacles to national health care reform. In Colorado, Republican organizer Jon Caldara has vowed to derail national reforms with a ballot initiative. The Wall Street Journal reports about similar steps being taken across the country. "Republican attorneys general and governors ... are threatening to file suit to block a particular provision of the Senate bill that gives a special financial deal to Nebraska.

21 Jan 2010