Health Reform News and Research

RSS

Health-care reform bills continue to benefit illegal aliens

Assurances that the two health-care reform bills would not benefit illegal aliens are not accurate. A new report from the Center for Immigration Studies examines in detail the immigration-related provisions of both the House-passed HR 3962 and the bill now being debated in the Senate, HR 3590. The report concludes that the bills, in their current form, would indeed give illegal aliens access to taxpayer-funded health care well beyond emergency medical treatment.

3 Dec 2009

Orszag: Current health bills only a first step to controlling health costs

Reuters: "Congressional efforts to revamp the U.S. healthcare system are not enough to stem soaring health costs or close the nation's budget gap, a top Obama administration official said on Wednesday." White House budget director Peter Orszag did not offer specific ideas or changes President Obama might include in his next budget proposal

2 Dec 2009

Legal immigrants still lack care in Massachusetts; Ohio hospitals brace for new fees

News outlets report on legal immigrants and the cost of health reform in Massachusetts, new hospital fees in Ohio, coverage shortfalls in Tennessee and registered nurse practitioners in Florida.

2 Dec 2009

Reactions to CBO report on Senate health bill are mixed

News organizations continue to report on reactions to the Congressional Budget Office's analysis of the Senate health bill.

2 Dec 2009

Behind-the-scenes players Daschle, Carper, Orszag help guide health debate

Though he has no official government position, Tom Daschle, a former Senate leader and one-time nominee for health secretary, is still attending key health-reform meetings, the Associated Press reports.

2 Dec 2009

First Edition: December 2, 2009

Today's headlines detail the Senate's effort to confront contentious amendments and partisan strife on day two of that chamber's health reform debate.

2 Dec 2009

Women's insurance amendment slated for Senate's first health bill vote

As the Senate debates the health reform legislation, amendments are being advanced and Senators are reacting to the bill.

1 Dec 2009

With health reform, Reid faces political challenges on the Hill and at home in Nevada

While Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., is busy trying to gather all the Senate Democrats into supporting health care reform, Nevada Republicans are seizing on the opportunity to try to take control of his seat, USA Today reports.

1 Dec 2009

Today's opinions and editorials

Every debate in health care would benefit from more transparency about what things really cost and who gets paid what (Steven Syre, 12/1).

1 Dec 2009

CBO: Most Americans wouldn't see a post-reform premium cost increase

A new report from the Congressional Budget Office suggests that insurance premiums for most Americans would not cost more after a health care overhaul.

1 Dec 2009

Questions circle over health reform's effect on rising costs

"The White House has started to aggressively push back against a growing narrative that pending health reform legislation doesn't do enough to control spiraling health costs," Politico reports. Peter Orszag said reporters who go "on buzz and sort of loose talk," instead of doing "the hard work," were partly to blame for the pending narrative.

1 Dec 2009

First Edition: December 1, 2009

Today's headlines focus on the Senate, where that chamber's official health overhaul debate started amid sharp tones and divisive issues just as the Congressional Budget Office issues a report on projected premium costs under the bill being considered.

1 Dec 2009

White House video features Joe Biden as part of effort to push back on health reform 'misinformation'

CNN: "The White House is 'geared up to go on offense' on health care messaging this week, a White House official tells CNN. As the Senate debate over health care reform gets underway, the administration is planning to "push back on the distortions and misinformation ... being circulated by interest groups and opponents."

1 Dec 2009

Senate health reform players prepare policy positions

With debate scheduled to begin as early as Monday, senators are preparing their arguments for or against health care reform, Bloomberg reports. "All 58 Senate Democrats and the two independents who caucus with them backed [Senate Majority Leader Harry] Reid's bid to start debate this week.

1 Dec 2009

Economists have mixed views on Senate health bill's cost controls

With the public fretting about rising health costs and deepening federal budget deficits, White House officials, including budget director Peter Orszag, were quick last week to trumpet the optimism of some economists who said the Senate's version of health reform would help control costs, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

30 Nov 2009

Senate Democrats face rocky road on the way to the health reform finish line

"The 60 votes aren't there any more," The Associated Press reports: "With the Senate set to begin debate Monday on health care overhaul, the all-hands-on-deck Democratic coalition that allowed the bill to advance is fracturing already. Yet majority Democrats will need 60 votes again to finish."

30 Nov 2009