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Speaker Pelosi comments on President Obama's health reform address

"Tonight, President Obama made a forceful case to the Congress and the country for long-overdue health insurance reform. We are closer than ever before in history to real progress on this issue that touches the lives of every American and impacts our economy: ensuring stability and security for Americans with health insurance, and affordable coverage for those currently without.

10 Sep 2009

Healthcare reform explained

A bevy of legislation is flooding Capitol Hill on healthcare reform. With President Obama’s speech kicking debate on these initiatives into high gear, Eric Zimmerman, a partner in the Health Law Department of leading law firm McDermott Will & Emery, weighs in on the issues:

10 Sep 2009

Consumer Watchdog urges President Obama not to sacrifice malpractice victims

President Obama should not make innocent Americans injured by cost-cutting hospitals and negligent doctors a political sacrifice in his quest for health care reform, said Consumer Watchdog in advance of the President's health care speech tonight.

10 Sep 2009

Hospital executives weigh benefits, risks of health reform

Hospital executives are balancing their hopes that expanded coverage will provide a windfall for facilities now burdened by uncompensated care with their fears that government intervention, such as the possible creation of a public insurance option, could cut into their revenues, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

10 Sep 2009

Obesity experts call on policymakers to adopt obesity recommendations

The Obesity Society and other steering committee members of the Strategies to Overcome and Prevent (STOP) Obesity Alliance, and two former US Surgeons General, join together today to develop effective recommendations to urge policymakers to act on the inclusion of obesity as the largest and most urgent driving factor in healthcare reform.

10 Sep 2009

Baucus aims for health agreement in advance of Obama speech tonight

Democrats are promising to send President Obama a health reform plan this year as Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus continues to try to get key Republicans on board with a new proposal.

9 Sep 2009

AARP committed to health reform, but seniors remain split

AARP leaders, like Morie Smile, the association's acting director in Colorado, have been asked to help "calm the fury and correct the misinformation that has poured forth this summer and rattled so many senior citizens," the Washington Post reports.

9 Sep 2009

Health care reform should make system efficient for patients and physicians: AMA

"It is clear that the status quo is unacceptable. The AMA will continue to work for reform that makes the system work better for patients and physicians. We must seize this opportunity this year to achieve meaningful health reform for America's patients and physicians.

9 Sep 2009

News organizations offer last minute decoders for health debate

Media organizations have presented a variety of health care decoders today, in anticipation of President Obama's speech tonight. Timelines, glossaries and a list of interest groups' ambitions seek to put the debate in context.

9 Sep 2009

Health reform proposals under consideration to benefit small business owners and employees most: Report

Small business owners and employees are among those who stand to benefit the most from provisions in some of the current health reform proposals under consideration by Congress according to a Commonwealth Fund report released today.

9 Sep 2009

Consumer Watchdog highlights the flaws in the proposed Senate Finance Committee health reforms

The consumer group that pioneered the most successful insurance premium regulation law in the nation, which has saved California drivers $62 billion on auto insurance rates since 1988, released a report today outlining the deep flaws in the proposed Senate Finance Committee health reforms.

9 Sep 2009

AARP members urge Congress to tackle health care reform

As Members of Congress have just returned to Washington D.C. after their summer break, Decatur AARP members are making sure they don't forget to make reforming health care a top priority. With a giant inflatable Rx bottle as backdrop, and prescription bottles filled with constituents' personal health care stories, AARP members hosted a press conference today in Decatur to deliver a strong 'message in a bottle' to Congressman Phil Hare: Health Care Reform Now.

9 Sep 2009

Ross: I will oppose legislation with a public plan

"In a fresh sign of divisions in the president's own party," Rep. Mike Ross, D-Ark., on Tuesday came out against including a public insurance plan in health reform legislation, the Associated Press reports. Ross said he could not support a public plan after hearing from constituents during the August recess (Werner, 9/8).

9 Sep 2009

Lockton forms health reform advisory practice to help clients deal with changes in health system

Lockton Companies, the world's largest private insurance broker, is offering insights on the impact of health reform through its newly formed Lockton Health Reform Advisory Practice. Lockton's new team provides employers with information, advice, and practical approaches as they respond to health reform legislation and understand impact on their employees and businesses.

9 Sep 2009

Baucus sends $900 billion health care proposal to 'gang of six'

Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, has sent his "gang of six" colleagues on the Senate Finance Committee a health overhaul proposal that would cost under $900 billion.

9 Sep 2009

Hospitals in U.S. urban cities deliver low healthcare value

According to the most recent Hospital Value Index™ results, a study that analyzed data from more than 4,500 hospitals across the United States, hospitals in the largest U.S. cities generally offer a low value of patient care compared to elsewhere in the country.

9 Sep 2009

Primers: What's really going on with health reform?

As Congress returns from its August recess for what promises to be a dramatic health care finale, a few papers offer refreshers on what's contained in the bills lawmakers and the president are preparing to debate, and how they will affect millions of citizens. Three news reports compare key proposals, and suggest key questions for reformers.

9 Sep 2009

Obama hopes to reconquer high-stakes health debate

President Obama is hoping to give a boost to congressional Democrats who are reconvening after a recess beleaguered by harsh criticism, plummeting public opinion, and divisions within the majority party.

9 Sep 2009

Democrats are tightening the belt for health reform

KHN reports: "Over the weekend, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., proposed a health care overhaul "framework" for committee consideration that would cost under $900 billion over the next decade, according to a source close to the negotiations.

9 Sep 2009

Hoyer: 'meaningful' health overhaul legislation could pass without a public option

"House Democratic Leader Steny Hoyer said on Tuesday he could back a bill to overhaul the U.S. healthcare system without a so-called public option that would create a government-run insurance program."

9 Sep 2009