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Health on the hill

Kaiser Health News staff writer Mary Agnes Carey talks with Jackie Judd of the Kaiser Family Foundation about the impact an insurance industry report could have on this week's much anticipated health overhaul action.

12 Oct 2009

Senate finance members weigh their health bill votes

Senators are trying to get a count ahead of the Senate Finance Committee's vote on a health reform proposal Tuesday, but several members are refusing to tip their hand. Meanwhile, in the background, House lawmakers continue their work.

12 Oct 2009

Benefits of health overhaul won't be immediate

Mechanisms to make health insurance more affordable for families and low- and middle-income households won't start until 2013 if health care reform passes.

12 Oct 2009

Today's selection of opeds: Cutting health costs

Many commentators have treated the Senate Finance bill as the likely template for any final legislation because it may be more palatable to conservative Democrats, and deficit hawks, in both houses.

12 Oct 2009

Young 'invincibles,' small businesses worry about proposed mandates

Newspapers report on how young adults and small businesses might be affected by the mandates proposed in the health care bills pending in Congress.

12 Oct 2009

Insurers change course, attack health care reform, predict huge premium increases

Insurers who backed Democratic attempts to reform the health care system in America are now attacking the Senate Finance Committee bill, saying it would cause premiums to increase.

12 Oct 2009

Female lawmakers shape health care with their own stories

CQ Politics reports that Rep. Mary Jo Kilroy, D-Ohio, is one of several women lawmakers who is using her own history with multiple sclerosis to lobby for changes in the health care system: "As the health care debate rages on, [Kilroy] has decided to use her personal story to help fellow lawmakers understand how important it is to make health care available for all Americans. In a 'Dear Colleague' letter she sent last week, Kilroy told them about her own diagnosis."

12 Oct 2009

Employers offering more high-deductible plans this enrollment season

When open enrollment rolls around again this year, workers may be faced with more health insurance choices: "more employers may include a new type of plan that can chop premium payments by nearly 20 percent and give consumers a tax break," The Associated Press reports.

12 Oct 2009

Physician shortage worries rural communities but gets little attention in health bills

Garfield Memorial Hospital in Pomeroy, Wash., has been struggling to make ends meet for years - through patient revenues and property taxes that helped cover a $70,000 roof repair - the Seattle Times reports. Many rural hospitals face similar problems, and in the case of Pomeroy, if the hospital closed, residents would have to travel miles to find other choices.

12 Oct 2009

40% tax on individuals in “gold-plated, Cadillac” health insurance plans is tax on groups of the chronically ill: Med-Vision

Dan Ross, founder and president of Med-Vision, a Tampa-based medical consulting company, asserts that the Senate Finance Committee’s proposal to impose a 40 percent tax on individuals in “gold-plated, Cadillac” health insurance plans would be best described as a tax on groups of the chronically ill.

12 Oct 2009

First Edition: October 12, 2009

With the Senate Finance Committee scheduled to vote Tuesday on its sweeping health overhaul measure, the insurance industry is launching its attack.

12 Oct 2009

Concord Coalition sends list of suggestions concerning the healthcare reform bill

In the coming days, you have the unenviable task of combining the Senate Finance Committee's health care reform bill with the bill that emerged from the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. Aware of the difficulty and the competing pressures you face, we have identified in the attached memorandum key areas where we believe the potential of the legislation to produce fiscal gains can be strengthened. We hope our views will help guide your work -- consistent with fiscal responsibility and sustainability.

12 Oct 2009

New law lets injured or ill college students keep parents' health insurance

A new federal law took effect Friday, allowing seriously ill or injured college students to keep their parents' insurance for up to a year while they take time off from school.

12 Oct 2009

Critical moments ahead for health reform legislation

News outlets looked ahead as the President and Capitol Hill lawmakers prepare for Tuesday's vote in the Senate Finance Committee on health overhaul legislation.

12 Oct 2009

Lawmakers renew demands for public option in health bill

Senate and House Democrats are renewing their calls for a strong government-run public option in their respective chambers.

9 Oct 2009

Today's editorials and opinions

After years of struggling with costs that were eating into his bottom line, David White, a small business owner in Maine, recently dropped health insurance for himself and his employees. It was a nerve-wracking decision (Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., 10/8).

9 Oct 2009

Health policy research roundup

Urban Institute: Variation in Insurance Coverage Across Congressional Districts New Estimates from 2008 -- Drawing from data from the American Community Survey, the authors of this brief explore the variation in rates of uninsurance, public and private coverage across congressional districts.

9 Oct 2009

Health industries: Changes could kill health reform bill

Insurers and pharmaceutical manufacturers are concerned that changes in a Senate bill could derail efforts — and their agreement — to overhaul the nation's health care system.

9 Oct 2009

Catholic bishops call for changes in health care legislation

CNN: "Senior Catholic bishops are threatening to oppose the health care bill under consideration in Congress if lawmakers don't make significant reforms regarding federally funded abortions and other issues."

9 Oct 2009

Persistent, growing disparities underscore the need for national reform

The cost and quality of health care, as well as access to care and health outcomes, continue to vary widely among states, according to the Commonwealth Fund Commission on a High Performance Health System's second state scorecard report released today.

9 Oct 2009