NEWS

UnitedHealth settlement could affect insurance costs nationwide - Minnesota Public Radio

UnitedHealth Group Inc. will close much-criticized databases health insurers use to set payment rates and help launch a new one to settle a fraud investigation, which could help millions of patients pay less for "out-of-network" care.

Obama, Reid take dead aim at Medicare HMOs - The Hill

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) had no qualms expressing his low opinion of private health insurance plans in Medicare.

House Votes to Expand Child Health Insurance - Washington Post

The House easily approved an expansion of government health coverage for low-income children yesterday, a top priority for President-elect Barack Obama and the first in a series of stalled measures expected to move quickly through the Democratic Congress as President Bush leaves office.

American Benefits Council Releases Report With Health Care Reform Recommendations - Kaiser Family Foundation

Proposals to reform the U.S. health care system should have a strong federal framework, maintain the current employer-sponsored health insurance system and include a requirement that all residents obtain at least basic coverage, according to a report released on Monday by the American Benefits Council, CQ HealthBeat reports (Nylen, CQ HealthBeat, 1/12). The report includes about 40 policy recommendations for health care reform proposals (CongressDaily, 1/13).

Examining the Health Consequences of the 2008-09 Recession - George Washington University

A new report by The George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services (GW/SPHHS) spells out the potential health consequences of this, and other aspects of the recession. It also reviews proposals that are part of federal efforts to stimulate an economic recovery, and that would help to reduce impoverishment, strengthen access to health care, and protect the health of more Americans.

OPINION

Defending The Federal Health Board - Think Progress

While progressives are working to build bipartisan support for affordable health care reform, some conservatives have started laying the groundwork for a misinformation campaign against universal coverage.

Orszag on Priorities: Health Care First? - The New Republic

Hillary Clinton and Timothy Geithner were the Obama appointees grabbing all of the public attention on Tuesday. But Peter Orszag, Obama’s choice for the post of budget director, may have made the most intriguing statement.

The Three Biggest Conservative Myths on Health Care - Center for American Progress

Before Obama can reform the health care system, Congress must address some unfinished business from the Bush era.

CAN ORSZAG BRING PEACE IN OUR TIME? - Ezra Klein

At breakfast today with a health wonk type, I was told that the battle to watch on health care reform would be the same battle that always bedevils health care reform: It'll be the budget hawks versus the reformers. But I'm not so sure. There comes a man from the East who has walked among the budget hawks, and been accepted as one of them. And he has walked among the health care reformers, and been accepted as one of them. And now he walks alongside Obama, and has been accepted by him. And this man might speak to the budget hawks, and tell them that health care reform is good, and he might speak to the health care reformers, and tell them cost control is good, and he might speak to Obama, and Obama might listen. This man is Peter Orszag.

Job losses, uninsurance and underinsurance - Health Populi

"People who are underinsured end up facing almost identical problems as the uninsured. The difference is, they paid for the privilege."