NEWS

Obama's traveling forum on healthcare visits Vt. - Boston Globe

A retiree from Concord, N.H., spoke of the agony of having to beg a foundation for money to help her afford the drug she needs to stay alive.

President's Budget Strategy Under Fire - Washington Post

Senior members of the Obama administration are pressing lawmakers to use a shortcut to drive the president's signature initiatives on health care and energy through Congress without Republican votes, a move that many lawmakers say would fly in the face of President Obama's pledge to restore bipartisanship to Washington.

Team Effort in the House to Overhaul Health Care - New York Times

Three powerful House committee chairmen have agreed to work together on legislation to overhaul the health care system, starting with the view that most employers should help finance coverage and that the government should offer a public health insurance plan as an alternative to private insurance.

UPDATE: Senate, House Bills Would Ban Preexisting Exclusions - CNN

Senate and House bills to be introduced Tuesday would bar insurance companies from keeping those with preexisting medical conditions off their rolls.

Fairs aim to inform immigrants on health care - USA Today

Sayed Rahman, a student from Bangladesh, has learned that health care in the USA can be expensive. He has had to pay high fees, sometimes $500, he says, to see a doctor when he is sick.

City's insurance cheaper than private plans - San Francisco Chronicle

San Francisco's unique universal health care program costs significantly less than private insurance plans, according to a new report by the Department of Public Health.

OPINION

GOP Taps Global Warming Denier To Speak Out Against Health Care Reform - Think Progress

The House Subcommittee on Energy and Commerce is holding a hearing on “Making Health Care Work for American Families: Ensuring Affordable Coverage” today and health care crisis denier Sally Pipes — who recently wrote The Ten Top Myths of American Health Care — is testifying at the invitation of the Republicans.

Orszag: We (Still) Won't Rule Out Reconciliation - The New Republic

Budget director Peter Orszag made clear on Tuesday that the administration still won't rule out the use of reconciliation to pass legislation, should Republicans in the Senate try to filibuster health care reform or any other major initiatives.

Health-care reform - Chicago Tribune

Instead if a public health-insurance program were available to them, they could immediately get to work creating value by taking on project work and building new careers. Without the fixed cost of health insurance, employers would have more flexibility to use more workers.

ACCESS WITHOUT AFFORDABILITY. OR, FOR THAT MATTER, ACCESS. - Ezra Klein

Senator Jay Rockefeller and Congressman Joe Courtney held a conference call today to announce the introduction of the Pre-existing Condition Patient Protection Act. The bill's title is largely its content. It restricts insurers from refusing to cover pre-existing conditions. This is, sadly, a common trap in the insurance market. Low-cost plans often lay down some fine print exempting the insurance plan from covering conditions that existed before the policy was purchased. Chronic back pain, say. Or melanoma if you've previously had malignancies. It's brutal stuff.