Health Care For America Now

NEWS

Hoyer sets health care reform 'target' - Politico

With all signs suggesting that health care will be the next major legislation out of the gate for President Barack Obama and his Democratic allies on Capitol Hill, Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.) is setting an August target for the House to approve its version of the measure.

Democrats Agree on Budget's Outline - Washington Post

Congressional Democrats have advanced a streamlined version of President Obama's first budget request, as committees in both chambers endorsed a $3.5 trillion spending plan that clears the way for lawmakers to pursue the president's most ambitious and costly initiatives.

Max Baucus and the "Public Plan" - Time

For the new issue of dead-tree TIME, I have written this short profile of Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, a most unlikely figure to have emerged as the point man for health care reform in the Senate. (The print version also has a chart detailing the highlights of Baucus' own health reform proposal, which you can read about in detail in the White Paper that he produced last November.)

Universal Confusion - Slate

The Republican alternative "budget" unveiled Thursday is getting ridiculed for what it lacks: numbers of any kind. But there's plenty to mock that's actually in the budget, too. Take the phrase "universal access to affordable health care," which the document uses no fewer than seven times.

Stand with Dr. Dean - Democracy for America

Give America a choice. We support healthcare reform that allows individual Americans to choose either a universally available public healthcare option like Medicare or for-profit private insurance. A public option is the only way to guarantee healthcare for all Americans and its inclusion is non- negotiable.

Baucus, Pelosi clash on health care - Politico

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says she's still committed to using a procedural trick to fast-track health care reforms this year — despite opposition from Sen. Max Baucus, the powerful chairman of the Senate Finance Committee.

OPINION

Unbiased research for doctors is good medicine - USA Today

As a primary care doctor, I am frequently faced with decisions where the choice is not always clear. Do the latest, more expensive drugs work better than the less costly, older medicat ions? Will ordering an MRI help me treat a patient's lower back pain? Often, the answer to these questions is, "I'm not sure."

Ignagni: Government Role In Health Care Is Fine…As Long As It’s For Supporting Health Insurance Industry - Think Progress

AHIP’s President and CEO Karen Ignagni (pronounced ig-NAH-nee) walks a tight rope when discussing the government’s role in the health care system. While rejecting direct competition between public and private insurance plans, Ignagni argues that the government should subsidize the industry’s insurance product (she calls it making health care “affordable”), provide coverage for the the poorest and sickest Americans, and require everyone to purchase insurance.

The Case for a Public Health Care Plan - Matt Yglesias

Peter Harbage and Karen Davenport have a new report for CAPAF in which they make the case for a robust public option as a component of a systematic health care exchange, and spelling out some details:

Patient-based Health Reform or "Fannie Med?" - Richard Scott

Set against the backdrop of the $787 billion stimulus bill and deficit spending that dwarfs the federal outlays of FDR's New Deal and LBJ’s “Great Society,” the idea of spending hundreds of billions - or even trillions of tax dollars - to buy universal health care coverage for all Americans isn't much of a stretch anymore.

Does the GOP Think the British Are Coming? - Change.org

The House Republicans released their initial version of their budget proposal. Although others are focusing on various aspects of the 19 page proposal – say, that there aren’t any number in their budget, just some broad principles – since I’m all about the health care, I couldn’t help but notice the extent to which I think we may be on the cusp of a new line of thinking on health care. In this new model, being in favor of reforming our broken health care doesn’t just make you a communist, a socialist and a fascist – it also makes you a Redcoat.