Health Care For America Now

NEWS

Insurers shun those taking certain meds - Miami Herald

Trying to buy health insurance on your own and have gallstones? You'll automatically be denied coverage. Rheumatoid arthritis? Automatic denial. Severe acne? Probably denied. Do you take metformin, a popular drug for diabetes? Denied. Use the anti-clotting drug Plavix or Seroquel, prescribed for anti-psychotic or sleep problems? Forget about it.

In Kennedy’s absence, Baucus’s healthcare power worries left - The Hill

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) has emerged as the Senate’s point man on healthcare reform in Edward Kennedy’s absence, prompting concern among some liberal senators who remember Baucus’s history of cutting deals with Republicans.

Healthcare reform vital, U.S. health agency says - Reuters

Reform of the U.S. healthcare system is vital this year because of growing costs and worsening care, the Health and Human Services Department said in a report on Monday.

Sebelius: Inaction not an option - Associated Press

Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius said Tuesday that if confirmed as health and human services secretary, "health reform would be my mission."

Reform advocates plan lobby blitz - Politico

If April showers bring May flowers, then lawmakers are looking at a storm of health care lobbying during the April recess.

Fox News invokes Canadian health care bogeyman in talking about Richardson's death - Media Matters

Summary: In talking about Natasha Richardson's death, Betsy McCaughey and Martha MacCallum misrepresented a health-care provision in the recovery act and baselessly suggested the United States might be headed "down the same path" as Canada with regard to health care.

OPINION

KENT CONRAD: RECONCILIATION IS NOT OFF THE TABLE. - Ezra Klein

Speaking of Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad and the reconciliation process, I was just on a conference call with Conrad where he was notably unwilling to disavow the need for a 50-vote process.

Betsy McCaughey: Health Care Reform Will Lead To Natasha Richardson-Style Deaths - Think Progress

Betsy McCaughey is back. This time, she has stuffed the entire stimulus bill into a large white binder– a sort of fundamentalist bible McCaughey uses to misinterpret the intentions of the legislation. McCaughey is still preaching that the stimulus bill contains provisions that “provide less care” and tie doctors hands in prescribing procedures — but this time, she’s added to her sermon.

Why a public health plan option isn't anti-competitive - Managed Care Matters

Perhaps the biggest battle brewing in Congress in the health reform war is that of the public option. As I said back in January, "Opponents claim that the Feds would have an unfair advantage due in part to their sheer size; they're just so big that private plans could not compete." Some Republicans and their affiliated think tanks continue to complain private health plans will not be able to compete with a public option as the public plan will just dictate pricing to providers, and they don't have the capital and financial stability requirements forced on private plans.