Health Care For America Now

NEWS

Senate Democrats plan to force vote on public option - CNN

Two members of the Senate Finance Committee plan to put their Democratic colleagues on the spot on Tuesday by offering amendments on whether to give uninsured Americans the opportunity to join a government insurance program.

Kaiser Health Tracking Poll—September 2009 - Kaiser Family Foundation

The September Kaiser Health Tracking Poll finds that public support for health reform ended its summer slide, reversed course and moved modestly upwards in September. The survey also finds initial majority support for taxing expensive health plans and imposing fees on insurers to pay for reform.

Schumer reshapes odds for public plan - The Hill

Sen. Charles Schumer has revived the prospect of a public insurance option in the Senate’s version of healthcare reform.

HCAN: Snowe Still Important, But in the End the Public Option's Up to Democrats - TPM

A lot of the most pressing political questions about health care reform will soon be answered, and reformers and pols alike are grappling with the fact that Democrats now have enough votes to pass a public option without any Republican votes.

Public option may have new life - Politico

The public option limped out of August, battered and left to die in the Senate.

In Some States, a Push to Ban Mandate on Insurance - New York Times

In more than a dozen statehouses across the country, a small but growing group of lawmakers is pressing for state constitutional amendments that would outlaw a crucial element of the health care plans under discussion in Washington: the requirement that nearly everyone buy insurance or pay a penalty.

Public plan debate could pit Democrat vs. Democrat - Associated Press

It'll be Democrat vs. Democrat as lawmakers go back to work on health care Tuesday.

Young Back Health Proposals Amid Potential Costs - Wall Street Journal

Young adults remain some of the strongest supporters of a health-care overhaul, but many acknowledge they don't understand proposals that will likely saddle them with higher costs.

OPINION

More Americans Believe In UFOs Than Oppose A Public Option - Media Matters

More Americans believe in UFOs (34%) than oppose a public option (26%). The debate is over.

Is Medicare Advantage Worth It? - Ezra Klein

The argument over Medicare Advantage is pretty simple: The program, which allows private providers to compete for Medicare patients, was supposed to cost as much or less than traditional Medicare. It actually costs 114 percent of what Medicare costs. Democrats want to eliminate those overpayments and force private insurers to live within Medicare's budget, given that they're taking Medicare's money. Republicans say that will cut benefits for retirees, which is something they're suddenly very concerned about.

Procedural Dead-ends on Health Care Reform - Open Left

Here are four procedural dead-ends on health care reform:

Thousands of Texans Attend ‘Largest Free Clinic Ever Held In The United States’ To Get Health Care - Think Progress

Over the weekend, thousands of Texans attended what is being called the “largest free clinic ever held in the United States” to get health care they otherwise could not afford. ABC-13, a local Houston station, reported that the event showed that there is an “epidemic” of people without proper health coverage in Texas.