Health Care For America Now

NEWS

Democrats file final House health bill; Friday vote possible - The Hill

The vote on the House's healthcare reform legislation will not be held until Friday evening at the earliest.

House Republicans angry about leak - The Hill

House Republican leaders were furious that their healthcare reform alternative was leaked to the media on Tuesday.

Senate moderates flex muscle on health-care bill - Washington Post

Moderate lawmakers are exerting their outsize influence in the divided Senate to secure changes to health-care reform legislation, potentially adding more delays to a bill that has already missed several announced deadlines.

G.O.P. Counters With a Health Plan of Its Own - New York Times

House Republicans have come up with an answer to Speaker Nancy Pelosi, drafting an alternative health care bill that would reward states for reducing the number of uninsured, limit damages in medical malpractice lawsuits and allow small businesses to band together and buy insurance exempt from most state regulation.

Harkin asks big health insurers to explain their rate practices - Des Moines Register

Sen. Tom Harkin said Tuesday he was launching an investigation into health insurance pricing, asking four major insurers to justify their pricing practices.

Why Health Insurance Charges Are Going Up - Forbes

Nancy Pelosi may be the HMOs' Grinch this year, continuing to push a public option that could eventually damper profits, but at the moment, the industry is looking healthy.

Democrats whipping on abortion compromise to save health bill - The Hill

Democratic House leaders have developed a compromise they hope will resolve an intra-caucus dispute about whether the health bill allows tax dollars to subsidize abortions, and they’re surveying abortion-rights opponents in the caucus to gauge support.

THE INFLUENCE GAME: Liberals targeting moderates - Associated Press

Get on the health overhaul bandwagon, or don't count on our help in your re-election.

OPINION

Republicans want to make the insurance industry more like the credit card industry - Ezra Klein

"A House Republican health-care bill wouldn't seek to prevent health-insurance companies from denying sick people insurance," the first paragraph of the Wall Street Journal's preview of the latest Republican health-care reform alternative says. "Republicans also wouldn't prevent insurers from ending policies once an individual becomes seriously ill," reads the fifth. On the bright side, the Republican bill would allow insurers to base themselves in whichever state has the weakest regulatory standards and then sell policies built around those rules nationwide. If you've ever thought that your insurance was too comprehensive, too straightforward, and contained too few loopholes that you didn't learn about until you feel terribly ill, then this is the plan for you!

Beware this Republican Narrative - Jon Cohn

With the House set to vote on a full health care reform bill as early as this week, Republican leader John Boehner has announced that the GOP leadership will introduce a formal alternative of their own. The proper response, I suppose, is "Are you kidding?"

Despite Rhetoric About Preexisting Conditions, Boehner’s Health Care Plan Doesn’t Bar Denials - Think Progress

While leading GOP opposition to health care reform over the past few months, Rep. John Boehner (R-OH) has simultaneously insisted that Republicans believe in helping Americans with preexisting conditions get health care. Currently, “in 44 states, it’s legal for health insurers to deny coverage to people who have previously been sick, or charge them more for treatment.”

Rep. Virginia Foxx: Health Care Reform "A Bigger Threat" To The Country Than Terrorism - Crooks and Liars

Okay, maybe requiring minimum IQs as a standard to run for national office is a bit harsh, but can we at least insist that politicians prove that they are actually human and not some mindless automaton programmed with talking points?

Op-Ed: Why "free market competition" fails in health care - The Health Care Blog

In trying to think about the future of health care, thoughtful, intelligent people often ask, “Why can’t we just let the free market operate in health care? That would drive down costs and drive up quality.” They point to the successes of competition in other industries. But their faith is misplaced, for economic reasons that are peculiar to health care.