Health Care For America Now

NEWS

Health Care Passes House - Associated Press

In a victory for President Barack Obama, the Democratic-controlled House narrowly passed landmark health care legislation Saturday night to expand coverage to tens of millions who lack it and place tough new restrictions on the insurance industry. Republican opposition was nearly unanimous.

All eyes on Sen. Harry Reid - Politico

As health reform shifts back to the Senate, Majority Leader Harry Reid is facing dissent from fellow Democrats worried that he has no final bill, no Democratic consensus on the way ahead and no guarantee he’ll finish by year’s end.

Obama Presses Senate to Pass Its Health Bill - New York Times

The White House, growing concerned that the Congressional timetable for passing a health care overhaul could slip into next year, is stepping up pressure on the Senate for quick action, with President Obama appearing Sunday in the Rose Garden to call on senators to “take up the baton and bring this effort to the finish line.”

Abortion an obstacle to health-care bill - Washington Post

President Obama and Senate Democrats sought on Sunday to generate momentum from the House's passage of health-care legislation, even as a new hurdle emerged: profound dismay among abortion-rights supporters over antiabortion provisions inserted into the House bill.

Small Business Crunches Numbers - Wall Street Journal

Small business has fought the health-care bill as too costly. That made Saturday's vote bitter to many of the nation's roughly 30 million such entrepreneurs, if welcome to some.

For Abortion Foes, a Victory in Health Care Vote - New York Times

A restriction on abortion coverage, added late Saturday to the health care bill passed by the House, has energized abortion opponents with their biggest victory in years — emboldening them for a pitched battle in the Senate.

Rep. Camp Falsely Stated Bill Would Send People Without Coverage To Jail - Media Matters

On November 6, 2007 Rep. Dave Camp issued a press release titled: "PELOSI: Buy a $15,000 Policy or Go to Jail." That's not true. In reality, the Democratic plan to ensure every American has accessed to quality, affordable health care maintains current tax enforcement laws.  As always, if Americans evade paying their taxes, the IRS acts accordingly.

Another Independent could be the spoiler as Reid moves forward - The Hill

With a pronounced independent streak to match his political alignment, Bernie Sanders of Vermont may be another headache for Democrats trying to cobble together 60 votes for healthcare reform in the coming weeks.

Locals react to House passing health-care bill - The Daily Iowan

UI professors say the health-care reform bill passed this weekend by the House is “historic” — though it’s still far from a victory for the Obama administration.

OPINION

Chairman Miller's floor speeches about the Affordable Health Care for America Act - Education and Labor Committee

Rep. George Miller, Chairman of the Education and Labor Committee, delivers his comments during the floor debate on H.R. 3962, the Affordable Health Care For America Act on November 7, 2009.

Former Blue Cross Blue Shield ‘Spokesjerk’ Cuts Ad In Favor Of Health Reform - Think Progress

The House is nearing a vote on health care legislation that is expected to be very close. At this critical juncture, a former Blue Cross Blue Shield spokesperson is doing what he can to help pass reform.

A very bad deal to pass a very good bill - Ezra Klein

The final compromises before a bill comes to the floor are never very pretty. This one, however, is worse than I anticipated. Opposition from anti-abortion Democrats, driven in large part by aggressive activism from the Catholic Church, forced Democratic leadership to allow a vote on Bart Stupak's amendment limiting elective abortion coverage from both private and public insurers on the exchange.

The Silence of the Anti-Abortion Activists - Matt Yglesias

If you want to start your day off on a sour note, pay some attention not just to the substantive harm Bart Stupak did to the health care reform bill over the weekend, and think about how little political benefit he got while doing it. What his amendment did, in essence, was take pre-existing compromise language that would have preserved the legal status quo for abortion (itself slanted toward arbitrary deligitimization of abortion as a medical procedure) and change it such that now the House bill, if enacted, would be a step backwards in terms of access to abortion.