Health Care For America Now

NEWS

Reid To Release Details Of Overhaul Plan To Caucus Today - CongressDaily

Senate Majority Leader Reid will share the details of his long-awaited healthcare overhaul bill with his Democratic Caucus today, according to his spokesman, Jim Manley.

Reid 'optimistic' about getting 60 votes on health bill - Washington Post

Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid scrambled Tuesday to lock down votes behind a health-care bill that he may present as early as Wednesday.

3 Democrats Could Block Health Bill in Senate - New York Times

Senator Ben Nelson, Democrat of Nebraska, says he is not sure he is ready to help a Democratic health care proposal clear even the most preliminary hurdle: gaining the 60 votes his party’s leaders need to open debate on the measure later this week.

Small Firms Scrapping, Scaling Back Health Plans - Associated Press

Faced with high health insurance costs, a North Carolina brokerage passed the buck on to its employees, a Texas public relations firm switched from group insurance to stipends, and a Missouri travel agency let its workers walk away instead paying for insurance.

How to pass a health bill fast - Politico

“Ping-pong” might be too difficult. Reconciliation, too partisan.

OPINION

The Drug Industry Cashes In - New York Times

The drug industry has been ramping up its prices in advance of any health care reforms that might clamp down on its profits. The industry’s rapid price escalation over the past year threatens to make a mockery of its deal with the Senate Finance Committee and the Obama administration to contribute $80 billion over the next decade to help pay for covering tens of millions of uninsured Americans.

Controlling Health Care Costs: How to “Bend the Curve” - The Health Care Blog

As Congress nears passage of the first substantial health care reform in decades, there is an ominous challenge: No reform will be sustainable unless we slow the rapid growth of health care spending.

Docudrama - Jon Cohn

Client X reveals the secret truth about health care reform.

Is Blanche Lincoln canny or misinformed? - Ezra Klein

For months now, Blanche Lincoln has been saying that she "would not support a solely government-funded public option." This has really annoyed progressives, as none of the bills include a government-funded public option. The public plans are entirely funded from premiums, much as private plans are.

Will Coburn force a full reading of the bill? - Congress Matters

Much has been made of Sen. Tom Coburn's (R-OK) threat to force a full reading of the Senate health insurance reform bill on the floor, though it poses no particular threat to the bill's passage. It's just a way to kill some time and be annoying.