It's incumbent on Democrats to finish health reform and finish reform right, but it's also worth remembering that Republicans still have no health care plan.

In his State of the Union address, President Obama told lawmakers that if they had a health care plan that met his goals, they should speak up:

As temperatures cool, I want everyone to take another look at the plan we've proposed. There's a reason why many doctors, nurses, and health care experts who know our system best consider this approach a vast improvement over the status quo. But if anyone from either party has a better approach that will bring down premiums, bring down the deficit, cover the uninsured, strengthen Medicare for seniors, and stop insurance company abuses, let me know. Here's what I ask of Congress, though: Do not walk away from reform. Not now. Not when we are so close. Let us find a way to come together and finish the job for the American people.

Predictably, House Republican minority leader John Boehner piped up and claimed that the Republican alternative health care bill his caucus offered last year when the House was passing their health care bill fit the requirements.

Of course, Boehner's wrong. The bill doesn't fit the requirements, not even close.

First, the plan, according to the CBO [pdf], doesn't nearly cover the uninsured:

By 2019, CBO and JCT estimate, the number of nonelderly people without health insurance would be reduced by about 3 million relative to current law, leaving about 52 million nonelderly residents uninsured.

Unlike the House plan Democrats passed, it doesn't hold insurance companies accountable. It would still allow denials of care based on pre-existing conditions, and because these abuses aren't reigned in, premiums for the sickest Americans will skyrocket.

The Republican "alternative" also saves less money, because it fails to really tackle the health care crisis.

Democrats still must finish the job right, but judging by the ideas Republicans have offered thus far, they'll have to proceed on their own.

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi led the charge yesterday:

The quote is so good it's worth repeating in writing:

We'll go through the gate. If the gate's closed, we'll go over the fence. If the fence is too high, we'll pole-vault in. If that doesn't work, we'll parachute in. But we're going to get health care reform passed for the American people, for their own personal health and economic security, and for the important role that it will play in reducing the deficit.

Pelosi was joined by a chorus of Democrats yesterday saying the same thing. House Education and Labor Committee Chairman George Miller:

We're going to get it done this year.

House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman:

I think we will pass a big health care bill. I think the president will insist that we keep the promise. We're going to have to figure out a different route now that we dont have 60 Democrats, but the Republicans are not helping us.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid:

We're going to do health care reform this year. The question is, at this stage, procedurally, how do we get where we need to go.

Senator Max Baucus:

We're not going to put it down. We're moving expeditiously. And expeditiously means quickly, solidly, thoughtfully.

President Obama's senior adviser David Axelrod:

There were plenty of people who said before the speech last night, just stand up there and say 'It's over.' Say 'We tried,' and move on because it's too politically difficult. And that's not what he did and we are working closely with folks on the Hill to develop the way forward and get this done and that's all we're focused on, on health care, is getting it done.

These are the leaders who have the power to pass health reform. Now, it's our job to make sure they finish reform and finish reform right.

Both houses of Congress must pass comprehensive health care reform by majority vote as quickly as possible. They have the tools to make it happen. As Axelrod said, "Reconciliation is a tool that is there to be used." And the human toll of waiting is simply to high. Health reform must be finished, and it must be finished right.

NEWS

Pelosi Vows to Pull Out Stops to Pass Health Care - The Hill

Echoing President Barack Obama’s call for lawmakers not to abandon their beleaguered push for a health care overhaul, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) vowed Thursday to take as long as necessary to pass a comprehensive package.

AG finds clout of hospitals drives cost - Boston Globe

Massachusetts insurance companies pay some hospitals and doctors twice as much money as others for essentially the same patient care, according to a preliminary report by Attorney General Martha Coakley. It points to the market clout of the best-paid providers as a main driver of the state’s spiraling health care costs.

Battling for Health Coverage as Cancer Spreads - New York Times

Rashidam Shakirova moved from Atlanta to New York in 2008 so she could earn more as a home health-care aide — $9 an hour instead of $7. But she now believes that her new job indirectly took a drastic toll on her health.

Mary Landrieu Blasts Obama Over Health Care - Huffington Post

President Obama is taking heat from a Senate Democrat over how he dealt with the issue of health care in his first State of the Union speech.

High-Ranking House Democrat Predicts Health Bill Approval This Year - Kaiser Health News

Even as House Democrats turn their attention to jobs and the economy, House Education and Labor Committee Chairman George Miller predicted Thursday that Congress will pass health care overhaul legislation this year.

Drug Lobby Group: Health-Care Bill 'Up in Air' - Wall Street Journal

The chairman of the drug industry's main trade group in the U.S. said the group "hasn't withdrawn support" for the version of health-care reform passed by the Senate, but that the Massachusetts election has "thrown everything up in the air a bit."

Emanuel: Democrats Not Dropping Health Care - New York Times

Some observers have wondered whether Democrats are quietly planning to abandon President Obama’s sweeping health care overhaul. But Mr. Obama’s chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, insists that is not the case.

Obama in “close consultation” with Democratic leadership - Politico

Some congressional Democrats have criticized President Obama for not weighing in on how they should proceed with health care reform, but a White House official said today that the president is in “close consultation” with leadership.

The human toll of delaying health care reform is shocking. Every day we delay health care reform:

• 6,821 more people lose their health insurance [pdf]
• 2,548 more people file for bankruptcy because they got sick
• 123 more people die because they don't have the coverage they need

Yesterday, President Obama told Congress to continue their work:

Here’s what I ask of Congress, though: Do not walk away from reform. Not now. Not when we are so close. Let us find a way to come together and finish the job for the American people.

But as we know, it'll take more than just words to finish health reform and finish it right. It's going to take leadership by the President and leaders in Congress.

There is growing consensus on the way forward. The Senate bill needs to be improved before reform is finished in many ways. The way to improve the Senate bill is with majority rule, otherwise known as reconciliation.

The Center for Budget and Policy Priorities has a report on reconciliation, it's history, and its process. Their conclusion is the same as ours:

…using the reconciliation process now for health care reform would not represent a dramatic break with the past. The sharp break with past practice occurred in 2001, when reconciliation was used for the first time to pass legislation that was not paid for and greatly worsened the nation’s fiscal position.

Prior to 2001, every major reconciliation bill enacted into law reduced the federal deficit. Until then, reconciliation had been reserved for legislation that met this standard of fiscal discipline. But the standard was tossed aside in 2001. In both 2001 and 2003, the reconciliation process was used to pass costly tax cuts that were not paid for and that have substantially increased deficits and debt.

In response, at the start of the new Congress in 2007, the House and Senate formally adopted rules to restore a fiscal discipline standard to the reconciliation process by barring the process from being used for bills that would increase deficits and debt. If the reconciliation process is used in coming weeks for health reform legislation, that legislation will need to adhere to this standard — rather than to continue the sharp departure from it that the 2001 and 2003 reconciliation bills made.

…

Because rising health care costs represent the single largest cause of the federal government’s long-term budget problems, fundamental health care reform must be part of any budget solution. The foregoing examples indicate that using the budget reconciliation process to enact health reform in 2010 would be consistent with the ways in which Congress has used reconciliation in the past. Many major policy changes, including welfare reform, large tax cuts, and new health programs, have been included in past reconciliation bills. Moreover, if health reform is pursued through the reconciliation process this year, the resulting legislation — unlike the tax cuts of 2001 and 2003 — will need to be designed so it does not add to the deficit. Any legislation also is likely to include provisions, such as an independent Medicare Commission and demonstration projects to identify ways to deliver health care more efficiently, that could lead to further reforms that slow the growth of health-care costs and contribute to longer-term deficit reduction.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi has predicted she could get the votes in the House to pass a health care bill if the Senate passes a reconciliation fix. Senators Reid, Baucus, and Conrad are open to the approach.

This is a way forward. The only question now is whether Congress will do it. Leadership is required to move both houses of Congress down this road together, the road to passing a real health care reform bill and passing it quickly.

The President asked Congress to finish reform. His call has been echoed, from Senator Al Franken to AFL-CIO President Rich Trumka. The human cost of health care is too high to not finish reform and finish it right.

NEWS

Obama bucks up Democrats on health care - Associated Press

Some congressional Democrats are seizing on President Barack Obama's fresh call for a sweeping health care overhaul as a message to show resolve and get the legislation done.

Democrats Still Waiting for Direction From Obama on Health Care - Roll Call

President Barack Obama’s vague exhortations during his State of the Union that Congress should not give up on health care reform received broad support from House and Senate Democrats on Wednesday night, but Members said he did not give them a clear path forward to break the current gridlock.

Pelosi Outlines How To Get Votes In House For Reform Bill - CongressDaily

House Speaker Pelosi flatly predicted Wednesday afternoon she could muster enough votes to pass the Senate version of healthcare reform if the upper chamber agreed to adjust the bill through reconciliation first.

Using Reconciliation Process to Enact Health Reform Would Be Fully Consistent With Past Practice - CBPP

In the aftermath of the Massachusetts Senate election, Democratic congressional leaders must soon decide whether to use the reconciliation process to help pass health reform legislation. Reconciliation is a process set forth in the Congressional Budget Act that allows for expedited consideration of legislation affecting mandatory spending programs or taxes.

House sent Senate $300-billion reconciliation package - Politico

House Democratic leaders have sent their Senate counterparts a package of changes to the Senate bill that would add $300 billion to the legislation’s cost, an “irrational” proposal that has Senate Democrats questioning whether the House is setting their chamber up to fail, according to a senior Democratic Senate aide.

Nancy Pelosi floats two-track health reform - Politico

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Wednesday floated the idea of a two-track plan for health care reform — with Congress pursuing easier-to-pass incremental changes now and comprehensive reform later.

VA Gov. McDonnell: Brand New Face, Same Old Lies - Media Matters

Newly inaugurated Governor Bob McDonnell was tapped by Republican Party leaders to deliver the official GOP response to President Obama's first State of the Union address.  While McDonnell's face may be fresh, his speech repeated a slew of the same old, worn out, debunked Republican talking points.

Tonight, the President reminded Congress and the country that we need to finish health reform AND finish it right. He said, "Do not walk away from reform. Not now. Not when we are so close. Let us find a way to come together and finish the job for the American people." He's right.

And as we know, it takes more than words to pass health care reform. We have to fight. Harder than ever. Because that's exactly what the insurance industry is doing. And if they win, we lose!

So we have to turn up the heat. For months we've called and written letters, knocked on doors and had meetings. Now we have to do even more.

Right now their lobbyists are using their money and influence to block health care reform every step of the way. They're trying to scare voters and get members of Congress to back down.

We have to dig down deep — everyone of us — to do more to win the health care reform we need.

Yesterday in Washington, DC, hundreds of people rallied for reform. We marched in front of the Chamber of Commerce because the insurance industry gave them tens of millions of dollars to kill health reform. Here's what happened:

We can't let the insurance companies kill reform with their money! Not now. Not this time. We need Congress to stand up to insurance company lobbyists and finish health reform right.

That's why we need to organize actions all over the country to demand that they finish reform and finish it now!

We can't let the insurance companies win. We can't let them put people over profits any more. We can't let them kill reform with their money and power.

There's too much at stake to stop now. Every day that passes without health care reform:

• 6,821 more people lose their health insurance [pdf]
• 2,548 more people file for bankruptcy because they got sick
• 60 more people die [pdf] because they don't have the coverage they need

And the insurance industry keeps raking in money hand-over-fist. The only way we'll win reform is if we rise up as a nation and tell Congress to act now.

More details are coming soon, but we need to start organizing tonight! It's time to finish the reform right.

Will you join us? Will you make a commitment to take action today?

Click here to sign up and help mobilize the country to win the health care reform we desperately need.

We need you to come to an event near you and speak out. We need you to tell your friends, your family, your co-workers - anyone you know who's been victimized by the health insurance industry and needs change. We need you to help host an event in your community - don't worry, we'll help you do it - but we need Congress to get the message loud and clear.

Click here to sign up and join us. We'll be getting together the details in the coming days, but the organizing starts now.

Help us win the change we need. We can't do it without you.

Even more reports are streaming in from states around the country, with hundreds more people showing up to demand Congress finish health care reform right and finish it now.

In Arizona, Rep. Mitchell is getting the message:

In rainy San Francisco, Speaker Pelosi was getting the message:

And in the sunnier parts of California, the rest of the CA delegation was getting the message:

In Illinois, Rep. Schakowsky got the message:

In Indiana, Rep. Hill and Senator Bayh got the message:

In Massachusetts, Senator Kerry was getting the message:

In Montana, Senator Baucus was getting the message:

And in Staten Island, NY, Rep. McMahon was getting the message:

Congress and the President must finish reform, finish reform right, and finish reform now. There's no excuse, and we can't wait!

Like the rest of Wall Street, WellPoint - one of the nation's largest insurers, with 14 state Blue Cross brands in its portfolio - is having a banner year.

Today, WellPoint announced that profits jumped 727%. In the middle of the biggest recession in generations, WellPoint is raking in the cash hand-over-fist.

Why the jump? Turns out, last year WellPoint spent even less on actual health care than it did in 2008.

In 2008, it spent 83.6% of the premiums it took in on care - paying for doctors, drugs, and the like. In 2009, they spent only 82.6% of your money on your care. That seemingly small difference actually belies bigger discrepancies. An analysis by the Senate Commerce Committee [pdf] found that while WellPoint spends about 85% of every premium dollar on care in the large group market that big businesses can tap into, they spend as low as 73% of every dollar collected through individual plans, and 79% on small group plans purchased by small businesses.

A small change in this "medical loss ratio" means billions of more dollars that can be spent on CEO pay or reported as profit. Indeed, Martin L. Miller, a Senior Vice President at WellPoint, said that lowering the amount of money WellPoint spends on health care "really is the driver of profitability" and that the lowering of this percentage "is really what's driving our improved financial results this year."

So, what did WellPoint do with that extra money?

They spent $4.7 million of it - $4.7 million of your dollars - on lobbying, a 21% increase from last year. And they secretly funneled more than $1 million to the Chamber of Commerce to run misleading attack ads trying to kill health reform. Oh, and CEO Angela Braley - the woman who said that her company wasn't interested in expanding coverage if it meant making less money - made $8.7 million.

Isn't that just sick? The list of injustices in this story is long.

WellPoint joins the rest of Wall Street and makes a huge profit this year while Americans are losing their jobs, their health care, and their houses. To guarantee that profit, WellPoint spends less of your money on your care. Instead, they steal those dollars you paid to finance your future care and pay $4.7 million to corporate lobbyists to "convince" Congress to kill reform. Oh, and they launder at least $1 million through the Chamber of Commerce for a smear campaign. And don't even start on the CEO's pay.

These companies can't be allowed to operate this way any longer. A system where Wall Street-run corporations make money by spending less on medical care guarantees that under this system, our care will get worse and their profit margins will rise. Without limits on medical loss ratios, strong and enforced regulations on business practices, and a public health insurance option, nothing will change.

That's why Congress and the President need to finish reform right. Every day that goes by without health care reform:

• 6,821 more people lose their health insurance [pdf]
• 2,548 more people file for bankruptcy because they got sick
• 60 more people die [pdf] because they don't have the coverage they need

This problem is not going away. We need to get it done, get it done right, and get it done now.

NEWS

Health-care protestors demand passage of bill - Washington Post

About 250 people staged a protest on the steps of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce today in an effort to urge Congress to pass the health-care reform plan.

Congress slows down on health care - Associated Press

Congressional leaders are taking health care legislation off the fast track as rank-and-file Democrats, wary of unhappy midterm election voters, look to President Barack Obama for guidance in his State of the Union address.

Top Democrats at war - with each other - Politico

President Barack Obama, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid will be all smiles as the president arrives at the Capitol for his State of the Union speech Wednesday night, but the happy faces can’t hide relationships that are fraying and fraught.

Podesta: Forget The House; Health Care's On The Senate - TPM

The man who chaired Barack Obama's transition to the presidency, and who runs the most influential Democratic think tank in Washington has a message for the Senate: The House won't pass your health care bill until you take action first–so it's on you.

Whole Foods to Employees On Health Care: Weigh Less And You'll Pay Less - Huffington Post

Whole Foods employees who tip the scales or light up after work would be spending more for their organic broccoli than their healthier co-workers, with the launch of the supermarket chain's "Team Member Healthy Discount Incentive" program aimed at controlling health care costs.

Democrats woo Snowe, Collins in hope of saving health reform legislation - The Hill

Centrist Democratic senators have circumvented party leadership to approach Maine GOP Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins about reviving healthcare talks.

Liberals working to resurrect the public option - Politico

A liberal group is trying to resurrect the public health insurance option as a way to kick start the stalled health care reform debate.

Hoyer Sees Obama Pushing for Comprehensive Health-Care Overhaul - Bloomberg

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said he expects President Barack Obama to push for a broad health-care overhaul when he addresses the nation tomorrow, and he cast doubt on the idea of passing smaller measures instead.

As President Obama speaks to Congress and the nation this week in his State of the Union address, I hope he will make clear three important points about health care reform:
1. When it comes to the need to make good health care affordable, nothing is different today than it was yesterday.
2. It is imperative that we put a down payment on the promise of health care reform today by passing a health reform bill.
3. Passing a health reform bill now is just the beginning of health care reform, not the end.

Read more…