NEWS

Health industry's political giving rose 14% in '09 - USA Today

Pharmacists, optometrists and groups representing an array of medical specialists boosted their political giving in 2009, as Congress worked on health care legislation that would dramatically reshape their industry, a review of new campaign-finance reports shows.

Gibbs ducks questions on merged bill - Politico

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs ducked questions during the press briefing Tuesday on whether the president would post his own merged bill on the Internet ahead of the health care summit, given that congressional leaders are still struggling to agree on a way forward.

GOP sees possible upside in health care summit - AP

Congressional Republicans see a chance for political gain in President Barack Obama's televised health care summit next week, even though the president will be running the show.

Senators urge Reid to revisit public option - Politico

Four Democratic senators — including two in tough reelection battles — sent a letter Tuesday to Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) urging him to bring the public insurance option back up for a vote.

OPINION

It's past time for President Obama to show some leadership - Washington Post

It's a rotten time in Washington, and I'm not just talking about the snow. Health-care reform, financial regulation, the jobs bill, the long-term budget deficit, energy and climate change — everywhere you turn, there's political stalemate. Poll numbers are plummeting, and many good people either have been reduced to shameless pandering (John McCain) or are simply giving up and going home (Byron Dorgan, Evan Bayh, Billy Tauzin).

Angry at the high cost of health insurance premiums? Reform advocates say: "Take to the streets." - NJ.com

Even though health insurance premiums continue to skyrocket, the pundits backed up by some polls indicate that a majority of American people don’t want health care reform. Some people with private health insurance don’t think reform will lower their premiums and don’t believe their insurance company will drop them. Seniors on Medicare, America’s socialized health care system, are afraid their premiums will go up with health care reform. But when Anthem Blue Cross — a subsidiary of Indianapolis-based WellPoint, the nation's second largest health insurance corporation — announced double-digit rate hikes on its California customers, lots of people may be changing their minds. The increase, which would affect about 700,000 customers, averaged 25%, but some consumers will get hikes as high as 39%. The premium increases are as much as 10 times higher than the percentage increase in national health care costs. The Obama administration and Democratic members of Congress used the hike as an example of why the nation needs long-delayed insurance reform. (Republicans were conspicuously silent).

The Difference In Selling Insurance Across State Lines - Think Progress

As Democratic and Republican leaders make their final preparations for the February 25th bipartisan health summit, Republicans continue to argue for selling insurance policies across state lines — a provision already in both the House and Senate bills.

Give Me Insurance Or Give Me Death - Jon Cohn

Does losing health insurance make you more likely to die? Several years ago, while I was writing my book on health care, I spent a lot of time on that question. I read the two highly publicized reports by the Institute of Medicine (IOM): Care Without Coverage: Too Little, Too Late and Consequences of Unnsurance. I read through the underlying research. And I spoke to as many experts as I could find.

Think tort reform will control soaring health spending? - Sacramento Bee

Tort reform has become a sort of all-purpose Republican cure for what ails the American health-care system.