Over the past few weeks, House and Senate Democratic leaders have been working to craft a compromise between their two health care bills that were passed over the last few months. Today, President Obama has released what Dan Pfeiffer, Communications Director at the White House, is calling the administration's "best shot" at bridging the differences between the House and Senate.

The proposal comes in advance of the planned health care summit on February 25th where Republicans and Democrats will meet and talk about the health care proposals on the table. The White House thought it would be most productive to "come to the table with one proposal," as Pfeiffer put it.

Over the last few months, we've been fighting to finish health reform right under the rubric of two main goals. By making health care affordable we mean making sure insurance is affordable for individuals, making sure insurance is affordable at work, and making sure middle-class health plans aren't taxed. By holding insurance companies accountable we mean giving regulators a national exchange so insurance plans in the exchange are subject to the same stringent rules and creating a public health insurance option to hold private insurance companies accountable.

So, what does the President's plan do?

(Note: The plan starts from the Senate bill as a foundation so any changes listed in the overview of the President's plan [pdf] are changes to the Senate bill.)

NEWS

Obama to Urge Oversight of Insurers’ Rate Increases - New York Times

President Obama will propose on Monday giving the federal government new power to block excessive rate increases by health insurance companies, as he rolls out comprehensive legislation to revamp the nation’s health care system, White House officials said Sunday.

Reid: Dems will use 50-vote tactic to finish healthcare in 60 days - The Hill

Democrats will finish their health reform efforts within the next two months by using a majority-vote maneuver in the Senate, Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said.

As "Jumping-Off" Point for Discussions on Health Care, White House Will Post Senate Democratic Bill + Potential Fixes - Political Punch

As what White House officials call "a jumping-off point" for Thursday's bipartisan discussion on health care reform, on Monday at 10 am EST, on the White House website, officials will post the Democratic health care reform legislation that passed the Senate on December 24, 2009, and a list of changes they would like to make to that bill.

Republicans Skeptical of Health Summit but Claim Willingness to Deal - Roll Call

Congressional Republican leaders on Sunday continued to voice skepticism that the bipartisan health care summit scheduled to take place this week will be a good-faith effort by Democrats to get GOP input on a reform plan.

Health insurers defend profits - The Courier-Journal

Despite a struggling economy, the nation's five largest health insurance companies increased their profits by a combined 56 percent last year, to $12.2billion, even as they lost nearly 2 million members.

Franken touts public option at health care rally in St. Paul - MPR

Hundreds of people rallied Sunday in support of passing comprehensive health care overhaul legislation.

Nebraska's Nelson tries to rebound from controversies - Sioux City Journal

"Those who want nothing done obscure that fact by statements that they want to start over."

As we move towards the President's health care summit on the 25th, two stories in today's news are worth highlighting.

Republicans are constantly holding up Health Savings Accounts as a solution to our health care crisis. Most recently, Newt Gingrich and John Goodman in the Wall Street Journal and Senator Judd Gregg and Representative Bill Cassidy all touted HSAs.

Of course, HSAs are nothing more than a scam. Fake health insurance that won't keep you from catastrophic debt in the event of catastrophic illness. But there's more. They might be stealing your money, too:

Thousands of people are learning that money they squirreled away in health savings accounts is gone. Many thought the money was sitting safely in banks. But now it appears it was stolen.

Federal investigators have released few details, but all the cases have one thing in common: a Chicago company called Canopy Financial.

Now critics are questioning whether more government oversight is needed for the accounts.

Surprise, surprise! The "free market" solution that Republicans love allows big banks to run roughshod over working families because there are few rules or oversight governing these Health Savings Accounts. And the Republican solution to our health care crisis? More of these, so banks can steal more of our money!

Republicans are also constantly criticizing the health care bills in Congress because they supposedly "slash" Medicare. (Never mind that the claims are untrue. The health care bills will not touch Medicare benefits, and in fact will improve the health care for seniors.) The "slashing" they're referring to comes primarily from the plan to cut Medicare Advantage, a program created by the Bush administration and run by private companies instead of the government that runs Medicare. The program costs 12% more. Why? Because private companies can't provide health care more efficiently than the government, so they need corporate welfare so they can make a profit.

But Republicans apparently love this program, and cutting off these corporate giveaways is akin to cutting health benefits for seniors. Well guess what? Premiums for these Medicare Advantage programs are going up as much as 14% next year:

Millions of seniors who signed up for popular private health plans through Medicare are facing sharp premium increases this year — another sign that spiraling costs are a problem even for those with solid insurance.

A study released Friday by a major consulting firm found that premiums for Medicare Advantage plans offering medical and prescription drug coverage jumped 14.2 percent on average in 2010, after an increase of only 5.2 percent the previous year. Some 8.5 million elderly and disabled Americans are in the plans, which provide more comprehensive coverage than traditional Medicare, often at lower cost.

…

Administration officials didn't dispute the Avalere study but sought to pin responsibility on the private insurers that participate in the program, a list that includes such industry giants as UnitedHealthcare and Aetna. Nonpartisan technical advisers to Congress say Medicare Advantage plans are being overpaid because of a flawed formula.

"The plans need to explain why these increases are necessary," said Medicare spokesman Peter Ashkenaz.

Eric Hammelman, a senior Avalere data analyst, said that after the government cut payments to the plans last year, the insurers faced a choice. "They could raise premiums or lower benefits, and what most of them decided to do was raise premiums," he said.

An insurance industry spokesman said Medicare Advantage cuts in the Democratic health care bills will lead to higher premiums and reduced benefits. "That will put at risk the health security of seniors in the program, breaking the promise that those who like their coverage can keep it," said Robert Zirkelbach of America's Health Insurance Plans.

Of course the industry would say that, but that's not the whole story. These private companies chose to put their profits over their customers and raise their rates because they can't compete. And this is the program Republicans want to save as opposed to taking that 12% corporate subsidy and putting that wasted money to good use by, say, plugging the donut hole, something the Democratic bills do.

As Republicans head into this summit to present their ideas, today's news is just another reminder that the ideas really just don't work.

It's day two of Melanie's March, the 8 days, 135 mile trip insurance company survivors are making from Philadelphia to DC in honor of Melanie Shouse, a health care activist and Obama volunteer who died because she didn't have affordable insurance. Here's why Melanie fought:

They're marching to send a simple message to Congress: Listen to the people, not the insurance companies. It's time to get health reform done and get it done right.

Yesterday, the marchers crossed the state line from Pennsylvania to Delaware:

We finally made it out of Pennsylvania and into Delaware. It was about a half hour behind our target time. There were difficult obstacles that slowed us down such as unshoveled sidewalks. With three feet of snow blocking our path we weaved in and out of snow banks and crisscrossed roads. The troops pulled together- gave it all they had-to get to our next destination only a few minutes late. Everyone was really proud.

They met with local activists for lunch, and then headed to Wilmington, DE to the Bethel AME Church, where they were greeted with a rally, prayers, and a warm welcome from Reverend Silvester Beaman and the congregation.

They spent the night in the church. Last night, Antoinette Kraus brought us this update from the road:

The actual walking part has been more difficult than expected.  We hadn’t accounted for the simple obstacle of snow – four feet of snow iced over covered a good portion of the sidewalks we had been relying on for safe passage.  Weaving in and out of snow banks, crisscrossing streets -were able to pull it together to finish the miles of the day.  And, amazingly, we’ve been able to keep on pace for the most part in order to make it to our events.

Despite the obstacles and sore legs, spirits are high!  Today, a man threw up his window and cheered us on.  A Pastor, welcomed us into his church with a rally and a home cooked meal.  A clapping group of locals met us at Mr. Pasta for a meet up where they shared their stories and massaged our necks.    And a groups of teenagers eagerly awaiting the legal driving age gave us the most quizzical look and asked “why don’t you just drive?!”

The press has been following us closely.  Word about the March is really getting around.  We’re all so very proud of the volunteers making this such a success.  One of our organizers, Dave, is so proud, in fact, that he took two of them to get pedicures tonight.

I’m currently drafting this from the entry way of a church in Wilmington that has shown us incredible hospitality.  After finishing up this blog post and brainstorming for final activities, Antoinette and I are going to prepare for tomorrow.

We’ve got another 17 miles of adventure ahead of us.

Meanwhile, around the country, more people are rallying for real health care reform and to send that message to Congress.

In Iowa, the people rallied to send a message to Senator Harkin:

In New Jersey, people gathered in the snow to demand health care reform:

In Albany, NY, people rallied and called out the health insurance company lobbyists trying to kill reform:

In Maine, dozens called out Senator Snowe and pressured her to pass real health care reform:

In Montana, they rallied to send the message to Senators Baucus and Tester and Congressman Rehberg:

In Rhode Island, hundreds rallied to send the message:

The message is clear: Congress must get reform done and get it done right. No excuses!

You can help send this message, too. MoveOn.org is organizing a huge "virtual march" on Washington, DC on February 24th to welcome Melanie's March to DC and to make sure Congress hears from the people in advance of the President's health care summit on the 25th. We're participating, along with dozens of other groups.

Take it to the streets with us! Click here to sign up to virtually "march" with us on February 24th.

NEWS

Obama keeps all-Democratic health care option open - AP

The White House signaled Thursday that an aggressive, all-Democratic strategy for overhauling the nation's health care system remains a serious option, even as President Barack Obama invites Republicans to next week's televised summit to seek possible compromises.

Obama to Offer Health Bill to Ease Impasse as Bipartisan Meeting Approaches - New York Times

President Obama will put forward comprehensive health care legislation intended to bridge differences between Senate and House Democrats ahead of a summit meeting with Republicans next week, senior administration officials and Congressional aides said Thursday.

Sebelius: White House may fight for public option in health bill - The Hill

The White House is willing to make a push for the public option if Senate Democrats decide to bring it up for a vote, Health and Human Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said tonight.

Millions of seniors face 14 percent premium increase for popular Medicare Advantage plans - AP

Millions of seniors who signed up for popular private health plans through Medicare are facing sharp premium increases this year — another sign that spiraling costs are a problem even for those with solid insurance.

Iowa lawmakers want to know why insurers raise rates - Des Moines Register

State lawmakers want to press Iowa health insurers to release more details to help lawmakers decide whether rate increases are justified.

Rep. Boehner: If Democrats are finishing the healthcare bill, why have a summit? - The Hill

House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) doesn't much like the fact that Democrats continue to piece together an agreement on healthcare reform in advance of a bipartisan summit next week — and mocks their inability to do so successfully.

Missing HSA Money Raises Oversight Questions - NPR

Thousands of people are learning that money they squirreled away in health savings accounts is gone. Many thought the money was sitting safely in banks. But now it appears it was stolen.

New 60 Plus Ad "Deals" From The Bottom Of The Deck - Media Matters

The anti-health care reform group 60 Plus has released a new round of misleading ads in 18 Congressional districts across the country.  Just like their previous ads, however, 60 Plus takes advantage of America's senior citizens and airs little more than misleading information.

Bleak Economy Pushing Health Insurers to Raise Rates, Analysts Say - New York Times

Health insurers lately seem more afraid of Wall Street than of Washington.

Today, Secretary Sebelius and the Department of Health and Human Services released a report on health insurance company rate increases in the wake of the outrage over Anthem Blue Cross's 39% increases in California. The report makes clear what those of us who've been following the health care debate have known for years: California's rate increases aren't unique.

The HHS report highlights similar rate increases in other states:

Anthem Blue Cross isn’t alone in insisting on premium hikes. Anthem of Connecticut requested an increase of 24 percent last year, which was rejected by the state.³ Anthem in Maine had an 18.5-percent premium increase rejected by the state last year as being “excessive and unfairly discriminatory”⁴ – but is now requesting a 23-percent increase this year.⁵

In 2009, Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Michigan requested approval for premium increases of 56 percent for plans sold on the individual market.⁶ Regency Blue Cross Blue Shield of Oregon requested a 20-percent premium increase.⁷ UnitedHealth, Tufts, and Blue Cross requested 13- to 16-percent rate increases in Rhode Island.⁸ And rates for some individual health plans in Washington increased by up to 40 percent until Washington State imposed stiffer premium regulations.⁹

Leading experts have predicted that, without reform, these increases will continue, and the federal government and most states don’t have the legal authority to block or reduce health insurance rate increases.¹⁰

Of course, this comes at the same time that the parent companies of these insurers are making record profits.

The insurance companies, of course, will claim that these rate increases are justified by rising costs. They're dead wrong. More from the report:

WellPoint and others claim that the premium increases are necessary given the rise in health care costs. While rising health care costs is a known problem with our broken health care system, some of the premium increases requested by insurance companies are 5 to 10 times larger than the growth rate in national health expenditures.¹¹ All the while, insurance companies and their CEOs continue to thrive.

Recent economic data show that profits for the ten largest insurance companies increased 250 percent between 2000 and 2009, ten times faster than inflation.¹²,¹³ Last year, as working families struggled with rising health care costs and a recession, the five largest health insurance companies – WellPoint, UnitedHealth Group, Cigna, Aetna, and Humana – took in combined profits of $12.2 billion, up 56 percent over 2008.¹⁴ These health insurance companies’ profits grew even as nominal GDP decreased by 1 percent over this same time period.¹⁵ WellPoint accumulated more than $2.7 billion in profits in the most recent quarter alone.¹⁶

On a call today with reporters, Secretary Sebelius explained why insurance companies get away with rate increases like this:

Insurance companies are often responsible to shareholders as well as policy holders. And when you sell insurance, you make more money by insuring people who don't get sick rather than people who do get sick.

A lot of these people on these plans have no choice other choice. They can either pay the rate increases or drop coverage.

Later in the day on another call with reporters, Congressman Earl Blumenauer joined small business owners from the Main Street Alliance to talk about their rate increases, further driving home the point that these kinds of rate hikes are commonplace.

On the call, business owners like Kelly Conklin from Bloomfield, NJ said health insurance rates had gone up for them as much as 124%. Conklin said:

My employees will have to decide if they want to continue getting coverage and pay their own way or drop coverage and take their chances.

These premium increases stifle business and prevent employees from contributing to economic growth because all of their wages go towards health care. We're at end of our rope. We can't afford to let this opportunity for reform slip away. We need to finish the job with the things the Main Street Alliance is fighting for - competition, transparency, and a public option.

Congressman Blumenauer responded:

It's frustrating for me to hear these stories. Small business is paying disproportionate amount of the health care burden. Hearing of businesses spending 20% of payroll on health care isn't uncommon.

It doesn't have to be this way. We spend more on health care than any nation in the world. A few in America get the best health care, for the average American, we get worse results. We are sick more often, stay sick longer, die sooner, and our families and businesses suffer.

A few months ago, I introduced a bill to terminate health insurance for Congress until health reform is enacted. If they had to personally experience the tender mercies of the health care market - the gaps in coverage, the increasing premiums premiums, denials of care - I think we would enact reform in a matter of weeks!

Hopefully the House will use reconciliation, otherwise known as the majority vote process, to clean up the Senate bill and send it back to them for a vote. Then we would approve the remainder of the Senate bill.

Double digit rate hikes are the norm in America's health care system today. They will only get worse if reform isn't finished and finished right. Of course, the insurance industry thinks Secretary Sebelius is "vilifying" them, with AHIP - the main insurance industry lobby - releasing a statement today saying how much they think we need health reform. This is while they're actively funneling money to the Chamber of Commerce to run ads trying to kill reform.

Sorry insurance companies, but we've known all along that you want to preserve the status quo so you can keep raking in your outrageous profits while the rest of the country struggles to get out of a deep recession. It's up to Congress to fix this broken system and put the insurance companies in their place. Which means finishing reform right and getting it done now.

Reports, pictures and video are coming back from Melanie's March, the 8 days, 135 mile trip insurance company survivors are making from Philadelphia to DC in honor of Melanie Shouse, a health care activist and Obama volunteer who died because she didn't have affordable insurance.

They're marching to send a simple message to Congress: Listen to the people, not the insurance companies. It's time to get health reform done and get it done right.

Hundreds of supporters rallied in Philadelphia yesterday to kick off the march:

The marchers and supporters all got red carnations as a symbol:

Cliff Frasier, who played an important role in planning the march, explains the symbolism of these carnations and what we are hoping those of who can join us on this march will do as part of this action.

“Every 12 minutes, on average, a person dies in our country for lack of health insurance, according to a recent study released by Harvard Science. This results in approximately 1,000 deaths every 8-days.

March to the Finish Line for Melanie is an 8-day march from Philadelphia to Washington D.C. As our elected leaders continue debating reform, we are losing the voices of those most in need of affordable and accessible healthcare.

Marchers will carry 1,000 carnations into Washington and lay them on the steps of the U.S. Capitol Building, memorializing the mounting human cost of doing nothing. These flowers will also represent community support for March to the Finish Line for Melanie, as volunteers from advocacy and religious organizations will donate bouquets of carnations along the route.

Please donate a bouquet – or several (preferred color:  red, but any color will be appreciated).  We need to gather 1,000 stems of carnations over the course of the 8 day march.

Meet the marchers at one of the rallies or meet-up locations along the route, and add your donation of carnations to March to the Finish Line for Melanie. For more information on how to donate carnations, call:  917-359-9281. ”

From Philadelphia, the marchers headed out of town and held a candlelight vigil at Taylor Hospital in Ridley Park, PA last night:

Today, the march continues with rallies in Delaware. Stay tuned for more pictures!

Meanwhile, around the country, thousands more were taking it to the streets to send this message. Folks were out with pitchforks and torches in Connecticut:

NEWS

Sebelius: Current bills will be starting point for health summit - CNN

President Obama plans to use the already-passed House and Senate bills as a starting point for next week's health care summit with Republican leaders, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said Tuesday.

Excise tax on high-cost health plans would have nonunion impact, study shows - Washington Post

A proposed tax on high-cost health insurance plans, an element of Democratic health-care legislation that has been strongly opposed by organized labor, would actually fall equally on nonunion plans, according to a new analysis.

Rate hikes on health insurance prompt more criticism from Obama administration - Washington Post

The Obama administration plans to step up its criticism Thursday of health insurers' recent efforts to raise their rates — an attempt to harness public aggravation with the industry and rebuild momentum for broad changes to the nation's health-care system.

Public Option, Medicare Buy-In Could See Senate Floor Fights - Huffington Post

Real health care reform is threatening to emerge from the ashes of the Massachusetts special election that exploded the effort in January. A growing movement in the Senate to urge Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) to reinsert the public option into a health care reform package that would move through the chamber under majority-only rules depends on just how many votes backers can muster.

Fellow Dem says Harkin supports health care reconciliation - Iowa Independent

Senator apparently told gathering last month he'd use the procedural move to pass public insurance option

List of Senators Grows Asking Reid to Pursue Reconciliation - Roll Call

Four more Democratic Senators and one Independent have added their signatures to a letter urging Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) to pursue reconciliation as a means to passing comprehensive health care reform.

A congressional hearing next week into the proposed 39 percent rate increase in California by health insurance giant WellPoint could breathe new life into health care reform efforts on Capitol Hill, especially if lawmakers broaden their investigation into the outrageous rate increases other insurers are also demanding from coast to coast.

WellPoint found itself in Congressional investigators' crosshairs after the California Department of Insurance challenged the company's planned increase in the rates it charges its customers who cannot get coverage through the workplace, but have to go it alone in what is called the individual market.

read more

WellPoint, the mega-insurance-corporation that owns Anthem Blue Cross, decided to delay Anthem's widely reported rate increases in California, which were as high as 39% for some customers. This comes on the heels of the news that the insurance industry as a whole - and WellPoint in particular - posted record profits last year while simultaneously cutting millions of customers from their rolls.

The delay in the rate increases may end up being just that - a delay:

State Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner said Saturday that he secured an agreement with Anthem to postpone for at least two months the increases that had been set to take effect March 1 for many of the estimated 800,000 policyholders.

The delay, he said, would give state regulators time to have newly hired outside health-insurance actuarial experts analyze Anthem's rates to make sure they don't violate California law.

But it could give WellPoint time to think about whether the rate increase is worth the tradeoff. Since the news broke, WellPoint stock has fallen 3.8%, while the S&P was up 1% in the same time period.

Of course, you can't always rely on a big news story to delay or perhaps reverse rate increases like this. Insurance companies have been increasing customer rates by double digits for years now. Anthem's rate increase wasn't noteworthy for the breadth and depth of the changes, only in the attention it got from the media, state insurance commissioners, Members of Congress, and the Obama administration. Not every rate increase will get this attention. As Ezra Klein points out, that's why we need health reform:

The insured can't depend on someone in the White House's communications shop noticing when an insurer tries to screw its customers. What we need is an actual policy standing between the insured and the grim incentives of their insurers. That's what health-care reform is meant to be, and the Anthem saga is a good example of how it would work.

Ezra goes on to explain what's in the Senate bill that would help stop these things from happening. First, insurers would have to publicly justify the rate increases to the people who run the Exchange. If they couldn't justify the increase, or the administrators of the Exchange didn't accept the justification, the entire company could be barred from offering insurance through the Exchange. Second, the bill would bar insurers from denying care based on pre-existing conditions and the like, changing the incentives for insurers so that they're no longer weighted towards raising rates and dropping customers.

Of course, there's much more to the Senate bill that would help this situation, and even more in the House bill.

For example, the Senate bill would require that insurance companies spend 80% of customer premiums on health care instead of profits and "administrative costs" for individual plans and 85% for large group plans. The House bill mandates 85% across the board. For plans like Anthem's - individual insurance policies that are most subject to the gouging of insurance companies and typically have loss ratios that are much lower - that means much more premium dollars will be spent on care.

In the House bill, the Exchange would be run nationally, which means the administrator would have more power to keep insurance companies in check and customers wouldn't have to rely on their state's insurance commissioner or Exchange administrator - very good in some states, very corrupt in others - to protect them from rate increases.

And the House bill has a public health insurance option as one choice in the Exchange. Via competition, it would act to keep rates down among all plans.

But for now, in a world without health reform, none of these things are happening. In fact, WellPoint's Board of Directors just cashed out just ahead of the company's stock price-killing rate increases:

Three WellPoint board members have collected a combined $625,517 in gains from stock options in the Indianapolis-based health insurance giant as the company has faced national media scrutiny and barbs from the Obama administration over premium increases.

…

With $3.02 million in total insider sales Feb. 1-9, this month already ranks as the fourth-highest tally of insider selling at WellPoint since the start of 2009, according to insider trading data tracked by Thomson Financial. December was the top month during that period, with WellPoint officers and directors selling a combined $12 million.

In a world without reform, WellPoint's customers - working families, sick people struggling to find insurance - face 39% rate increases while the Board of Directors, many of whom are former politicians or other well-connected people, makes hundreds of thousands just days before their stock price takes a hit.

All the more reason we must get health reform done and get it done right.