Health Care For America Now

NEWS

Democrats seek healthcare consensus - LA Times

Democratic leaders on Capitol Hill worked throughout the day Thursday seeking intraparty agreements over abortion, federal insurance subsidies and other issues in a healthcare package they hope to send President Obama before the end of the month.

Pelosi: 'The choice has to be made' - Politico

Congressional Democrats embarked on the final push for an historic health care bill on Thursday with no guarantee that they have the votes to pass it.

A New Face in the Health Care Debate - New York Times

Senate Democratic leaders on Thursday sought to put a human face on the health care debate, and a cute face at that.

Marcelas Owens, a fifth grader from Seattle who turned 11 on Wednesday, joined the Senate majority leader, Harry Reid of Nevada, and other senior Democrats at a news conference on Thursday.

Hoyer Confident Health Care Will Pass Without Abortion Changes - Roll Call

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said Thursday he believes House leaders can get the votes for President Barack Obama’s health care reform package without changing the abortion language in the Senate bill.

Huge Majority Of MoveOn Members Supports Passing Senate Bill - Greg Sargent

Here’s a pretty clear indication that the left, whatever its disappointment with the Senate health bill, still overwhelmingly sees passing it as by far the best course of action.

Alexander, Gregg threaten war over reconciliation fixes - The Hill

Two senior Republicans on Thursday said they will use a grueling parliamentary process to chip away at healthcare reform legislation if Democrats decide to use reconciliation.

OPINION

Health Reform Myths - Paul Krugman

Health reform is back from the dead. Many Democrats have realized that their electoral prospects will be better if they can point to a real accomplishment. Polling on reform — which was never as negative as portrayed — shows signs of improving. And I’ve been really impressed by the passion and energy of this guy Barack Obama. Where was he last year?

Baucus: We Must Reform Health Care Now - Roll Call

Ten years ago, Dan DeJong, a fourth-generation rancher from just outside Libby, Mont., was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Dan worked hard all his life, but when faced with massive bills to treat his cancer, Dan and his wife, Pat, had no choice but to sell the family’s land and apply for Medicaid and food stamps.

Health Insurers Spend Millions On Ad Campaign In Order To Argue That They’re Frugal - Think Progress

Yesterday, in her introduction of Kathleen Sebelius, AHIP President and CEO Karen Ignagni said that insurers were “very concerned about insurance premiums and the trajectory” of health care spending. “We understand that begins also with us. So we are fully committed to cost containment. No finger pointing to other sectors,” Ignagni promised.

The health-care bill is getting more popular - Ezra Klein

That graph is from Pollster.com. It gets even tighter if you eliminate the conservative-leaning Rasmussen poll, whose founder wrote a Wall Street Journal op-ed  yesterday explaining that the president can't make health-care reform popular because voters believe all sorts of untrue things about it.

Stupak’s Abortion Gang Falling Apart As Pro-Life Members Admit Senate Bill Won’t Fund Abortions - Think Progress

Last night, Rachel Maddow observed that the number of Democratic lawmakers who have joined Rep. Bart Stupak’s (D-MI) crusade to bring down health care reform unless Congress amends the Senate bill’s abortion language, keeps shrinking. Stupak began the debate with that 15 to 20 supporters, then that number fell to “at least 12,” and as of yesterday, it’s dwindled even lower. A senior House aide told Maddow, “We do not see more than four or five members standing with Bart when this bill is actually brought to the floor.”