Health Care For America Now

NEWS

WellPoint's giving for uninsured falls short, records show - LA Times

The firm had pledged in 2007 to spend $30 million over three years to help those who lack health coverage, but its tax records and website show it gave only $6.2 million. The company disputes that.

Insurer targeted HIV patients to drop coverage - Reuters

In May, 2002, Jerome Mitchell, a 17-year old college freshman from rural South Carolina, learned he had contracted HIV. The news, of course, was devastating, but Mitchell believed that he had one thing going for him: On his own initiative, in anticipation of his first year in college, he had purchased his own health insurance.

The Early Word: Health Care Score - New York Times

Washington has spent many a morning during the year-long health care debate, awaiting the Congressional Budget Office score on one iteration of the bill or another.

Democrats Stress Immediate Effects Of Health Bill - NPR

Republicans have threatened to make the controversial health care overhaul a central issue in every congressional race next fall. So Democrats want to have something to show for their efforts — before the November elections. And President Obama has begun telling voters not just what the overhaul will do for them, but what it will do for them right away.

Democrats frustrated with ‘no’ health votes - The Hill

Democratic strategists are growing frustrated with some members from safe districts who are threatening to vote against the healthcare bill.

Catholic opposition to health bill fades - Boston Globe

Roman Catholic opposition to the health care overhaul package is crumbling, with some church officials and lawmakers concluding that their long-sought goal of health care overhaul trumps the desire to adopt the severest restrictions on abortion funding.

Democrats Seeking Health Care Votes Get "Yes" From 200 Groups - Kaiser Health News

As Democrats worked feverishly Wednesday to corral votes in support of a health care overhaul, they picked up the endorsement of more than 200 advocacy groups and medical associations who urged lawmakers to pass the bill.

OPINION

Democrats: Vote your conscience on health care - Marjorie Margolies

Dear wavering House Democrats,

I feel your pain. Eighteen years ago, I was elected on the coattails of a popular young Democratic president who promised a post-partisan Washington. A year later, with partisan gridlock capturing the Capitol, there was a razor-thin vote on the House floor over legislation that Democrats said would remake the country and Republicans promised would bankrupt it.

I was pressed on all sides: by constituents opposed, my president needing a victory and Republicans promising my demise. I was in the country's most Republican district represented by a Democrat. I had repeatedly said, "I will not be a 'read my lips' candidate," when asked if I would promise not to raise taxes.

I voted my conscience, and it cost me.

I still remember how, after I voted, Bob Walker jumped up and down on the House floor, yelling "Bye-bye, Marjorie!" I thought, first, that he was probably right. Then, that I would expect better behavior from my kids, much less a member of Congress. And then, that he was a remarkable jumper.

I am your worst-case scenario. And I'd do it all again.

Access, Access, Access - Nicholas Kristof

Indeed, American life expectancy appears to have been longer in 1942, 1943, 1944 and 1945 — even as hundreds of thousands of young Americans were being killed in World War II — than it had been when America was at peace in 1940.

A prime reason is that with the war mobilization, Americans got much better access to medical care. Farmers and workers who had rarely seen doctors now found themselves with medical coverage through the military, jobs in industry or New Deal programs.

The Top Ten Immediate Benefits Americans Will Receive When Health Care Reform Passes - The Health Care Blog

Yesterday, the Democratic Caucus of the House listed the provisions of the health reform bill that will take effect “as soon as health care passes,”

You're HIV Positive. And We're Cancelling Your Coverage. - The New Republic

Imagine this: Not long after getting word that you are HIV positive, you receive a letter from your insurance carrier. They're revoking your coverage because, upon examining your medical records, they've decided you knew about your condition and hid it from them. You have no idea what they are talking about; you bought this policy before the diagnosis. But when you inform them of this, and even provide some evidence that their investigation is in error, they ignore you. Meanwhile, you're on the hook for unimaginable medical bills, since you're uninsured and there's not a carrier in the world that will take you now.