HealthCareForAmericaNow

Today, those of us who work at Health Care for America Now - including myself - went down to Capitol Hill where the 111th Congress was being sworn in. We were down there to visit the 171 Members of Congress who support Health Care for America Now and President-elect Obama's principles for health care reform.

The mood on the Hill was festive, with new Members having small gatherings of supporters in their offices and members of the public touring the halls and speaking with their Senators and Representatives. We walked into each office on our list and thanked the Member for their support, showing off the advertisement we placed in The Hill, Roll Call, and Politico this morning:

The first day of the 111th Congress comes with the news that health care spending's growth slowed to the lowest rate in 9 years.

NEWS

Spending Rise for Health Care and Prescription Drugs Slows - New York Times

National health spending grew in 2007 at the lowest rate in nine years, mainly because prescription drug spending increased at the slowest pace since 1963, the government reported Monday.

Health care spending slowed in 2007, government report finds - McClatchy Newspapers

U.S. health care spending in 2007 grew at its lowest rate in nine years, due mainly to a slowdown in prescription drug spending and lower administrative costs for the Medicare program, according to a new government report released Monday.

More Americans getting multiple chronic illnesses - Reuters

More Americans are burdened by chronic illnesses such as diabetes and high blood pressure, often having more than three at a time, and this has helped fuel a big rise in out-of-pocket medical expenses, a study released on Tuesday showed.

Health put on hold in sickly economy - Washington Times

A tough economy has created a health hazard of its own. Strapped for cash, thousands of Americans are skipping medication doses, shunning doctor visits and forgoing diagnostic tests to save money.

OPINION

Health Care Reform: Good for Patients, Good for Workers, Good for Women - AlterNet

Health care reform would give us the opportunity to create jobs that pay us back tenfold.

From mid December until the New Year, at the behest of President-elect Obama and Senator Tom Daschle, America talked about health care.

Health Care for America Now helped organize hundreds of these meetings across the country, and they were exactly what we (and the Obama transition team) were hoping for: Regular folks getting together and discussing this important issue, like these people from Alabama and California:

The news coverage of these events across the country was extraordinary, which gives me hope. Here's a small sampling.

The New York Times kicked off the coverage by attending a house party outside of DC held by members of DC for Obama:

NEWS

Doctor shortage imperils Obama's health care reform - San Francisco Chronicle

There are plenty of surgeons and other medical specialists in America - more than enough, perhaps. And specialized institutionalized care of high quality is available for people who are seriously ill. But primary care - the continuing personal supervision of a family's overall health, with emphasis on prevention and early treatment of illness - is sadly lacking for the urban poor, for most rural residents and for millions of middle-class people, too.

U.S. Spends More on Health Outpatient Services Driving Increase in Costs - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

The United States spends $643 billion a year more on health care than other developed countries, but the bulk of the additional spending comes from a surprising source: outpatient care.

Is Texas Looking Out for You? Health-Care Outsourcing is Rolling on, but Many Patients Suffer From Silent Treatment - Dallas Morning News

Evercare of Texas was supposed to coordinate medical and long-term care for more than 80,000 elderly, blind or disabled North Texans. "We help make it easier to get the care you deserve," the company promises on its Web site.

OPINION

Is the Economic Stimulus Package About to Change the Politics of Health Care Reform? - Change.org

It’s just 25 words in the front-page article in The New York Times on Obama’s economic stimulus package. It’s easy to overlook. Heck, I overlooked it the first time. But they talk about extending Medicaid coverage as part of the stimulus. If this turns out to be true, it has huge implications for the likely success of a comprehensive health care reform package passing in 2009.

NEWS

Business leaders hope Obama can cut health costs - San Jose Business Journal

Health care reform is on everyone’s lips, from President-elect Barack Obama to the country’s business leaders and their employees.

Recession is Squeezing Life Out of Many Money-Strapped Hospitals - Los Angeles Times

Gainesville's first community hospital has been on life support ever since Shands HealthCare system in northern Florida bought it a dozen years ago.

NEWS

Transition hosts health care meetings - Politico

President-elect Barack Obama’s transition team is starting to collect political intelligence it could use to sway lawmakers and special interest groups in the upcoming health care reform debate.

Health execs, advocates brainstorm reform ideas for Obama - Business First Columbus

A group with seemingly competing interests – hospital executives, government health officials, private physicians, an insurance salesman, a consumer advocate – found plenty of common ground Tuesday when discussing health-care reform ideas to send to President-elect Barack Obama.

High medical costs, low pricing hurts managed care - Associated Press

Managed care stocks were hammered in 2008, as higher-than-expected medical costs burned up health insurers' profits and skittish investors wrung their hands over the companies' potential exposure to failed investment banks.

Sellers of Discount Healthcare Cards Face More Regulation - Fort Worth Star-Telegram

With the nation's highest rate of uninsured residents, Texas has been a top market for sellers of discount healthcare cards, which claim to offer lower prices for doctors and other services in exchange for an annual fee.

Health Plan Influx Awaited: Unemployment is Expected to Spur Use of the State's High-Risk Insurance Program - The News & Observer

With unemployment rising, more people with high-risk health problems are expected to turn to state-subsidized insurance that takes effect Thursday.

NEWS

Obama health choice hears tales of health care woe - Chicago Tribune

President-elect Barack Obama's choice to overhaul the nation's health care system told a town hall meeting that the task is not impossible if all sides work together.

New Model of Care Is Needed, Experts Say - New York Times

American medicine is already in a crisis mode when it comes to geriatric care, and the problem will only become worse unless new approaches are found, experts say.

Health Plan Restraints Might Keep Patients From Choosing Quality Care - EMaxHealth

Public reports on the quality of care delivered by health plans might motivate patients to choose better providers — if they are not constrained by issues of cost and accessibility to doctors, according to a review of recent studies.

Obama's Health Care Team Pumps Message - Washington Post

Dolly Sweet, 77, has battled cancer more than once. She's a fighter. But when her doctor recently prescribed a medication that cost $35,000 a year, she felt she had no choice.

NEWS

Fewer doctors entering primary-care field as need grows - McClatchy Newspapers

Many classmates of Dr. Chip Roser ended their medical training ready to practice a specialty. They morphed into neurologists, cardiologists, pathologists, dermatologists or other "-gists." Despite advice to the contrary, Roser chose the path of family medicine, with potentially lower pay and longer hours. And he doesn't regret it.

Citizens group answers Obama's call on health care - San Jose Mercury News

It was Democracy 101 — nine citizen-soldiers responding to a battle call for government reform, gathered around lattes and quiche in a downtown San Jose cafe, brainstorming ways to help President-elect Barack Obama ride to the rescue of an expensive, bloated and inequitable health care system.

Group discusses U.S. health care - Norwalk News

About 44 area residents met Sunday at the Wilton library, 137 Old Ridgefield Road, to discuss the Gordian knot that is the nation's health-care system. The discussions will form the basis for a report to be sent to President-elect Barack Obama's Presidential Transitional Health Care Policy team. The team, to be headed by the nominee for the cabinet position of Secretary of Health and Human Services, Tom Daschle, asked Wilton resident Marianne Howatson to organize the event.

Health Care Reform - The Baltimore Sun

In 1993, Hillary Clinton, then the first lady, led an effort to reform the America's health care system that failed, in part because the public was excluded from secret planning sessions. Now, former Sen. Tom Daschle, who is shaping health policy proposals for President-elect Barack Obama, is hoping to do better. He is urging Americans to join in house parties this month to help develop ideas for new national policies to reduce health costs, boost the quality of care and get everyone coverage.

NEWS

Health Care Policy Is in Hands of an Ex-Senator - New York Times

In selecting Tom Daschle to be his health and human services secretary, President-elect Barack Obama said Thursday that he wanted Mr. Daschle, a former South Dakota senator, to pursue something that had eluded federal officials for decades: securing “affordable, accessible health care for every single American.”

Medicare insurers' profits exceed expectations - Associated Press

Health insurance companies that serve the elderly and disabled in Medicare are realizing significantly higher profits than they anticipated, resulting in the companies getting $1.3 billion more than projected, congressional auditors say.

Baucus, Harkin Outline Plans for Health Care Overhaul - Kaiser Family Foundation

Senate Finance Committee Chair Max Baucus (D-Mont.) on Wednesday said when the next Congress begins he will have a health care overhaul bill ready to bring to the floor, CQ Today reports. He said, "I'm guessing the first of the year, near the first of the year, we'll have a bill" (Armstrong, CQ Today, 12/10). Baucus added, "I want to get started, and there are going to be certain upfront costs related to health care reform, no question about that" (Cohn, CongressDaily, 12/10).

Obama won't delay push on healthcare - Boston Globe

President-elect Barack Obama said yesterday his administration would press ahead quickly on national healthcare reform despite the deep recession and soaring federal budget deficit.

Economist: Health Care Key To Stimulus - NPR

Uwe Reinhardt, professor of economics and public affairs at Princeton University, calls the health care sector the "strongest economic locomotive working for us." He estimates that by 2015, health care will be one-fifth the size of the U.S. economy and says this is a good time to expand health insurance coverage for the uninsured.

This is an exact quote of what President-elect Barack Obama said in today's press conference when announcing the appointments of Senator Tom Daschle and Dr. Jeanne Lambrew:

The time has come – this year, in this new Administration – to modernize our health care system for the twenty-first century; to reduce costs for families and businesses; and to finally provide affordable, accessible health care for every American.

Not later. Not in 2013. Now. This is the year health care reform will finally be passed in America.

It goes without saying that this is exactly what Health Care for America Now hoped to hear from Obama. Why? Because we're ready for it, ready to get the job done this year. We've got grassroots support in 45 states. We've got a powerful coalition of over 500 groups working to build support for the Obama/Health Care for America Now principles of health care reform. We've got 160 Members of Congress who support our efforts. And we've got a President-elect who understands the urgency.

Obama also said:

The runaway cost of health care is punishing families and businesses across the country. It’s not something that we can put off because we are in an emergency. This is part of the emergency.

Underscoring this point is a report released by Families USA on health care and the recession. As Angela Shubert explains:

Forty-three states expect to see budget shortfalls in the coming year. And, while the federal government can run a deficit, most state governments are required to keep a balanced budget. As a result, 18 states and DC have already cut or are proposing cuts to their Medicaid and CHIP programs. Cuts in state Medicaid and CHIP eligibility and services pose a real threat to the very families and individuals who most need the help.

The report details how additional health care spending will help state economies.

The connection between the recession and health care isn't hard to see. DemFromCT has been gathering the news stories on this very subject for weeks. It's incredibly heartening to have a leader who understands this connection, and who makes it clear that the fix - real health care reform we can all count on - will come sooner rather than later.

So thank you for your commitment, President-elect Obama. We're looking forward to making it a reality.