October 12: Health Care Reform News
TOP STORIES
Watering Down the Public Option
Politico
October 11, 2009
Groping for a way out of a political bind, Democrats are defining down what constitutes a government-run insurance plan and by extension, what it takes to declare victory.
For Obama, Selling Health Care is Now an Inside-Outside Game
The New York Times
October 12, 2009
Obama’s new, niche-marketing phase is aimed at securing the votes of 60 senators and holding together a coalition of wary industry groups like the drug and insurance companies who have made their own deals.
Health Plan’s Effect on Costs May Be Slight
The Boston Globe
October 12, 2009
Despite promises by President Obama and Democratic leaders that their health care overhaul would lower costs, the proposals before Congress would probably not cut overall U.S. health care spending significantly anytime soon.
The Truth About the Baucus Bill Part One
The Washington Examiner
October 11, 2009
Advocates in the White House, Congress and the newsroom of the New York Times were elated this week when a Congressional Budget Office statement said the health care reform bill by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., would cut the federal deficit by $81 billion annually. But two words in the CBO statement "Preliminary Analysis" demonstrate that such celebrations were not only premature, but fundamentally misleading.
INSURANCE
Insurance Mandates Draw Flack from Both Sides
The Wall Street Journal
October 10, 2009
Proposals that would require Americans to buy health insurance are under fire from both ends of the political spectrum.
Is the Insurance Industry Declaring War?
The New Republic
October 12, 2009
The AHIP report makes clear that several major provisions in the current legislative proposal will cause health care costs to increase far faster and higher than they would under the current system.
Additional Coverage:
New Bill Would Raise Rates, Says Insurance Groups - The Washington Post
Insurance Industry Assails Health Care Industry - The New York Times
AHIP Report to Take Whack at SFC Bill; UPDATE: WH Feels “Misled” - Politico
PwC Full Report - Senate Proposal Will Significantly Accelerate Health Care Cost Increases - The Washington Post
TRANSPARENCY/SAFETY
World Should Catch Up with Our Health Care
Real Clear Politics
October 12, 2009
The next time you see one of these authors preaching we really ought to catch up with the rest of the advanced world on health care, make the opposite case and know the rest of the world ought to catch up with us.
Democrats Heed Dole’s Objection and Kill TV Ad
The New York Times
October 11, 2009
At the request of former Senator Bob Dole, Democrats are scrapping plans to broadcast a new commercial that touted Republicans speaking in support of overhauling the health care system.
WELLNESS/CHRONIC CARE
Nothing to Fear but the Flu Itself
The New York Times Op-ED
October 12, 2009
Public health officials are now battling not only a fast-spreading influenza virus but also unfounded fears about the vaccine that can prevent it.
STATE NEWS
Minnesota Nurses Rally against State Health Care Costs
The Star Tribune
October 12, 2009
Minnesota nurses are protesting Gov. Tim Pawlenty's move to eliminate subsidized health care for more than 30,000 low-income adults..
Massachusetts Plan May Place Limits on Patients’ Hospital Options
The Boston Globe
October 12, 2009
Massachusetts' plan to shake up how providers are paid could have a hidden price for patients: Controlling the state's soaring medical costs may require residents to give up their freedom to go to any hospital and specialist they want.
REFORM EFFORTS
The Painful, Enlightening Task of Choosing Health Benefits One by One
The Wall Street Journal Market Watch
October 11, 2009
Editorial on a recent simulation with Choosing Health Plans All Together (CHAT) to forge health consensus for the United States.
Adding Tort Reform To Health Care Reform Could Lower Costs
Health Leaders Media
October 12, 2009
Based on new research, total national health care spending could drop by about 0.5% or $11 billion in 2009 if tort reform was enacted by 2010, according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO).
Lobbyists Fight Last Big Plans to Fight Health Care Costs
The New York Times
October 10, 2009
As the health care debate moves to the floor of Congress, many proposals to fulfill President Obama's original vow to curb costs have fallen victim to organized interests and parochial politics.
Senate Prospects for Health Care Co-Ops Dim
The Hill
October 11, 2009
The prospects for setting up membership-run health care co-ops, an idea favored by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.), are growing dimmer in the Senate.
Key Committee Members in the Health Care Vote
USA Today
October 12, 2009
If a health bill passes, benefits are not necessarily immediate.
HEALTH INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Customer-Driven Medicine: How to Create a New Health Care System
Brookings
October 12, 2009
A recently released paper that outlines a vision for a new health care system based on mobile Health (mHealth), remote monitors, electronic medical records, social networking sites, video conferencing, and Internet-based recordkeeping.
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