Health Care Reform News

Missing Richard Nixon By PAUL KRUGMAN

2009-08-31T09:41:00.000-07:00

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/31/opinion/31krugman.html?pagewanted=print

August 31, 2009
Op-Ed Columnist
Missing Richard Nixon
By PAUL KRUGMAN

Many of the retrospectives on Ted Kennedy’s life mention his regret that he didn’t accept Richard Nixon’s offer of a bipartisan health care deal. The moral some commentators take from that regret is that today’s health care reformers should do what Mr. Kennedy balked at doing back then, and reach out to the other side.

But it’s a bad analogy, because today’s political scene is nothing like that of the early 1970s. In fact, surveying current politics, I find myself missing Richard Nixon.
...

news blog at wapo

2009-08-31T07:35:00.001-07:00

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/health-care-reform/daily-dose/

Bill Moyers disses Dems as 'spineless'

2009-08-30T14:36:00.000-07:00

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0809/26594.html

"The problem is the Democratic Party," said Moyers. "This is a party that has told its progressives — who are the most outspoken champions of health care reform — to sit down and shut up. That's what Rahm Emanuel, in effect, the chief of staff of the White House, told progressives when they stood up as a unit in Congress and said, no public insurance option, no health care reforms."

transcript of MONEY-DRIVEN MEDICINE on Moyers

2009-08-30T14:24:00.000-07:00

http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/08282009/watch2.html

Health Care Renewal blog

2009-08-30T13:40:00.000-07:00

http://www.hcrenewal.blogspot.com

About
Addressing threats to health care's core values, especially those stemming from concentration and abuse of power.

Peering into our future - 20 years of stagnation?

2009-08-29T08:42:00.000-07:00

http://blogs.reuters.com/rolfe-winkler/2009/08/28/peering-into-our-future/

Rolfe Winkler
August 28th, 2009
Peering into our future…

A WSJ article on Japanese elections comes with the following table.

japan-stats

Japan has spent 20 years fighting deflation with loose monetary policy and deficit spending. To what end?

Keynesians point to Japan’s experience as evidence that the U.S. government can borrow much more before interest rates rise. I suspect they’re right. But what’s the point if, at the end of all of that, we’re saddled with unpayable debts?...

Money-Driven Medicine - website for the film

2009-08-29T08:23:00.000-07:00

http://www.moneydrivenmedicine.org/

* home
* buy, rent, screen the film
* about the film
* user resources
* video gallery
* health beat blog
* news

Play Film Trailer

“Money-Driven Medicine is one of the strongest documentaries I have seen in years and could not be more timely. The more people who see and talk about it, the more likely we are to get serious and true health care reform.”

- Bill Moyers

In The News
Money-Driven Medicine to Be Featured on Bill Moyer's Journal

Preview excerpts from this important new film on August 28th.

Visit the show's blog here

(Check your local PBS listings for air times.)

Featured on Nightline

Nightline's Ted Koppel

Money-Driven Medicine was featured on ABC Nightline's Tuesday, Aug 11 show, along with interviews with author Maggie Mahar and producer Alex Gibney

Watch the Nightline segment here.

more news

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latest from Ian Welsh

2009-08-28T09:42:00.001-07:00

http://www.ianwelsh.net/the-moral-case-against-a-plan-without-a-good-public-option/

Latest from Taibbi

2009-08-27T14:31:00.001-07:00

http://taibbi.rssoundingboard.com/health-care-reform-sick-and-wrong

Obama is a Blue Dog - Greider

2009-08-27T14:24:00.001-07:00

http://www.thenation.com/doc/20090831/greider/print

it looks like another massive corporate bailout

2009-08-27T04:53:00.000-07:00

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/story_print.html?id=1926021&sponsor=

A bailout for the U.S. health-care industry
By Rose Ann DeMoro, Citizen Special August 25, 2009

...
What's left is a proposal that will force the uninsured to buy private insurance with subsidies for low-income earners and only limited constraints on industry price gouging and care denials that characterize the collapsing insurance-based system.

In sum, it looks like another massive corporate bailout, following the earlier version for the banks, this time for an equally unpopular insurance industry, which will fuel even more public cynicism of the reform process and political system.
...

Health Care Abroad: Japan

2009-08-26T04:25:00.000-07:00

http://prescriptions.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/08/25/health-care-abroad-japan/?pagemode=print

Health Care Reform FAQs - Independence Party of MN

2009-08-25T18:06:00.000-07:00

http://www.independenceminnesota.org/blog/articles/290-health-care-reform-faqs

Are Progressives on Tilt? by Nate Silver

2009-08-24T09:47:00.000-07:00

[Being on tilt is a poker term. My favorite saying from poker is that if you look around the table and you cannot tell who the sucker is, it's you.]

http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/2009/08/are-progressives-on-tilt.html

Lakoff: The PolicySpeak Disaster for Health Care

2009-08-23T18:20:00.000-07:00

[h/t to Susan Siegel]

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2009/8/20/769743/-The-PolicySpeak-Disaster-for-Health-Care

...

Language. As for language, the term “public option” is boring. Yes, it is public, and yes, it is an option, but it does not get to the moral and inspiring idea. Call it the American Plan, because that’s what it really is.

The American Plan. Health care is a patriotic issue. It is what your countrymen are engaged in because Americans care about each other. The right wing understands this well. It’s got conservative veterans at Town Hall meeting shouting things like, “I fought for this country in Vietnam, and I’m fight for it here.” Progressives should be stressing the patriotic nature of having our nation guaranteeing care for our people.

A Health Care Emergency. Americans are suffering and dying because of the failure of insurance company health care. 50 million have no insurance at all, and millions of those who do are denied necessary care or lose their insurance. We can’t wait any longer. It’s an emergency. We have to act now to end the suffering and death.

Doctor-Patient care. This is what the public plan is really about. Call it that. You have said it, buried in PolicySpeak. Use the slogan. Repeat it. Have every spokesperson repeat it.

Coverage is not care. You think you’re insured. You very well may not be, because insurance companies make money by denying you care.

Deny you care… Use the words. That’s what all the paperwork and administrative costs of insurance companies are about – denying you care if they can.
Insurance company profit-based plans. The bottom line is the bottom line for insurance companies. Say it.

Private Taxation. Insurance companies have the power to tax and they tax the public mightily. When 20% - 30% of payments do not go to health care, but to denying care and profiting from it, that constitutes a tax on the 96% of voters that have health care. But the tax does not go to benefit those who are taxed; it benefits managers and investors. And the people taxed have no representation. Insurance company health care is a huge example of taxation without representation. And you can’t vote out the people who have taxed you. The American Plan offers an alternative to private taxation.

Is it time for progressive tea parties at insurance company offices?

Doctors care; insurance companies don’t. A public plan aims to put care back into the hands of doctors.

Insurance company bureaucrats. Obama mentions them, but there is no consistent uproar about them. The term needs to come into common parlance.

Insurance companies ration care. Say it and ask the right questions: Have you ever had to wait more than a week for an authorization? Have you ever had an authorization turned down? Have you had to wait months to see a specialist? Does you primary care physician have to rush you through? Have your out-of-pocket costs gone up? Ask these questions. You know the answers. It’s because insurance companies have been rationing care. Say it.

Insurance companies are inefficient and wasteful. A large chunk of your health care dollar is not going for health care when you buy from insurance companies.
Insurance companies govern your lives. They have more power over you than even governments have. They make life and death decisions. And they are accountable only to profit, not to citizens.

The health care failure is an insurance company failure. Why keep a failing system? Augment it. Give an alternative.
...

Krugman: progressives are now in revolt against Obama

2009-08-21T16:57:00.000-07:00

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/21/opinion/21krugman.html?_r=1&ref=opinion&pagewanted=print

August 21, 2009
Obama’s Trust Problem
By PAUL KRUGMAN

...So progressives are now in revolt. Mr. Obama took their trust for granted, and in the process lost it. And now he needs to win it back.

Pelosi: Health bill must have public option to pass House

2009-08-20T23:10:00.000-07:00

http://cnnwire.blogs.cnn.com/2009/08/20/pelosi-health-bill-must-have-public-option-to-pass-house/

WSJ - The Democrats' latest proposal bears no resemblance to the voluntary organizations that are known as cooperatives.

2009-08-20T23:06:00.000-07:00

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204884404574362450890157932.html?mod=googlenews_wsj#printMode

Glenn Greenwald: Why the health care debate is so important regardless of one's view of the "public option"

2009-08-19T18:09:00.000-07:00

http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2009/08/19/obama/

Glenn Greenwald
Wednesday Aug. 19, 2009 11:20 EDT
Why the health care debate is so important regardless of one's view of the "public option"

The New York Times today has a discussion from several contributors, including me, of the politics of the health care debate. My contribution, which focuses on the role the White House has played and the ample evidence that they have been quite active in shaping the course of events, can be read here. I want to elaborate on a couple of points I referenced in passing....

Public Option Rides Again -- $100,000 In 24 Hours

2009-08-19T16:49:00.000-07:00

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/howie-klein/public-option-rides-again_b_262883.html

Conservatives Call Co-Ops Another Public Plan

2009-08-19T16:47:00.000-07:00

http://washingtonindependent.com/55547/gop-ruling-out-health-care-co-op-compromise

GOP Ruling Out Health Care Co-Op Compromise
Conservatives Call Co-Ops Another Public Plan
By David Weigel 8/19/09 12:01 AM

Smelling blood in the water as Democrats made contradictory statements about what a Senate health care reform bill might contain, Republicans spent Tuesday pushing back against a possible compromise–non-profit health insurance cooperatives, an idea that Sen. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) had pushed for months before the debate centered on a Medicare-style “public option.” Inside the Senate and inside the conservative third-party groups that have been working against the White House, “co-ops” are being framed as an attempt to engineer a stealth government takeover of health care.

“It doesn’t matter what you call it,” Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) told reporters ...

Saving public option

2009-08-19T01:43:00.000-07:00

It might be that public option is politically impossible now. If the main issues are getting it off the government books and keeping the government from running it, this can be done with nonprofits. The political task then becomes reworking the Conrad plan to make it a reasonable substitute for public option. Most of all ongoing subsidies would be needed, not just $6B for startup.

But co-ops are a much longer term project. They need dedicated supporters at startup and long term support of members. The Conrad plan would be a recipe for failure. I have supported health care co-ops for about 20 years. I would have joined Group Health had I stayed in Seattle longer.

CNN on co-ops

2009-08-18T17:42:00.000-07:00

http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/08/18/cooperatives.doctors.patients/index.html

Was the President ever serious about meaningful health care reform?

2009-08-18T17:28:00.001-07:00

http://www.bradblog.com/?p=7364&print=1

Nonsense published today about co-ops

2009-08-18T04:33:00.000-07:00

Both AP and NYT refer to "nonprofit member-owned co-ops" - an oxymoron. A nonprofit is not member-owned. A co-op is a private member-owned profit-making business with a limit of one share per person.

In general I support co-ops. There is no need for government to be involved in co-ops, and in my opinion Sen. Conrad's plan is harmful and not a good way to promote co-ops.

Ian Welsh: The new plan will be a regressive tax which will rise faster than wages or inflation

2009-08-17T12:59:00.000-07:00

http://www.ianwelsh.net/shorter-sibelius-welcome-to-a-regressive-tax-which-will-rise-faster-than-wages-or-inflation/

Shorter Sebelius: Welcome to a regressive tax which will rise faster than wages or inflation
2009 August 16
tags: Public Option, Sibelius
by Ian Welsh

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said the White House would be open to co-ops instead of a government-run public option, a sign Democrats want a compromise so they can declare a victory on the must-win showdown.(TL)

Ok, so let’s say they ditch it and include an individual mandate, meaning you are forced to buy insurance from private insurers or co-ops (which won’t be able to contain costs). What is that?

It is a regressive tax. Given the likely pathetic subsidies it will hit the working and middle classes hardest as it will be a higher proportion of their income than for the rich. Since health care costs will not be properly contained, they will rise faster than pay will (they have for decades now). So every year you will be forced to spend more of your money than the year before and will have less money left over....

White House appears ready to drop 'public option'

2009-08-16T16:00:00.000-07:00

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_health_care_overhaul/print

White House appears ready to drop 'public option'

By PHILIP ELLIOTT, Associated Press Writer Philip Elliott, Associated Press Writer 1 hr 45 mins ago

WASHINGTON – Bowing to Republican pressure and an uneasy public, President Barack Obama's administration signaled Sunday it is ready to abandon the idea of giving Americans the option of government-run insurance as part of a new health care system.

Facing mounting opposition to the overhaul, administration officials left open the chance for a compromise with Republicans that would include health insurance cooperatives instead of a government-run plan. Such a concession probably would enrage Obama's liberal supporters but could deliver a much-needed victory on a top domestic priority opposed by GOP lawmakers....

Nader on single payer

2009-08-15T17:49:00.000-07:00

http://www.democracynow.org/2009/8/14/you_dont_cut_deals_with_the

leading Democrats are warning that the party may drop single payer

2009-08-15T17:39:00.000-07:00

http://dyn.politico.com/printstory.cfm?uuid=1C24659E-18FE-70B2-A8244D6B57A65F5D

Party prepares liberals to accept deal
By: Chris Frates and Carrie Budoff Brown
August 15, 2009 07:06 AM EST

After the toughest week yet for health reform, leading Democrats are warning that the party likely will have to accept major compromises to get a bill passed this year – perhaps even dropping a proposal to create a government-run plan that is almost an article of faith among some liberals. ...

"Mad as Hell Doctors" Embark on Cross Country Care-A-Van to Demand Single-Payer from Congress

2009-08-13T17:20:00.001-07:00

http://freedemocracy.blogspot.com/2009/08/mad-as-hell-doctors-embark-on-cross.html

Palast: Eighty billion dollars of WHAT?

2009-08-13T17:10:00.000-07:00

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/greg-palast/obama-on-drugs-98-cheney_b_258209.html

...Obama's big deal with Big Pharma saves $80 billion out of a total $3.6 trillion. That's 2%.

Hey thanks, Barack! You really stuck it to the big boys. You saved America from these drug lords robbing us blind. Two percent. Cool!
...

ObamaCare is to health reform what bank bailouts are to financial system reform

2009-08-13T17:08:00.000-07:00

http://www.thiscantbehappening.net/?q=node/353

...These "town meetings" are really nothing but propaganda sessions run by members of Congress who are trying to burnish their fraudulent credentials as public servants, and trying to perpetrate a huge fraud of a health care bill that purports to be a progressive "reform" of the US health care system, but that actually further entrenches the control of that system by the insurance industry, and to a lesser extent, the hospital and drug industry.

ObamaCare is to health reform what bank bailouts are to financial system reform, which is to say it is the opposite of what its name implies....

It is a system that is not worth preserving in anything like its current form

2009-08-13T10:56:00.000-07:00

http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/print/200909/health-care

Policy September 2009

After the needless death of his father, the author, a business executive, began a personal exploration of a health-care industry that for years has delivered poor service and irregular quality at astonishingly high cost. It is a system, he argues, that is not worth preserving in anything like its current form. And the health-care reform now being contemplated will not fix it. Here’s a radical solution to an agonizing problem.

by David Goldhill
How American Health Care Killed My Father

Letter from the White House

2009-08-13T10:39:00.000-07:00

Dear Friend,

This is probably one of the longest emails I’ve ever sent, but it could be the most important.

Across the country we are seeing vigorous debate about health insurance reform. Unfortunately, some of the old tactics we know so well are back — even the viral emails that fly unchecked and under the radar, spreading all sorts of lies and distortions.

As President Obama said at the town hall in New Hampshire, “where we do disagree, let's disagree over things that are real, not these wild misrepresentations that bear no resemblance to anything that's actually been proposed.”

So let’s start a chain email of our own. At the end of my email, you’ll find a lot of information about health insurance reform, distilled into 8 ways reform provides security and stability to those with or without coverage, 8 common myths about reform and 8 reasons we need health insurance reform now.

Right now, someone you know probably has a question about reform that could be answered by what’s below. So what are you waiting for? Forward this email.

Thanks,
David

David Axelrod
Senior Adviser to the President

P.S. We launched www.WhiteHouse.gov/realitycheck this week to knock down the rumors and lies that are floating around the internet. You can find the information below, and much more, there. For example, we've just added a video of Nancy-Ann DeParle from our Health Reform Office tackling a viral email head on. Check it out:

8 ways reform provides security and stability to those with or without coverage

1. Ends Discrimination for Pre-Existing Conditions: Insurance companies will be prohibited from refusing you coverage because of your medical history.
2. Ends Exorbitant Out-of-Pocket Expenses, Deductibles or Co-Pays: Insurance companies will have to abide by yearly caps on how much they can charge for out-of-pocket expenses.
3. Ends Cost-Sharing for Preventive Care: Insurance companies must fully cover, without charge, regular checkups and tests that help you prevent illness, such as mammograms or eye and foot exams for diabetics.
4. Ends Dropping of Coverage for Seriously Ill: Insurance companies will be prohibited from dropping or watering down insurance coverage for those who become seriously ill.
5. Ends Gender Discrimination: Insurance companies will be prohibited from charging you more because of your gender.
6. Ends Annual or Lifetime Caps on Coverage: Insurance companies will be prevented from placing annual or lifetime caps on the coverage you receive.
7. Extends Coverage for Young Adults: Children would continue to be eligible for family coverage through the age of 26.
8. Guarantees Insurance Renewal: Insurance companies will be required to renew any policy as long as the policyholder pays their premium in full. Insurance companies won't be allowed to refuse renewal because someone became sick.

Learn more and get details: http://www.WhiteHouse.gov/health-insurance-consumer-protections/

8 common myths about health insurance reform

1. Reform will stop "rationing" - not increase it: It’s a myth that reform will mean a "government takeover" of health care or lead to "rationing." To the contrary, reform will forbid many forms of rationing that are currently being used by insurance companies.
2. We can’t afford reform: It's the status quo we can't afford. It’s a myth that reform will bust the budget. To the contrary, the President has identified ways to pay for the vast majority of the up-front costs by cutting waste, fraud, and abuse within existing government health programs; ending big subsidies to insurance companies; and increasing efficiency with such steps as coordinating care and streamlining paperwork. In the long term, reform can help bring down costs that will otherwise lead to a fiscal crisis.
3. Reform would encourage "euthanasia": It does not. It’s a malicious myth that reform would encourage or even require euthanasia for seniors. For seniors who want to consult with their family and physicians about end-of life decisions, reform will help to cover these voluntary, private consultations for those who want help with these personal and difficult family decisions.
4. Vets' health care is safe and sound: It’s a myth that health insurance reform will affect veterans' access to the care they get now. To the contrary, the President's budget significantly expands coverage under the VA, extending care to 500,000 more veterans who were previously excluded. The VA Healthcare system will continue to be available for all eligible veterans.
5. Reform will benefit small business - not burden it: It’s a myth that health insurance reform will hurt small businesses. To the contrary, reform will ease the burdens on small businesses, provide tax credits to help them pay for employee coverage and help level the playing field with big firms who pay much less to cover their employees on average.
6. Your Medicare is safe, and stronger with reform: It’s myth that Health Insurance Reform would be financed by cutting Medicare benefits. To the contrary, reform will improve the long-term financial health of Medicare, ensure better coordination, eliminate waste and unnecessary subsidies to insurance companies, and help to close the Medicare "doughnut" hole to make prescription drugs more affordable for seniors.
7. You can keep your own insurance: It’s myth that reform will force you out of your current insurance plan or force you to change doctors. To the contrary, reform will expand your choices, not eliminate them.
8. No, government will not do anything with your bank account: It is an absurd myth that government will be in charge of your bank accounts. Health insurance reform will simplify administration, making it easier and more convenient for you to pay bills in a method that you choose. Just like paying a phone bill or a utility bill, you can pay by traditional check, or by a direct electronic payment. And forms will be standardized so they will be easier to understand. The choice is up to you – and the same rules of privacy will apply as they do for all other electronic payments that people make.

Learn more and get details:

http://www.WhiteHouse.gov/realitycheck
http://www.WhiteHouse.gov/realitycheck/faq

8 Reasons We Need Health Insurance Reform Now

1. Coverage Denied to Millions: A recent national survey estimated that 12.6 million non-elderly adults – 36 percent of those who tried to purchase health insurance directly from an insurance company in the individual insurance market – were in fact discriminated against because of a pre-existing condition in the previous three years or dropped from coverage when they became seriously ill. Learn more: http://www.healthreform.gov/reports/denied_coverage/index.html
2. Less Care for More Costs: With each passing year, Americans are paying more for health care coverage. Employer-sponsored health insurance premiums have nearly doubled since 2000, a rate three times faster than wages. In 2008, the average premium for a family plan purchased through an employer was $12,680, nearly the annual earnings of a full-time minimum wage job. Americans pay more than ever for health insurance, but get less coverage. Learn more: http://www.healthreform.gov/reports/hiddencosts/index.html
3. Roadblocks to Care for Women: Women’s reproductive health requires more regular contact with health care providers, including yearly pap smears, mammograms, and obstetric care. Women are also more likely to report fair or poor health than men (9.5% versus 9.0%). While rates of chronic conditions such as diabetes and high blood pressure are similar to men, women are twice as likely to suffer from headaches and are more likely to experience joint, back or neck pain. These chronic conditions often require regular and frequent treatment and follow-up care. Learn more: http://www.healthreform.gov/reports/women/index.html
4. Hard Times in the Heartland: Throughout rural America, there are nearly 50 million people who face challenges in accessing health care. The past several decades have consistently shown higher rates of poverty, mortality, uninsurance, and limited access to a primary health care provider in rural areas. With the recent economic downturn, there is potential for an increase in many of the health disparities and access concerns that are already elevated in rural communities. Learn more: http://www.healthreform.gov/reports/hardtimes
5. Small Businesses Struggle to Provide Health Coverage: Nearly one-third of the uninsured – 13 million people – are employees of firms with less than 100 workers. From 2000 to 2007, the proportion of non-elderly Americans covered by employer-based health insurance fell from 66% to 61%. Much of this decline stems from small business. The percentage of small businesses offering coverage dropped from 68% to 59%, while large firms held stable at 99%. About a third of such workers in firms with fewer than 50 employees obtain insurance through a spouse. Learn more: http://www.healthreform.gov/reports/helpbottomline
6. The Tragedies are Personal: Half of all personal bankruptcies are at least partly the result of medical expenses. The typical elderly couple may have to save nearly $300,000 to pay for health costs not covered by Medicare alone. Learn more: http://www.healthreform.gov/reports/inaction
7. Diminishing Access to Care: From 2000 to 2007, the proportion of non-elderly Americans covered by employer-based health insurance fell from 66% to 61%. An estimated 87 million people - one in every three Americans under the age of 65 - were uninsured at some point in 2007 and 2008. More than 80% of the uninsured are in working families. Learn more: http://www.healthreform.gov/reports/inaction/diminishing/index.html
8. The Trends are Troubling: Without reform, health care costs will continue to skyrocket unabated, putting unbearable strain on families, businesses, and state and federal government budgets. Perhaps the most visible sign of the need for health care reform is the 46 million Americans currently without health insurance - projections suggest that this number will rise to about 72 million in 2040 in the absence of reform. Learn more: http://www.WhiteHouse.gov/assets/documents/CEA_Health_Care_Report.pdf

Internal Memo Confirms Big Giveaways In White House Deal With Big Pharma

2009-08-13T10:22:00.000-07:00

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/08/13/internal-memo-confirms-bi_n_258285.html?view=print

A memo obtained by the Huffington Post confirms that the White House and the pharmaceutical lobby secretly agreed to precisely the sort of wide-ranging deal that both parties have been denying over the past week.

The memo, which according to a knowledgeable health care lobbyist was prepared by a person directly involved in the negotiations, lists exactly what the White House gave up, and what it got in return.

It says the White House agreed to oppose any congressional efforts to use the government's leverage to bargain for lower drug prices or import drugs from Canada -- and also agreed not to pursue Medicare rebates or shift some drugs from Medicare Part B to Medicare Part D, which would cost Big Pharma billions in reduced reimbursements.

In exchange, the Pharmaceutical Researchers and Manufacturers Association (PhRMA) agreed to cut $80 billion in projected costs to taxpayers and senior citizens over ten years. Or, as the memo says: "Commitment of up to $80 billion, but not more than $80 billion."

Representatives from both the White House and PhRMA, shown the outline, adamantly denied that it reflected reality. PhRMA senior vice president Ken Johnson said that the outline "is simply not accurate." "This memo isn't accurate and does not reflect the agreement with the drug companies," said White House spokesman Reid Cherlin.

Stories in the Los Angeles Times and the New York Times last week indicated that the administration was confirming that such a deal had been made....

Thrown out of a meeting for asking about the constitution

2009-08-12T07:15:00.000-07:00

http://belowthebeltway.com/2009/08/12/health-care-reform-the-constitution-need-not-apply/

Health Care Reform: The Constitution Need Not Apply
by Doug Mataconis @ 7:44 am on August 12, 2009.

Congressman Hank Johnson of Georgia held a town hall Monday night when a member of the Campaign for Liberty decided to ask a very pertinent question:
...“where in the Constitution does it authorize you to do this?”

Health Care's Six Money-Wasting Problems

2009-08-10T14:17:00.000-07:00

http://finance.yahoo.com/insurance/article/107498/health-care-six-money-wasting-problems.html?mod=insurance-health

Health Care's Six Money-Wasting Problems
by Parija B. Kavilanz
Monday, August 10, 2009provided byCNNMoney.com

More than $1.2 trillion spent on health care each year is a waste of money. Members of the medical community identify the leading causes.

Down the drain: $1.2 trillion.

That's half of the $2.2 trillion the United States spends on health care each year, according to the most recent data from accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers' Health Research Institute.

What counts as waste? The report identified 16 different areas in which health care dollars are squandered. But in talking to doctors, nurses, hospital groups and patient advocacy groups, six areas totaling nearly $500 billion stood out as issues to be dealt with in the health care reform debate.

Too Many Tests...

press release - AARP Campaign Busts the Myths of the Health Care Debate

2009-08-10T10:44:00.000-07:00

http://www.aarp.org/aarp/presscenter/pressrelease/articles/health_care_debate_ads.html?print=1

Deficit grew by $181 billion in July

2009-08-09T17:20:00.000-07:00

http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/deficit-grew-by-181-billion-in-july-2009-08-09.html

Obama's $80 Billion Deal with Pharma Is a Very Bad Deal for Us

2009-08-09T13:01:00.000-07:00

http://www.alternet.org/healthwellness/141856/obama%27s_%2480_billion_deal_with_pharma_is_a_very_bad_deal_for_us/

Obama's $80 Billion Deal with Pharma Is a Very Bad Deal for Us

By William Greider, The Nation. Posted August 8, 2009.

The White House has cut a deal with Big Pharma that smells like the same old rotten politics that candidate Obama regularly denounced.

Focus on Health Savings Obscures Other Issues

2009-08-08T17:24:00.000-07:00

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/25/AR2009072502380.html

Focus on Health Savings Obscures Other Issues

By Ceci Connolly
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, July 26, 2009

President Obama says the primary goal of health reform is to rein in runaway spending, and he points to real-world examples in which doctors and hospitals have improved care and reduced costs.

Making the leap from a handful of success stories to restructuring one-sixth of the nation's economy -- and writing it all in legislative language -- is a puzzle he has not solved. ...

Chalmers Johnson: Dismantle the Empire or Collapse like the USSR

2009-08-08T11:22:00.000-07:00

http://www.tomdispatch.com/post/175101/chalmers_johnson_dismantling_the_empire

posted July 30, 2009 10:28 am
Tomgram: Chalmers Johnson, Dismantling the Empire

Today, he turns to the issue which should be, but isn't, central to our moment: dismantling the empire. Think of this as the American health care reform program that no one is discussing. Tom

Three Good Reasons To Liquidate Our Empire
And Ten Steps to Take to Do So
By Chalmers Johnson

However ambitious President Barack Obama's domestic plans, one unacknowledged issue has the potential to destroy any reform efforts he might launch. Think of it as the 800-pound gorilla in the American living room: our longstanding reliance on imperialism and militarism in our relations with other countries and the vast, potentially ruinous global empire of bases that goes with it. The failure to begin to deal with our bloated military establishment and the profligate use of it in missions for which it is hopelessly inappropriate will, sooner rather than later, condemn the United States to a devastating trio of consequences: imperial overstretch, perpetual war, and insolvency, leading to a likely collapse similar to that of the former Soviet Union.

The Town Hall Mob By PAUL KRUGMAN

2009-08-08T11:14:00.000-07:00

h/t to Diane Robertson

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/07/opinion/07krugman.html?_r=1&pagewanted=print

The New York Times
August 7, 2009
Op-Ed Columnist
The Town Hall Mob By PAUL KRUGMAN
...

So this is something new and ugly. What’s behind it?

Robert Gibbs, the White House press secretary, has compared the scenes at health care town halls to the “Brooks Brothers riot” in 2000 — the demonstration that disrupted the vote count in Miami and arguably helped send George W. Bush to the White House. Portrayed at the time as local protesters, many of the rioters were actually G.O.P. staffers flown in from Washington.

But Mr. Gibbs is probably only half right. Yes, well-heeled interest groups are helping to organize the town hall mobs. Key organizers include two Astroturf (fake grass-roots) organizations: FreedomWorks, run by the former House majority leader Dick Armey, and a new organization called Conservatives for Patients’ Rights.

The latter group, by the way, is run by Rick Scott, the former head of Columbia/HCA, a for-profit hospital chain. Mr. Scott was forced out of that job amid a fraud investigation; the company eventually pleaded guilty to charges of overbilling state and federal health plans, paying $1.7 billion — yes, that’s “billion” — in fines. You can’t make this stuff up.
...

The Health Insurers Have Already Won

2009-08-06T17:19:00.000-07:00

http://www.businessweek.com/print/magazine/content/09_33/b4143034820260.htm

Cover Story August 6, 2009
The Health Insurers Have Already Won
How UnitedHealth and rival carriers, maneuvering behind the scenes in Washington, shaped health-care reform for their own benefit

The Incredible Shrinking Health Care Reform

2009-08-06T17:16:00.000-07:00

http://www.truthout.org/080509H

The Incredible Shrinking Health Care Reform

Wednesday 05 August 2009

by: Norman Solomon, t r u t h o u t | Perspective

... The "health insurance reform" now being spun as "a glide path towards universal coverage" is apt to reinforce the huge power of the insurance, pharmaceutical and hospital industries in the United States....

how to utilize the rules of Constructive Capitalism to build a better healthcare industry

2009-08-05T16:18:00.000-07:00

http://blogs.harvardbusiness.org/haque/2009/08/how_to_think_constructively_ab.html

How to Think Constructively About Healthcare

4:05 PM Wednesday August 5, 2009

Tags:Economy

The left says: regulate. The right says: liberate. Both sides look at costs and say: eliminate. Welcome to the great national healthcare debate. It's confusing, frustrating, and anything but stimulating — because both sides have hunkered down into their respective bunkers.

Here's a more constructive way to think about 21st Century healthcare that decision-makers can utilize to build a healthcare industry that's not just more efficient — but more "M."

These are my notes from a quick, off-the-cuff analysis — with a short conclusion about how to utilize the rules of Constructive Capitalism to build a better healthcare industry....

David Broder: Health care bills get better as support for them wanes

2009-08-04T05:05:00.000-07:00

http://www.cantonrep.com/opinion/x154260041/David-Broder-Health-care-bills-get-better-as-support-for-them-wanes?view=print

David Broder: Health care bills get better as support for them wanes
By David S. Broder
Washington Post Writers Group
Posted Aug 03, 2009 @ 12:01 AM
WASHINGTON —
...
Here’s an example: With almost no public notice, two backbench Midwest Democratic representatives, Ron Kind of Wisconsin and Bruce Braley of Iowa, have added to the House bills a provision that would mobilize the intellectual resources of the Institute of Medicine (IOM) for the task of delivering “high-quality, evidence-based, patient-centered care.”

Coached by several innovative clinics in his district, Kind told me he had been following for years the work of the Dartmouth Medical School group on regional disparities in medical costs for years. Braley had a similar grass-roots story:

“A doctor in Cedar Falls, Iowa, Jim Young, gave me a book called ’Overtreated,’ by Shannon Brownlee. I highlighted (passages in) the entire book and then I abstracted it. It led me to the IOM reports, and I started hammering on them in meetings with the leadership.”

The IOM is a prestigious part of the private National Academies. For the last several years, it has conducted a series of workshops and issued a number of reports on “The health care imperative: lowering costs and improving outcomes,” under the chairmanship of Dr. Denis Cortese, the president of the Mayo Clinic....

Physicians for a National Health Program, a leading supporter of single payer

2009-08-03T12:03:00.000-07:00

http://pnhp.org/

Key Committee Backs Health Plan Friday; Pelosi Allows Single-Payer Vote

2009-08-02T16:06:00.000-07:00

http://www.thenation.com/blogs/thebeat/457846/key_committee_backs_health_plan_pelosi_allows_single_payer_vote

Boeing, Xerox Join 185 Groups Objecting to House Health Plan

2009-08-02T12:08:00.000-07:00

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20670001&sid=a4orpZRV0STk

Blue Dogs' Crippled And Useless Co-ops

2009-08-01T02:45:00.000-07:00

Friday, July 31, 2009
Ross' Crippled And Useless Co-ops

One of the changes that the Blue Dogs demanded be part of the House's health care bill was health insurance cooperatives. Today, Blue Dog Mike Ross' amendment which includes language for the state-based cooperatives passed in committee.

The language about establishing and regulating the the co-ops is good. The entire idea suffers from a single massive problem which will cripple the cooperatives. The amendment states:...

http://jwalkerreport.blogspot.com/2009/07/ross-crippled-and-useless-co-ops.html

Relman: The medical-industrial complex

2009-07-31T17:42:00.000-07:00

The new medical-industrial complex
AS Relman
Abstract
The most important health-care development of the day is the recent, relatively unheralded rise of a huge new industry that supplies health-care services for profit. Proprietary hospitals and nursing homes, diagnostic laboratories, home-care and emergency-room services, hemodialysis, and a wide variety of other services produced a gross income to this industry last year of about $35 billion to +40 billion. This new "medical-industrial complex" may be more efficient than its nonprofit competition, but it creates the problems of overuse and fragmentation of services, overemphasis on technology, and "cream-skimming," and it may also exercise undue influence on national health policy. In this medical market, physicians must act as discerning purchasing agents for their patients and therefore should have no conflicting financial interests. Closer attention from the public and the profession, and careful study, are necessary to ensure that the "medical-industrial complex" puts the interest of the public before those of its stockholders.

http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/abstract/303/17/963

Relman: The Health Reform We Need & Are Not Getting

2009-07-31T17:39:00.000-07:00

http://www.nybooks.com/articles/22798

How Medical Breakthroughs Happen: A Response to Megan McArdle

2009-07-31T17:30:00.001-07:00

http://newledger.com/2009/07/how-medical-breakthroughs-happen-a-response-to-megan-mcardle/

House Progressives Object To Blue Dog Public Option Compromise

2009-07-31T13:31:00.000-07:00

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/07/in-letter-house-progressives-object-to-blue-dog-public-option-compromise.php/

E-Health - It All Depends on How It's Used

2009-07-30T11:08:00.000-07:00

Technology isn’t a quick fix. Just ask General Motors. ...
Will the Obama administration’s $20 billion push to flood the nation’s physician offices and hospitals with electronic medical records (EMRs) suffer a similar fate?...

http://www.thehealthcareblog.com/the_health_care_blog/2009/07/ehealth-it-all-depends-on-how-its-used-.html#more

Hendrik Hertzberg in NYER

2009-07-30T10:52:00.000-07:00

http://www.newyorker.com/talk/comment/2009/08/03/090803taco_talk_hertzberg?printable=true

BW - How making primary-care physicians the center of America's health-care system could drive down costs

2009-07-30T10:42:00.000-07:00

Health Reform Report June 25, 2009, 5:00PM EST text size: TT
The Family Doctor: A Remedy for Health-Care Costs?
How making primary-care physicians the center of America's health-care system could drive down costs

By Catherine Arnst

The primary-care doctor is gaining new respect in Washington. Battles may be breaking out left and right over the various health-care bills emerging from Congress, but reformers on both sides agree that general practitioners should be given a central role in uniting the fragmented U.S. medical system.

This vision has a name: the "patient-centered medical home." The "home" is the office of a primary-care doctor where patients would go for most of their medical needs. The general practitioner would oversee everything from flu shots to chronic disease management to weight loss, and coordinate care with nurses, pharmacists, and specialists. A 2004 study estimated that if every patient had such a home, the resulting efficiencies might reduce U.S. health-care costs by 5.6%, a savings of $67 billion a year. ...

http://www.businessweek.com/print/magazine/content/09_27/b4138034173005.htm

The current version of reform is a scam. Start over.

2009-07-25T18:02:00.000-07:00

See my last post.

Instead we need something like the following.

1. Create a political bargaining forum outside of government with participation of the president, congress, and all the rest.

2. Break out all the problems we see into a set of reforms, piecemeal fixes, and improvements.

3. Find a subset, say ten, of these pieces that complement each other and make up an acceptable package.

4. Forward it to congress.

As I have said before, there is just no way to figure it all out this year. Thus,

5. Repeat the above each year for about ten years.

I want us to participate. We can form self-appointed advisory committees in our congressional districts.

Selling you the "bait and switch" of public option

2009-07-25T16:56:00.000-07:00

http://www.correntewire.com/how_dems_and_progressives_are_selling_you_bait_and_switch_public_option

Public Option Saves $200 Billion

2009-07-22T09:57:00.000-07:00

By: thebagofhealthandpolitics Tuesday July 21, 2009 5:47 pm

...A new study from the Commonwealth Fund finds that the public option could save the country $265 billion. The same study found that Grassley's favored approach--allowing insurance companies to maintain their near-monopoly status--would cost the country $32 billion. ...

http://seminal.firedoglake.com/diary/6533

Broder - Obama's drive for health-care reform at a turning point

2009-07-21T16:50:00.000-07:00

http://durangoherald.com/sections/Opinion/Editorial/2009/07/20/Obamas_drive_for_healthcare_reform_at_a_turning_point/

Health Care Reform Hits Bump, Not Derailed

2009-07-21T11:26:00.000-07:00

Health Care Reform Hits Bump, Not Derailed
Recent Polls Show Support Has Slipped, But Observers Say Health Care Package Will Pass This Year
By Mike Lillis 7/21/09 1:43 PM
When Douglas Elmendorf, director of the Congressional Budget Office, told lawmakers last week that the Democrats’ health reform plans wouldn’t control long-term costs, the reverberations were as immediate as they were inevitable....

http://washingtonindependent.com/51886/health-care-reform-hits-bump-not-derailed

Listen to all 23 minutes of Obama's conference call with bloggers

2009-07-21T09:31:00.000-07:00

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/07/20/obama-calls-on-bloggers-t_n_241570.html

The real battle in healthcare reform, by Ian Welsh

2009-07-21T09:00:00.000-07:00

Your Life vs. Insurance Company Profits: The real battle in healthcare reform
by: Ian Welsh
Mon Jul 20, 2009 at 10:15

Lying about healthcare, indeed, fear mongering about healthcare has ramped up as insurance companies attempt to keep their profits. Those profits are created by having the US spend 5% more of its economy on healthcare while receiving worse results than other western nations.. To insurance company executives, their profits, their executive salaries and their bonuses, are worth not just lying about, but killing for....

http://www.openleft.com/diary/14253/your-life-vs-insurance-company-profits-the-real-battle-in-healthcare-reform

Atul Gawande's blog update to his June 1 NYER piece

2009-07-21T08:05:00.002-07:00

http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/newsdesk/2009/06/atul-gawande-the-cost-conundrum-redux.html

updates this -

Annals of Medicine
The Cost Conundrum
What a Texas town can teach us about health care.
by Atul Gawande June 1, 2009
It is spring in McAllen, Texas. The morning sun is warm. The streets are lined with palm trees and pickup trucks. McAllen is in Hidalgo County, which has the lowest household income in the country,...

http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/06/01/090601fa_fact_gawande

Rumors of the Demise of ObamaCare Have Been Greatly Exaggerated by Nate Silver

2009-07-21T08:03:00.000-07:00

...
I had argued previously that Obama should have done more to frame the debate and put a particular health care bill in front of Congress, rather than letting Congress handle it themselves. Maybe health care would be in a little bit better shape right now if he had done that and maybe it wouldn't; we'll never really be able to test the counterfactual. But because he didn't do that, Obama still has most of his tactical flexibility intact. And there are at least four scenarios under which health care reform could still pass this year: ...

http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/2009/07/rumors-of-demise-of-obamacare-have-been.html

The public option is too small - Josh Holland

2009-07-19T10:17:00.000-07:00

... But it also fails some of the basic criteria that most progressives have long said is a red-line that can't be crossed. First and foremost, it doesn't have a public option that can compete with private insurers and result in significant cost savings.

It has a public plan in which -- as far as the statute goes (it can be expanded in 2015 but there's no mandate to do so) -- only 9-10 million people will be eligible to enroll by 2019. Similarly, the publicly-administered exchanges are projected to cover about 30 million by that year....

http://www.alternet.org/module/printversion/141404/?type=blog

Mass. Panel Backs Radical Shift in Health Payment

2009-07-17T12:45:00.000-07:00

...primary care physicians, specialists and hospitals would group themselves into networks that would be responsible for a patient’s well-being and would be compensated with a flat monthly or annual fee known as a global payment. ...

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/17/health/policy/17masshealth.html?_r=1

Dueling Health Care Flow Charts: Reality vs. GOP Propaganda

2009-07-17T09:06:00.000-07:00

Dueling Health Care Flow Charts: Reality vs. GOP Propaganda
By Logan Murphy Thursday Jul 16, 2009 6:00pm

(Reality flow chart) (GOP propaganda chart)

As Media Matters points out, today's GOP is trying the same old tricks of yesteryear, when they set out to destroy the Clinton health care plan in 1994. They've released a confusing and misleading flow chart (pictured above, right) to show how awful a public option would be -- and it's already being picked up by the right wing media....

http://crooksandliars.com/logan-murphy/new-health-care-flow-chart-pushes-bac

TPM analysis of AP reporting

2009-07-17T08:54:00.000-07:00

Associated Press Explains Its Thinking--Somewhat
By Brian Beutler - July 16, 2009, 4:08PM

In response to an inquiry from TPMDC, Associated Press spokesman Paul Colford sends over the following statement, explaining why they're reporting that House health care legislation will cost $1.5 trillion. ...

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/07/associated-press-explains-its-thinking--somewhat.php/

From Joshua Holland at AlterNet

2009-07-15T09:19:00.000-07:00

We Need Clear Thinking: There Should Be No Clash Between Public Option and Single Payer

By Joshua Holland, AlterNet. Posted July 13, 2009.

The debate among progressive health reformers has been sometimes nasty, but they have more in common than they might think. ...

http://www.alternet.org/healthwellness/141238/we_need_clear_thinking%3A_there_should_be_no_clash_between_public_option_and_single_payer/

CBO: House Bill Would Cover 97 Percent Of Americans And Cost $1 Trillion - Huffpo

2009-07-14T16:59:00.000-07:00

With links.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/07/14/cbo-house-bill-would-cove_n_232032.html

Brian Beutler has continuing coverage over at TPM

2009-07-14T15:49:00.000-07:00

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/07/house-charges-ahead-first-health-care-mark-up-begins-this-week.php

A summary of the House bill, with links to others

2009-07-14T15:46:00.002-07:00

http://seminal.firedoglake.com/diary/6340

America’s Affordable Health Choices Act

2009-07-14T15:46:00.001-07:00

http://edlabor.house.gov/blog/2009/07/americas-affordable-health-choices-act.shtml

Why Can’t a Better Health Care Plan be the Next Stimulus? By Jane Hamsher

2009-07-14T15:03:00.000-07:00

Why Can’t a Better Health Care Plan be the Next Stimulus?
By: Jane Hamsher Thursday July 9, 2009 7:24 am

We bailed out the banks to the tune of 2 trillion dollars in the past year, put through an enormous stimulus bill, bailed out the European banks, put through yet another war supplemental, and never asked how we were going to pay for it. We just wrote a bunch of big checks.

But now that it has come to taking care of the health of Americans, well, we have to tighten the old belt and it's suddenly "pay-as-you-go." ...

http://firedoglake.com/2009/07/09/why-cant-a-better-health-care-plan-be-the-next-stimulus/?

The Health Care Clock, and Why Obama Has to Act Quickly - Robert Reich

2009-07-14T15:01:00.000-07:00

http://tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com/talk/blogs/robert_reich/2009/07/the-health-care-clock-and-why.php?ref=fpd

A handful of leading indicators to watch out for - TPM

2009-07-14T14:53:00.000-07:00

Charlie Foxtrot: With White House Watching, Democrats Try To Pick Up The Pace On Health Care Reform
By Brian Beutler - July 13, 2009, 3:28PM

The health care debate on Capitol Hill is moving so fast, and in so many different direction, that sometimes it can be difficult--maybe impossible--to keep track of all the myriad moving parts. But to get a sense of where things stand more broadly, there are a handful of leading indicators to watch out for if you're trying to keep abreast of major developments. ...

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/07/charlie-foxtrot-with-white-house-watching-democrats-try-to-pick-up-the-pace-on-health-care-reform.php?ref=fpblg

Health Co-op Offers Model for Overhaul - NYT

2009-07-08T13:51:00.001-07:00

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/07/health/policy/07coop.html?pagewanted=print

Progressives Warn Obama Against Dropping Public Health Care Option

2009-07-08T13:22:00.000-07:00

Progressives Warn Obama Against Dropping Public Health Care Option
July 7, 2009, 6:49 p.m.
By Jennifer Bendery
Roll Call Staff

Liberal groups on Tuesday made it clear that they are not happy with news reports that the White House may be considering alternatives to a public plan in health care reform.

Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.), co-chairman of the 77-member Congressional Progressive Caucus, fired off a letter to President Barack Obama warning him against dropping a public insurance option from health care reform plans....

http://www.rollcall.com/news/36551-1.html?type=printer_friendly

Hello new readers

2009-07-08T09:44:00.000-07:00

Please comment on my posts using the little button at the bottom of each post, and sign up as a follower at the upper right corner of the page. You can also find me at my page on Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/john.claydon

Progressive Senate Bloc Forcing Public Option by Chris Bowers

2009-07-08T09:26:00.000-07:00

Progressive Senate Bloc Forcing Public Option
by: Chris Bowers
Tue Jul 07, 2009 at 20:45

Many progressives have been longing for the day when the Democratic leadership would drop futile, even counter productive, attempts to win Republican votes on major legislation and instead focus on developing long overdue, popular, sensible solutions to major problems.

Well, it appears that day has come. A progressive bloc in the Senate has given the Democratic leadership a blunt choice: pursue a strong public option, or lose 10-15 left-wing votes on health care. From Roll Call: ...

http://www.openleft.com/diary/14086/progressive-senate-bloc-forcing-public-option

HCAN blog

2009-07-08T09:20:00.001-07:00

http://blog.healthcareforamericanow.org/2009/07/07/daily-health-care-news-7709/

The House Progressive Caucus and MoveOn mobilize against dropping public option

2009-07-08T09:17:00.000-07:00

Tuesday, July 07, 2009
House progressive caucus warns Obama against dropping public option in health care reform after Rahm undercuts reform effort to WSJ
by John Aravosis (DC) on 7/07/2009 07:49:00 PM
UPDATE: Ezra Klein and Brian Beutler think that reports that Obama subsequently repudiated Emanuel's comments are flat our wrong.

This is a rather significant political story for a number of reasons....

http://www.americablog.com/2009/07/house-progressive-caucus-warns-obama.html

Note that the president issued a non-denial denial

2009-07-08T09:06:00.000-07:00

He just said the same thing while pretending to deny what Rahm said.

THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
_______________________________________________________________________________________
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 7, 2009
Statement from the President on Health Care Reform
"I am pleased by the progress we're making on health care reform and still believe, as I've said before, that one of the best ways to bring down costs, provide more choices, and assure quality is a public option that will force the insurance companies to compete and keep them honest. I look forward to a final product that achieves these very important goals."

Rahm in WSJ

2009-07-08T09:03:00.000-07:00

* JULY 7, 2009
White House Open to Deal on Public Health Plan

By LAURA MECKLER and JANET ADAMY

WASHINGTON -- It is more important that health-care legislation inject stiff competition among insurance plans than it is for Congress to create a pure government-run option, White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel said.

"The goal is to have a means and a mechanism to keep the private insurers honest," he said in an interview. "The goal is non-negotiable; the path is" negotiable....

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124692407982802911.html#printMode

email from HCAN yesterday

2009-07-08T09:00:00.000-07:00

Good morning friends:
Many of you have heard about the Rahm Emmanuel’s statements in the Wall Street Journal today indicating support for the “trigger”. The article was headlined “White House Open to Deal on Public Health Plan,” so many people are understandably concerned.
HCAN here is communicating with the Obama Administration to figure out what the heck is going on. . . this message is certainly inconsistent with everything we’ve heard so far so we’ll reserve judgment until we know more.
Just FYI, the White House just released the statement below. We’ll share more information when we have it. In the meantime, keep plugging away!
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
_______________________________________________________________________________________
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 7, 2009
Statement from the President on Health Care Reform
"I am pleased by the progress we're making on health care reform and still believe, as I've said before, that one of the best ways to bring down costs, provide more choices, and assure quality is a public option that will force the insurance companies to compete and keep them honest. I look forward to a final product that achieves these very important goals."

Margarida Jorge
National Field Director
Health Care for America Now (HCAN)
mjorge@healthcareforamericanow.org
202.454.6190 Office
202.422.2220 Cell

Congress lacks consensus on how to pay for the $1 trillion or more that the changes could cost over the next decade

2009-06-26T13:16:00.000-07:00

McClatchy Washington Bureau
Posted on Thu, Jun. 25, 2009
Congress suspends health care debate as crowds rally for plan
David Lightman and Margaret Talev | McClatchy Newspapers

last updated: June 25, 2009 07:41:03 PM

WASHINGTON — Senators who are negotiating how to overhaul the nation's health care system broke off formal talks Thursday until after the July Fourth holiday, saying that they lack consensus on how to pay for the $1 trillion or more that the changes could cost over the next decade.

Tousands of their constituents rallied outside the Capitol to show their support for change, and the Obama administration called for action. ...

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/politics/v-print/story/70794.html

Is a 'public plan' the fix for health insurance? MSNBC

2009-06-26T13:07:00.000-07:00

MSNBC.com

Is a 'public plan' the fix for health insurance?
A government-sponsored rival to private insurers dominates the debate
By Tom Curry
National affairs writer
msnbc.com
updated 10:00 a.m. ET, Fri., June 26, 2009

Two words — public plan — now dominate the debate over how to overhaul the nation’s health insurance system.

President Barack Obama and many congressional Democrats support the idea of giving Americans a menu of insurance options which would include a government-run plan resembling the Medicare program for older and disabled Americans.

Three House committee chairmen have published a 850-page draft [link] of a health insurance redesign that includes a public plan. In their draft, the public plan would be offered alongside private-sector insurance plans through a government-run marketplace called the Health Insurance Exchange. ...

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31545920/ns/politics-capitol_hill/print/1/displaymode/1098/

Grassroots lobbying for health care reform in DC yesterday

2009-06-26T12:53:00.000-07:00

How did it go?

A right-wing group called Conservatives for Patients’ Rights is airing a political attack ad

2009-06-26T12:50:00.000-07:00

consortiumnews.com

False Health-Scare Ad on CNN

By Robert Parry
June 25, 2009

A right-wing group called Conservatives for Patients’ Rights is airing a political attack ad against the idea of a public option for health insurance by turning upside down an analysis showing that 119 million Americans would jump from their private health insurer to a government plan if one existed.

http://www.consortiumnews.com/Print/2009/062509.html

At a healthcare town hall, Obama says stopping futile procedures for the terminally ill can lower costs.

2009-06-26T12:42:00.001-07:00

Obama discusses deathbed measures
At a healthcare town hall, he says stopping futile procedures for the terminally ill can lower costs.
By Peter Nicholas
June 25, 2009
Reporting from Washington -- President Obama suggested at a town hall event Wednesday night that one way to shave medical costs is to stop expensive and ultimately futile procedures performed on people who are about to die and don't stand to gain from the extra care.

In a nationally televised event at the White House, Obama said families need better information so they don't unthinkingly approve "additional tests or additional drugs that the evidence shows is not necessarily going to improve care." ...

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-health25-2009jun25,0,1978875.story

Health Industry Lobbying Tops $1.4 Million Daily

2009-06-25T15:09:00.000-07:00

http://undertheinfluence.nationaljournal.com/2009/06/health-industry-lobbying-tops-1.php

Theda Skocpol's book on the 1993 version of health care reform

2009-06-25T14:35:00.000-07:00

http://www.amazon.com/Boomerang-Health-Reform-against-Government/dp/039331572X
===========================
Boomerang: Health Care Reform and the Turn against Government (Paperback)
by Theda Skocpol
Theda Skocpol (Author)
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(Author) "Looking back from the vantage point of the well-received Health Security speech of September 1993, President Clinton and his delighted advisors had every reason to..." (more)
Key Phrases: health security plan, regional health alliances, health reform debate, President Clinton, Bill Clinton, White House (more...)
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Editorial Reviews
Review
A grim yet instructive diagnosis of what ails the American body politic. -- Robert Schmuhl, Philadelphia Inquirer

As readable as it is insightful, Boomerang sketches the sources economic, institutional, political of President Clinton's dire defeat on health care reform in 1994, a pivotal precursor of that year's congressional elections. . . . A compelling story. . . . Required reading for president-watchers and policy designers alike, indeed for anyone concerned about American institutions. (Richard E. Neustadt )

As readable as it is insightful, Boomerang sketches the sources economic, institutional, political of President Clinton's dire defeat on health care reform in 1994, a pivotal precursor of that year's congressional elections. . . . A compelling story. . . . Required reading for president-watchers and policy designers alike, indeed for anyone concerned about American institutions. -- Richard E. Neustadt

Painfully honest and insightful. [Boomerang] forces progressives to ask fundamental questions about their theoretical assumptions. . . . (Stanley B. Greenberg, author of Middle Class Dreams )

Painfully honest and insightful. [Boomerang] forces progressives to ask fundamental questions about their theoretical assumptions. -- Stanley B. Greenberg, author of Middle Class Dreams

Remarkably thorough and perceptive. . . . [A] major contribution. -- Alan Brinkley, Columbia University, author of The End of Reform

Remarkably thorough and perceptive. . . . [A] major contribution. (Alan Brinkley, Columbia University, author of The End of Reform )

Product Description
How did the debate on health reform turn into the most concerted attack on government in recent American history? In this incisive account, a prize-winning social scientist offers deep insights into the changing terrain of U.S. politics and public policy. Because of far-reaching changes in the Reagan era, Theda Skocpol shows, the Clinton Health Security bill became a perfect foil for antigovernment mobilization. Thus its defeat provides a unique window into the new political landscape.

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Product Details

* Paperback: 256 pages
* Publisher: W.W. Norton & Co.; 2 edition (April 17, 1997)
* Language: English
* ISBN-10: 039331572X
* ISBN-13: 978-0393315721
* Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.4 x 0.8 inches
* Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
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Robust Health Care Reform is the Moment of Truth for Obama and the Democrats - Theda Skocpol

2009-06-25T14:32:00.000-07:00

http://tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/06/24/robust_health_care_reform_is_the_moment_of_truth_f/

Why the Critics of a Public Option for Health Care Are Wrong - Reich

2009-06-25T12:03:00.001-07:00

http://tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com/talk/blogs/robert_reich/2009/06/why-the-critics-of-a-public-op.php?ref=fpd

Why so little IT in health care? Too much to hide!

2009-06-25T11:34:00.000-07:00

http://www.technologyreview.com/printer_friendly_article.aspx?id=22852&channel=computing§ion=

Senator: Use of faulty insurance data 'pervasive'

2009-06-24T17:30:00.001-07:00

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Senator-Use-of-faulty-apf-1076057561.html?x=0&.v=10

Serving the Medical-Industrial Complex By Robert Parry

2009-06-24T12:52:00.000-07:00

consortiumnews.com

Serving the Medical-Industrial Complex

By Robert Parry
June 22, 2009

The usual knock on government programs is that they’re not as efficient as the private sector, which we’re told can provide the same product for less money and with higher quality. Thus, it should be no big deal when the public and private collide because the private sector should prevail.

However, in providing health insurance, those rules clearly don’t apply, which is why congressional Republicans and so-called “centrist” Democrats are going to such lengths to deny the American people access to a public option on health insurance.

Indeed, if a public option were to be piggybacked onto the existing Medicare bureaucracy, the chances for savings could be impressive for average Americans and the overall American economy....

http://www.consortiumnews.com/Print/2009/062209.html