Health Reform in the House Committee on Energy and Commerce Committee on Ways and Means Committee on Education and Labor

Fact of the Day Section 1162 of the House health insurance reform bill provides for increased payments to Medicare Advantage plans that demonstrate high quality of care and outcomes and plans that significantly improve quality.

Follow Health Insurance Reform facebook     twitter

Health Resources Majority Leader Clearinghouse HealthReform.gov MedPAC Alliance for Health Reform National Health Policy Forum Kaiser Family Foundation Families USA Commonwealth Fund Robert Wood Johnson Foundation RAND Health Center on Budget and Policy Priorities Partnership for Prevention Trust for America’s Health Synthesis Project

At The Time This Daily Dose Was Sent, Insured Americans Had Paid a “Hidden Tax” of $34,929,441,895 This Year In Additional Premium Costs To Cover Care For The Uninsured.

Under the Microscope

Moving Forward

Leadership continues its conversations with Members today to get a sense for where things stand on various pieces of the health reform bill taking shape.

Being A Woman Is Not A Pre-Existing Condition

On CBS News, Katie Couric highlighted a new public education campaign by the National Women’s Law Center called, “Being A Woman Is Not a Pre-Existing Condition.”
The campaign will include a mobilization effort and national press, which are complimented with a microsite and video.  See Couric’s coverage of the campaign here.

Health Care Headlines

Medicare Changes Coming Into Focus As Health Care Overhaul Moves Forward
Now that the shouting from August's town hall meetings has died down and Congress has made progress on a health care overhaul, there's growing agreement among policy experts about how Medicare will be affected.
[Chicago Tribune, 10/21/2009]

A Guide To The Public Option Compromises In The Senate
There are three "compromise" public options currently being considered in the U.S. Senate. Ben Nelson is advocating one. Olympia Snowe is behind another. Jay Rockefeller is talking up a third. [Washington Post, 10/22/2009]

New Focus on Maine's Other Centrist Republican Senator
A week ago, all eyes were on the senior senator from Maine, Republican Olympia J. Snowe, as she pondered the prospect of defying her party in support of a proposal to remake the nation's health-care system.  [Washington Post, 10/22/2009]

Businesses Seek Health Bill Fix For Temporary Workers
Restaurants, retailers and other businesses with high rates of employee turnover are pushing lawmakers to revisit how "full-time" workers are defined in a healthcare overhaul measure to avoid being slapped with hefty fees for failing to insure their temporary or short-term workforces. [CongressDaily, 10/22/2009]

Girl’s Case Turns Up Heat On UnitedHealth Group
UnitedHealth Group, the nation's biggest health insurer, found itself in a touchy sideshow to the great health care debate Wednesday after a Colorado family came forward with a poignant story about how their 2-year-old daughter had been denied coverage. [Minneapolis Star Tribune, 10/21/2009]

Massachusetts Docs Heart Universal Coverage
How would doctors across the country actually like an overhaul that brought health coverage to the uninsured? Pretty well, if it rolls out anything like the one in Massachusetts. [NPR, 10/21/2009]