NEWS
Liberals Brace For Fight Over Scope Of Health Legislation – Kaiser Daily Health News
As House leaders prepare to release a sweeping health overhaul plan, they’re clinging to their goal to provide a liberal counterpoint to any legislation now likely to emerge from the Senate.
Lawmakers: Health overhaul unlikely before recess – Associated Press
Lawmakers from both parties are telling the White House they will go on vacation next month and leave behind — and incomplete — President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul.
Leaders in House Seek to Tax Rich for Health Plan – New York Times
House Democrats will ask the wealthiest Americans to help pay for overhauling the health care system with a $550 billion income tax increase, the chairman of the tax-writing Ways and Means Committee said Friday.
For Obama, healthcare failure is not option – Reuters
For President Barack Obama, failure on healthcare is not an option. With the economy struggling and his poll numbers dipping, the president who made "change" his campaign mantra cannot afford to come up empty on his top legislative priority — a long-sought overhaul of the costly and complex U.S. healthcare system.
Health Care Negotiator With Instinct for the Deal – New York Times
Critics of Barack Obama’s Washington, who often prefer not to challenge the popular president directly, tend instead to aim at Congress.
Trade Group Challenges Wal-Mart on Health Care – Wall Street Journal
Federation Urges Members to Take a Stand Against Company’s Support of Plan Requiring Employers to Help Pay for Insurance
OPINION
Don’t Tax Benefits – New York Times
AMERICANS are demanding health care reform that guarantees them quality, affordable insurance, reduces the burden of health costs on employers and individuals and provides backup coverage through a public health insurance option.
The Need for Speed – The New Republic
Philip Elliott of the Associated Press reports, "Legislation to overhaul the nation’s health systems is unlikely to make it through the House and Senate before the August target set by President Barack Obama and other Democratic leaders, lawmakers said Sunday." At Politico, Carrie Budoff Brown reaches a similar conclusion.
Blue Dogs Won’t Vote For What They Support – Think Progress
The fifty-member Blue Dog Coalition has written a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) revealing “strong reservations” about the Tri Committee’s health care bill. “After reviewing the draft tri-committee health care reform proposal, we believe it lacks a number of elements essential to preserving what works and fixing what is broken,” the letter reads.
The Public Plan Is a Cost-SAVER – Change.org
I’ve written about Wendell Potter, the former executive at Cigna and Humana whose Congressional testimony helped pull away the curtain on how private, for-profit insurance companies look at themselves – as entities more beholden to shareholders than their customers. On Friday night, he was the guest on Bill Moyers Journal. PBS.org has the whole program online, but they’ve also released clips like the one below on YouTube. If you don’t have time to watch the whole thing – which I highly recommend – these bite-size chunks are must-see.
