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

Fact of the Day The new House health insurance reform legislation, the Affordable Health Care for America Act, includes the Indian Health Care Improvement Act Amendments, which will improve health care for tribes across the United States.

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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 $35,886,045,217 This Year In Additional Premium Costs To Cover Care For The Uninsured.

Under the Microscope

72 HOURS

Yesterday Majority Leader Steny Hoyer once again promised that not only would the Affordable Health Care for America Act be posted online for at least 72 hours before being voted on but so too would the manager’s amendment. He’s called on Republicans to post their substitute online for 72 hours as well – if they have one that is. It’s been 135 days since the GOP promised their own health reform bill but they still have not been able to produce one.

LOWER PREMIUMS, STRONGER BUSINESSES

For many businesses rising health care costs cut into employee wages and impede hiring and business growth.  Today the White House released another report on HealthReform.gov entitled: Lower Premiums, Stronger Businesses: How Health Insurance Reform Will Bring Down Costs for Small Businesses.  This report includes state-by-state data on the number of businesses potentially eligible for premium tax credits.

Obama Says Health Care Overhaul Could Save Small Businesses A Quarter Of Their Premium Costs
President Barack Obama says small businesses that participate in a proposed government health care plan could save a quarter on their premiums by 2016.
[Associated Press, 10/29/2009]

Health Care Headlines

House Leaders Introduce Healthcare Plan with Modified Public Option
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, unveiling the House's plan for a compromise on health-care legislation today, said the bill will offer new insurance for tens of millions of Americans and lower costs for those who already have coverage. [Chicago Tribune, 10/30/2009]

Health Care Bills Would Limit Out-of-Pocket Costs
Consumers would be spared having to pay huge medical bills under Democratic health care legislation that's moving through Congress, as lawmakers agree on the need to put limits on how much people would pay out of their own pockets. [McClatchy Newspapers, 10/29/2009]

Details on Health Care Bills in House, Senate
House Democratic leaders have presented a new health overhaul bill that melds legislation passed by three committees over the summer and makes a series of changes to accommodate lawmakers' concerns. [Associated Press, 10/30/2009] Read a related article.

House Democrats Look to Project a United Front on Health Care
House Democrats are trying to create a sense of inevitability around their health care overhaul, as wavering members respond to leadership appeals to their sense of history. [CQ Today, 10/29/2009]

Drug Makers Face Tougher Measures
The House health-care bill presents more problems for drug makers than legislation in the Senate, but it gives the medical-device industry better breaks. [Wall Street Journal, 10/30/2009]

EDITORIAL: The House Health Reform Bill
The Senate should pay attention to the health care reform bill unveiled on Thursday by House Democratic leaders. The bill would greatly expand coverage of the uninsured while reducing budget deficits over the next decade and probably beyond. [New York Times, 10/30/2009]

OPINION: The Defining Moment
By Paul Krugman
O.K., folks, this is it. It’s the defining moment for health care reform. Past efforts to give Americans what citizens of every other advanced nation already have — guaranteed access to essential care — have ended not with a bang, but with a whimper, usually dying in committee without ever making it to a vote.
[New York Times, 10/30/2009]