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 non-partisan Joint Committee on Taxation has found that only 1.2 percent of “small business owners” would pay the surcharge. Of the 1.2 percent who would pay the surcharge, half derive more than two thirds of their income from non-business sources.

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 $36,594,366,886 This Year In Additional Premium Costs To Cover Care For The Uninsured.

Under the Microscope

AFFORDABLE HEALTH CARE FOR AMERICA ACT ENDORSEMENTS

Today House Democrats continued to see endorsements come in for their health insurance reform bill.  Read some of the letters here and President Obama’s statement.
Recent endorsements include:

• American Medical Association
• AARP
• American Cancer Society
• Consumers Union

DOUBLE DIGIT PROFIT INCREASES

Amid declining enrollment, insurance companies have reported double-digit profit increases, with the latest being Cigna Corporation. Meanwhile, the American people’s health care premiums continue to skyrocket and the number of uninsured Americans steadily rises. This is the status quo and it means fewer and fewer Americans having stable access to affordable health care. The non-partisan CBO says that H.R. 3962 will bring down the cost of premiums and ensure 96 percent of Americans have health coverage all while reducing the deficits by $30 Billion over 10 years.

Check out the latest insurance company profit figures:

United Health: $1.04 billion (up 13%)   [10/20/2009]
Cigna: $329 million (up 92%) [11/5/2009]
Aetna: $326.2 million (up 18%)   [10/29/2009]
Humana: $301.5 million (up 65%)  [11/2/2009]
Universal American: $59.7 million (up 22%)   [10/29/2009]
Health Spring: $42 million (up 44%)   [10/29/2009]
Centene: $21.3 million (up 13%)   [10/27/2009]

Cigna Reports Jump In Profit
Cigna Corp.'s third-quarter earnings soared 92% amid declining medical enrollments and prior-year losses at its reinsurance business that is being wound down. Results exceeded analysts' expectations.
[Wall Street Journal, 11/5/2009]

Health Care Headlines

House Democrats Prepare For Close Healthcare Vote
Democratic leaders in the U.S. House of Representatives hustled on Thursday to count votes and round up support for a sweeping healthcare overhaul that was headed to a close floor vote on Saturday.
[Reuters, 11/5/2009] Read a related article.

Lobby Group AARP Endorses US House Healthcare Bill
AARP, the powerful lobbying group for older Americans, endorsed the U.S. House of Representatives healthcare reform bill on Thursday, bolstering support for the measure as it heads toward a close floor vote on Saturday. [Reuters, 11/5/2009]

With Manager’s Amendment, Leaders Look To Allay Fears, Avoid Controversies
A package of amendments to the House health care overhaul that Democratic leaders unveiled late Tuesday is less an attempt to buy the votes of wavering members than an effort to firm up support among Democrats whose votes were probably never in doubt. [CQ HealthBeat, 11/4/2009]

Obama Gets In the Game For Health-Care On
Criticized earlier for a lack of direct involvement in the process, President Obama is trying to help push a health care overhaul through Congress with one-on-one meetings with Democratic senators reluctant to embrace the legislation. [CQ Today, 11/4/2009]

Budget Analysts Say GOP Bill Would Do Little to Expand Health Insurance Coverage
The long-awaited Republican entry in the health care debate received its assessment late Wednesday from congressional budget analysts, who concluded that the proposal would barely dent the ranks of the uninsured. [Washington Post, 11/4/2009]

'High Spending But Lagging Quality' In US Health Care
Despite spending more than twice as much as other developed countries, the United States still lags behind in terms of access and quality, an international survey said Wednesday. [AFP, 11/5/2009]

OPINION: GOP Ducks Role as ‘Party of Yes’ on Health Reform
By Morton M. Kondracke
Late in the game, Republicans are proposing alternatives to Democratic health care reform, but they’re certainly not being bold. [Roll Call, 11/5/2009]

OPINION: Unhealthy America
By Nicholas D. Kristof
The moment of truth for health care is at hand, and the distortion that perhaps gets the most traction is this: We have the greatest health care system in the world. [New York Times, 11/5/2009]