NEWS
The Cost of Doing Nothing – New America Foundation
The U.S. health care system is in crisis. Health care costs too much; we often get too little in exchange for our health care dollar; and tens of millions of Americans are uninsured.
Employers Offer Workers Fewer Health Care Plans – New York Times
It’s the annual “open enrollment” season in corporate America, when employees choose their medical plans for the coming year. But this time, even if they are fortunate enough to have a job at a company that still offers health benefits, many workers are finding that the buffet of options has been trimmed to a very short menu.
Keeping the Heat on Health Care Reform – WebMD
Does health care reform still have a chance for quick action?
Albany Cage Match: Teachers vs. Doctors! – New York Magazine
Governor David Paterson’s push for midyear budget cuts has unleashed a special-interests smackdown between the state teachers unions and the health-care industry. With spending on school aid and Medicaid eating up nearly half of the state’s budget, and a record $12.5 billion deficit, the governor wants lawmakers to make health care suffer to the tune of $571 million and have public schools do without $585 million. Now the two Albany heavyweights are turning on each other.
Cuomo Investigating Colleges’ Deals With Health Insurers – New York Times
The New York attorney general began sending subpoenas and document requests this month to colleges including Columbia, Cornell, Georgetown and several State University of New York campuses as part of an investigation of relationships between the colleges and health insurance companies that cover students.
Small Firms Shiver as Health Premiums Rise – Wall Street Journal
Already struggling in a tough economy, many small employers are about to face another big hit: markedly higher increases in health-insurance premiums as they head into 2009.
Democrats Weigh How Hard to Hit Agenda – Chicago Tribune
After an election victory won above all on the promise of change, Barack Obama and Democrats in Congress now confront a political question: How much change and how fast?
OPINION
New Dem House Members Say Promise Of Health Care Reform Got Them Elected – TPM
Here’s an interesting tidbit from the health care wars: Health care advocates are bolstering their case for the political viability of health care reform by aggressively showcasing newly-elected House Dems who say their victories turned largely on health care as a campaign issue.
The Attacks Begin: PhRMA To Target Obama Health Plan – Think Progress
Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), the nation’s largest pharmaceutical lobbying group, is gearing up for a “multimillion-dollar public relations campaign to tout the importance of free-market health care and undercut an expected push by the Obama administration for price controls of prescription drugs,” the Washington Times reports.
“Spread the Wealth” Controversy Hits Doctors – The Health Care Blog
By now you know that Senator Max Baucus (D-MT) has offered a “Call to Arms” for health care reform by way of a 98-page policy document. There is much to think about in Baucus’ proposal, so you might have missed the section where he talks about increasing payments to primary care providers at the expense of compensation for specialists. But in the future, keep your eyes peeled for developments around this proposition—because supporting primary care is going to be a complex and controversial undertaking.
BOBBY JINDAL STEPS UP. - Ezra Klein
The Republican ticket this year was notable for refusing to run on any policy innovations or substantive accomplishments whatsoever. In retrospect, most people think that a mistake. And so you’re going to see a real effort in the GOP over the next few years to identify leaders who actually understand policy and can neutralize Democratic advantages on bread-and-butter issues. Chief among the prospects is Louisiana’s Bobby Jindal, a former Rhodes Scholar and health policy bureaucrat who’s taking a step into health care innovation today with a major proposal to reform how Louisian’s Medicaid system works.
Bobby Jindal’s Uncertain Health Care Proposal - Think Progress
Today, Gov. Bobby Jindal (R-LA) is expected to propose restructuring the state’s Medicaid program by steering “hundreds of thousands of low-income Louisiana residents into private managed-care plans.”
