The push for health care reform is moving fast and furiously, so I thought it’d be helpful to have semi-daily Health on the Hill posts which will feature news links and updates that should help you keep track of the reform debate and get to the meat of the issue. Enjoy!
Today’s Updates – 10/16/09:
It’s Friday, so we’re starting off with a little comedy (albeit, comedy on an issue that’s not all too funny).
The report released early this week by America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP)/Price Waterhouse Coopers tried to claim that premiums would increase by $4,000 after health care reform; that claim was denied. The claim was discredited by the Congressional Budget Office, yet some Republicans are still embracing the study (surprise, surprise). Health Insurance executives are getting desperate now; turning out false reports in yet another effort to scare Americans into thinking health care reform is bad and is going to rob them of the money they don’t have. (FYI -they don’t have it because insurance companies have been robbing them for years ..and want to continue.)
On another note, now that the Senate Finance Committee bill has been passed, Majority Leader Harry Reid has already begun the process of merging the two Senate health care bills into one. There are only three key people involved: Sen. Chris Dodd (D- CT) of the Health Education Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT) of the Senate Finance Committee, and White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel. The prospect of a public option being included in the final merged bill looks good, but then again it has been a long, bumpy journey and only time (and pressure from you!) will tell.
A group of 30 Senators wrote a letter to Majority Leader Reid last week urging him to include a public option in the final merged bill and our friends at MapLight.org discovered that, mysteriously, the other 70 Senators, who did not sign the letter in support of a public option, have received twice as much money in campaign contributions from the health insurance industry than the 30 Senators who did sign the letter of support. Tell me again why we allow the fate of America’s new health insurance system to lie in the pockets of corrupt politicians?
Republicans Embrace Insurance Industry Funded Study On Premiums Increases
While careful to not directly connect the study to the insurance industry, Republicans cite the study’s claim that premiums will increase by $4,000 and disingenuously argue that the Congressional Budget Office agrees with the insurance industry’s conclusions.
Key Senators, Rahm, To Hold Inaugural Meeting On Senate Health Care Bill
The foursome is expected to discuss key issues at the heart of the reform process–affordability, Medicare, the public option, revenues–but no decisions are expected today. The meeting kicks off a process that may be the most important of the entire health care debate.
Senators Supporting Public Option Received Half As Much Money From Health Insurers
The 30 Senators who signed the letter [sent to Harry Reid] in support of the public option received an average of $15,937 in campaign contributions from the health insurance industry between January 2003 and June 2009, 57% less than the $37,322 received by the 70 senators who did not sign the letter.