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?
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.
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.
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.
Last week I wrote about a new campaign by loan companies called “Protect Student Choice.” The campaign is being run by Qorvis Communications, a controversial PR firm.
Thanks to YouTube’s “studentloanreform,” we can now see that the firm has had a desire to astroturf on this issue since at least 2007. Mr. or Ms. Studentloanreform posted a presentation by the company to the 2007 Legislative Conference of the National Council of Higher Education Loan Programs, a student loan industry association.
Check it out:
My favorite part: the fact that they photoshopped Hillary Clinton’s head onto George Bush’s body.
The Government of the Maldives is getting antsy. While the international community is discussing CO2 reduction targets that fall way short of what’s needed, the Archipelago-State is already dealing with the first signs of sea level rise.
The current proposals on the table would allow concentrations of CO2 to rise to 450 parts per million (ppm), giving us a 50-50 chance of preventing catastrophic climate change. 50-50 doesn’t sound like good odds to gamble the future of human civilization, right? At 450 ppm, temperatures would already be high enough to doom Island Nations like the Maldives. Imagine knowing that your whole country is about to be slowly drowned by the ocean while the countries that caused the problem in the first place discuss ’solutions’ that only help themselves.
The Diver Association of the Maldives is committed to preserving their homes and coral reefs. They joined 350.org – an international movement to reduce CO2 concentrations to 350 ppm and guarantee a stable atmosphere – and shot this fantastic video. Check it out:
On October 24th, the International Day of Climate Action, President Nasheed and his whole cabinet will join the divers and hold an underwater cabinet meeting to show the Maldives’ destiny if the climate negotiations will result in a weak treaty.
Why is this relevant to Funding our Future? Island States aren’t the only places vulnerable to sea level rise. The same CO2 concentration that would doom the Maldives would have a devastating effect on Florida, New York City, New Orleans and the rest of coastal United States. A future where we have to abandon our cities isn’t the future that our generation deserves. We need more than a 50-50 chance, we need 350ppm.
This blog was written by Arielle Koreyasu, Campus Progress Intern
Yesterday, Campus Progress joined 20 other youth organizations on the Hill for the Y.I. Want Change Lobby Day. The Y.I. Want Change coalition represents about 1.5 million young Americans and is working to add the youth voice to the health care debate.The Lobby Day allowed for over 100 students from 30 different states to participate in meetings with their elected officials, promoting the coalition’s health care policy priorities[pdf].
The Y.I. Policy Agenda outlines key priorities for health care reform that will directly benefit young adults ages 18-34. Such policies include a public option, lower premium caps for low-income Americans, funding for health care reform education, and extending the age for receiving coverage under a parent’s health insurance plan to age 26.
This provision is strongly supported by President Obama and the Senate HELP Committee, one of the key committees drafting health care legislation in the Senate. And yesterday, the House announced its plans to include this common sense provision to their health care reform bill as well. The Y.I. Want Change coalition participated in the press conference marking this announcement yesterday, which took place on Capitol Hill and was held by Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Representatives Van Hollen (D-MD) and Dahlkemper (D-PA), who expressed their ardent support for young Americans’ access to affordable, comprehensive and fair health care.The Speaker announced the provision that will allow young Americans to stay on their parents’ insurance until their 27th birthday as a major victory for young adults and their role in the health care debate.
“Our young people are our future. This is our opportunity to lay a foundation for growth, progress, and prosperity for our youth, and provide affordable, quality health care to every American. It is an opportunity we will not miss,” said Speaker Pelosi.
While the Lobby Day proved to be a success, with many moderate Democrats expressing their support for some of the key policy priorities including anti-discrimination provisions and funding for health care workforce training, Campus Progress and the Y.I Want Change coalition will continue to maintain a presence in the national health care reform debate. We will be urging policymakers to support some of the more controversial yet significant priorities, such as a public option, and to remember young Americans when passing the final version of the health care bill.As young people make up an outstanding one-third of the uninsured population, health care reform is and will continue to be a priority for us.
The push for health care reform is moving fast and furiously, so I thought it’d be helpful to have Health on the Hill which will feature news links that should help you keep track of the reform debate and get to the meat of the issue. Enjoy!
Today’s Updates – 10/14/09:
Yesterday the long awaited health care reform bill from Senator Baucus’s committee (the Senate Finance Committee) was finally passed by its members. It was passed out of committee 14-9, with one Republican, Senator Olympia Snowe from Maine, breaking from her party and voting in support of the bill along with Democrats.
Although this bill is weaker in terms of affordability and does not include a public option like the other Senate bill and the House bill, this vote was crucial for getting the legislation passed so that the Senate can move on to the next step of merging the two bills from the Senate Finance and Senate HELP Committees.
The media has centered around the health reform bill from the Senate Finance Committee but it is important to note that it is no more significant than the bills drafted by the other Congressional committees writing reform legislation. It is also important to remember that there is still time to add and strengthen provisions for reform before the final bill is voted on; the Senate Finance bill has many flaws and just yesterday great provisions that will directly impact young Americans were added to the House bill, so these next few weeks will be about fighting to include these stronger provisions, including a public option, to the final bill.
On Tuesday afternoon, the U.S. Congress moved closer to achieving [the goal of passing health care reform] than it ever has. The hold-out Senate Finance Committee voted by a 14-to-9 margin to move the fifth and final health care reform proposal through the conservative panel.
When Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe took her seat on the Senate Finance Committee Tuesday morning, she had only an inkling of how she’d vote on health care reform. She wanted the budget experts to weigh in before making up her mind.
The health bill [that was] passed out of the Senate Finance Committee on Tuesday is no more important than the bills to be passed out of any other House or Senate Committee, White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel said this evening.
Rep. Van Hollen, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Rep. Kathy Dahlkemper, D-Pa., attended a news conference to announce the provision [for young adults to be covered under their parents' health insurance until age 26], along with youth advocacy group representatives from Young Invincibles and Campus Progress.
A new poll by the nonprofit Pew Hispanic Center shows that Latinos in the Untied States value a college degree more than the general population, but that less than half of the demographic actually plans to attend a university.
Earlier this month, I wrote about the lack of any student opposition to the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act (SAFRA), which would cut wasteful government subsidies to student loan companies, and use the $87 billion in savings to raise Pell grants, invest in community colleges and minority serving institutions, expand the Perkins loan program, and more.
As it turns out, I may have spoken too soon. There is now one student who, through a lender run campaign, has spoken out against SAFRA. A freshman at Vanderbilt University has signed up with “Protect Student Choice/Protect Local Jobs,” which is apparently being run by Qorvis Communications. The student would not say whether he has any student loans.
While industry has found one student in its campaign to protect “student choice,” Campus Progress and its coalition partners have been more successful. More than 10,000 students signed a petition either online or on their campus to support student loan reform on the National Wall of Debt Day of Action on September 16th, and more than 40,000 people have signed petitions on Facebook supporting reform.
All the excitement and buzz right now is centered around the CBO score of the Senate Finance Committee’s health care bill, which was released yesterday from the Congressional Budget Office. This score analyzes the Committee’s legislation and let’s us all know how much reform is going to cost, how many people it will insure and how much revenue it will bring in.
The media and many Congress members are ecstatic about the low number of $829 billion the CBO scored for the cost of this reform package. It seems the Committee’s goal was to meet President Obama’s key requests for financing health care reform, which were to not add “one dime” to the budget deficit and to keep the cost below $900 billion. Well, Mission Accomplished. However, no one is talking about the fact that the bill will still leave 25 million people uninsured- so of course it is cheap!
25 million people falling through the cracks of what is supposed to be an overhaul of our health insurance system in order to ensure coverage for all Americans is just unacceptable.
25 million people is roughly equivalent to the population of Iowa, Arkansas, Nevada, Maine, Nebraska, Montana, North Dakota, Connecticut and Louisiana combined.
These nine states just happen to be home to eight Senators, and the Senate Majority Leader, that have played a big part in the creation (or opposition) to this bill. Shall all all those responsible for watering this bill down so thoroughly as to leave the equivalent of their entire home state uninsured really get credit for receiving such a “great” CBO score?
Compared to the HELP bill, the Senate Finance Committee’s bill took longer to complete, it still has not been voted out of committee (vote expected next week at this point), costs more and insures less people. The HELP bill, which is the version of health care reform that the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee created, includes a public option, the Senate Finance bill does not. I’ll let you come to your own conclusions.
The next step is for Senate Finance Committee members to review the CBO score before voting the bill out of their committee next week. Then Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid will sit behind closed doors with just a few select Senators (most likely Senator Dodd from the HELP committee and Senator Baucus from the Senate Finance Committee) to combine the two versions of health care reform legislation in the Senate. This is where the public option still has a chance. This is where Congress still has a chance to leave no one behind and ensure affordable coverage for all.
The push for health care reform is moving fast and furiously, so I thought it’d be helpful to have some quick daily or semi-daily updates on what’s happening on the Hill.
Health on the Hill will feature news links that should help you keep track of the reform debate and get to the meat of the issue. Enjoy!
Today’s Updates – 10/7/09:
Last week the Senate Finance Committee finished voting on all amendments to their health care reform bill (42 amendments were accepted). This week a Committee vote is expected (maybe), but Chairman Baucus has not specified a day for the vote because he wants to give Committee members plenty of time to review the cost of the bill. The cost will be revealed today when the Congressional Budget Office releases its score of the reform bill. However, this may not be the only time waiting for the CBO score will delay this process. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid announced that the final Senate floor vote (after both the Senate Finance and HELP Committee bills are combined) will now possibly take place the week of October 19th instead of next week. ( Maybe this had a little something to do with the letter he received from eight moderate Democrats urging him to give them a 72-hour window before the vote.) Surprise, surprise – more delays.
Meanwhile in the House, Speaker Pelosi is leading the way to finalizing their health care bill by walking each member through the specifics of a public option today.
Finally, reform supporters across the country get creative in front of insurance company offices and even get arrested! Now that is commitment – let’s see if Congress can be as bold with their power to pass real reform.
Democratic hopes for a quick Senate Finance Committee vote on a broad U.S. healthcare overhaul were dashed on Monday as budget experts took longer than expected with their estimate of the bill’s cost.
As the health care reform bill moves to the Senate floor, a key bloc of moderate Senate Democrats and an independent called on Senate Majority Leader Reid to increase the process’ transparency. Specifically, the senators called on Reid to post legislative text and CBO scores online 72 hours before the first floor vote.
Yellow crime scene tape and “body pile-ups” attracted the attention of passersby outside Anthem Blue Cross offices in five California cities, as thousands of protesters declared the company’s locations “crime scenes.”
Health Care for America Now! in Pennsylvania held a “Crime Scene” action today outside CIGNA headquarters in Philadelphia which drew more than 100 protesters and featured a nonviolent blockade of the insurance giant’s doorways which resulted in five arrests.
Funding our Future is a campaign to pass a progressive federal budget for 2010 and ensure that our nation.s key economic choices invest in our education, spark reform of our health care system, and address climate change through cap and trade and clean energy investments. Click here for more info.
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for October, 2009.
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!
The Government of the Maldives is getting antsy. While the international community is discussing CO2 reduction targets that fall way short of what’s needed, the Archipelago-State is already dealing with the first signs of sea level rise.
The push for health care reform is moving fast and furiously, so I thought it’d be helpful to have Health on the Hill which will feature news links that should help you keep track of the reform debate and get to the meat of the issue. Enjoy!
Earlier this month, I wrote about the 
All the excitement and buzz right now is centered around the 
The push for health care reform is moving fast and furiously, so I thought it’d be helpful to have some quick daily or semi-daily updates on what’s happening on the Hill.