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The Basics Of The Ruling by Digby , OurFuture.org | June 28, 2012
In plain English, from Scotusblog: Amy Howe: In Plain English: The Affordable Care Act, including its individual mandate that virtually all Americans buy health insurance, is constitutional. There were not five votes to uphold it on the ground that Congress could use its power to regulate commerce between the states to require everyone to buy health insurance. read more »A Subprime Mortgage For Your Mouth: Private Equity's "Market-Based" Dental Care Solution by Terrance Heath, OurFuture.org | June 27, 2012
The hubby and I were channel surfing last night and ended up watching Frontline. The feature story was "Dollars and Dentists". The more I watched, the more stomach churning it got. If the Supreme Court does a number on health care reform, this model could be waiting in the wings. No wonder conservatives don’t have a plan to "replace" health care reform. They don’t need one. Private equity firms are already test driving a "market-based" solution. read more »Will We Love The Health Care Law If It Dies? by E.J. Dionne, The Washington Post | June 25, 2012
Any day now, the U.S. Supreme Court may make possible something that has yet to happen: an honest and complete discussion of the Affordable Care Act. And if it throws out all or part of the law now popularly known as “Obamacare,” we will need a fearless conversation about how a conservative majority of the court has become a cog in a larger right-wing project to make progressive political and legislative victories impossible. And here is where the court’s reintroduction of the health-care issue into the political debate could be turned into a blessing by allies of reform, provided they take advantage of the opportunity to do what they have never done adequately up to now. They need, finally, to describe and defend the law and what it does. read more »Putting Health Care On The Right Track by Donald M. Berwick, The Washington Post | June 22, 2012
Robert Samuelson castigated President Obama in a recent column for a lack of “judgment” in getting his landmark health-reform law passed. I profoundly disagree. Obamacare is helping our nation achieve health care that is excellent, accessible to all and affordable. In the 17 months that I led the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), I saw how this law is helping tens of millions of families and is finally putting our health-care system on the right track. Samuelson is right to be concerned about health-care costs. We’ve been on an unsustainable path for decades. Some people believe that the only way to address this problem is to shift costs to consumers. Obamacare has a far better approach: reduce health-care costs by providing better care and promoting better health. read more »The U.S. Supreme Court And Obama's Healthcare Reform: What's At Stake by Dahlia Lithwick, The Guardian | June 22, 2012
If the supreme court strikes down the mandate or the entire law, there will be constitutional fallout, in addition to the political and policy uncertainty. It will mean that a widespread agreement about how and why the federal government can regulate economic matters, which had been settled as a constitutional matter since the 1930s, may be in doubt. And should the court strike down the Medicaid expansion, the legality of other federal-state partnerships will also be in doubt. While there is nothing certain about what might happen to the president's signature healthcare legislation in the coming days, or what it will mean for Americans and their access to healthcare in the years ahead, it is not at all in doubt that a supreme court that has tried to avoid being an election-year issue every four years will become a debate topic and stump speech, and perhaps even a bumper sticker, very soon. read more »Unpopular Mandate by Ezra Klein, newyorker.com | June 22, 2012
On March 23, 2010, the day that President Obama signed the Affordable Care Act into law, fourteen state attorneys general filed suit against the law’s requirement that most Americans purchase health insurance, on the ground that it was unconstitutional. It was hard to find a law professor in the country who took them seriously. Orin Kerr, a George Washington University professor who had clerked for Justice Anthony Kennedy, said, “There is a less than one-per-cent chance that the courts will invalidate the individual mandate.” Today Kerr puts the chance that it will overturn the mandate at closer to “fifty-fifty.” The Republicans have made the individual mandate the element most likely to undo the President’s health-care law. The irony is that the Democrats adopted it in the first place because they thought that it would help them secure conservative support. It had, after all, been at the heart of Republican health-care reforms for two decades. read more »America’s Robed Radicals on the Supreme Court by Michael Tomasky, thedailybeast.com | June 21, 2012
As we gather in our respective bunkers awaiting the white smoke from the Supreme Court, I thought a little history discussion might be in order. We’ve heard conservatives say many times that the Warren Court overreached, legislated from the bench, and divided America. It’s typically called the most controversial court in American history, and we know the reasons why. But the numbers tell a very different story. Even though Roberts has reigned on Maryland Avenue for just seven years as opposed to Earl Warren’s 16, the Roberts nonet (more accurately, quintet) has issued far more aggressive and in-your-face 5-4 rulings on controversial and high-profile cases and done far more to divide the country. I don’t know what they’ll do on health care, but they already deserve to displace the Warren Court in the controversy sweepstakes. read more »Big Money In Politics Harmed Healthcare Legislation by Dave Johnson, OurFuture.org | June 14, 2012
Why is the health care law so messed up, and why didn't it include at least a public option? read more »Pregnant From A Rape? That's Double Tough Luck If You're A Servicewoman Seeking An Abortion by Meteor Blades, dailykos.com | June 13, 2012
Imagine for a moment that you're a soldier who gets pregnant from a rape. You want an abortion. If you were an employee of the State Department, your government health insurance would cover the cost. But because you're in the Army, it doesn't. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, the New Hampshire Democrat, wants to change that. Her amendment to do so as part of the 2013 defense authorization bill passed the Senate Armed Services Committee late last month. But she has run into an obstacle: House Republicans. They want to keep things the way they are. The way things are is that thousands of American servicewomen report being assaulted each year, according to the military's own surveys. But given that the Pentagon estimates only one in seven rapes is reported, the actual number is several thousand a year. Thus, the number of pregnancies from rape in the military is several hundred a year. read more »Romney's Health Care Plan — Or Lack Thereof by Ezra Klein, The Washington Post | June 13, 2012
On Tuesday, Mitt Romney outlined his plan to “repeal and replace” the Affordable Care Act. Normally, the rest of this post would go into mind-numbingly granular detail on Romney’s plan. But as of now, there aren’t enough details to go into. The most comprehensive document the campaign has produced reads more like notes toward a plan than an actual plan. The part explaining what Romney would do spans 330 words. Those words are enough to lay out a basic vision. But the key to his plan comes in these nine words: “End tax discrimination against the individual purchase of insurance.” The problem is, there aren’t any words after that. The health-care system today is basically built atop the tax deduction for employer-based health care. That’s why most Americans under 65 who have health care have it through their employer. But how you end that deduction matters quite a lot. read more »
The Latest
Over Break, House Dems Asked To Sound Warnings Back Home Of GOP Takeback, thehill.com | June 1, 2010
House Democrats are being urged this recess to combine their electoral sales pitch on issues like healthcare and jobs with warnings about how a Republican Congress would jeopardize the party’s legislative accomplishments. read more »
In Colorado, Craving Reform of Health Care and Congress , The New York Times | January 11, 2010
President Obama hopes to sign a bill that guarantees access to insurance, outlaws the denial of coverage for pre-existing conditions and subsidizes premiums for many low- and middle-income people. Heading into Congressional elections this fall, Democrats hope voters will reward them for a historic achievement. read more »
Hidden Costs of Medicare Advantage, The Washington Post | October 16, 2009
President Obama has proposed cutting more than $100 billion in subsidies over 10 years, a contentious component of health-care reform that will be fought in earnest as the bills move through Congress. But unlike some issues that touch off partisan sparring, Medicare Advantage has an unlikely band of bipartisan defenders who have already battled to restore $10 billion of the proposed reductions. read more »
Health Care Triumph Gives Way To Heightented Battle, Los Angeles Times | October 16, 2009
The battle over healthcare entered a new, more frenzied stage Wednesday, as lawmakers and powerful interest groups jockeyed for advantage now that most believe some form of an overhaul will ultimately be signed into law. The Senate Finance Committee's passage Tuesday of a sweeping healthcare bill -- with the support of all of its Democratic members, plus Republican Olympia J. read more »
White House Team Joins Talks on Health Care Bill , The New York Times | October 16, 2009
A delegation of senior White House officials met on Wednesday at the Capitol with the Senate majority leader, Harry Reid of Nevada, and the chairmen of the Finance and health committees, as Democrats turned their full attention to merging competing versions of the comprehensive health care legislation. read more »
Swing Voters To Play Trump Cards In Senate Showdown, Los Angeles Times | October 16, 2009
With Republicans almost unanimously opposed to a healthcare overhaul and with 60 votes needed to thwart a threatened GOP filibuster, every Democrat and independent has become vital for Senate strategists. read more »
Democrats Address Their Own Rifts on Health Care, The New York Times | October 15, 2009
Deep fissures among Senate Democrats became evident on Thursday as lawmakers moved closer to a floor debate on legislation to remake the health care system. The divisions involved two issues: whether the government should sell health insurance, in competition with private insurers, and whether Congress should offset any of the cost of legislation to increase Medicare payments to doctors. read more »
Health Insurers Emerge as Obama's Top Foe, The Washington Post | October 14, 2009
Now they have an enemy. For months, President Obama and his administration waged their fight for a health-care overhaul without a clear opponent, even courting the industry executives and interest groups that helped kill reform efforts 15 years ago. read more »
Health Care Turns to Harry Reid, time.com | October 14, 2009
Now that the last of the five congressional committees with jurisdiction over health care, Max Baucus' Senate Finance Committee, has passed its much anticipated reform bill, it falls to majority leader Harry Reid to cobble together something that can pass the Senate. read more »
Poll Shows Democrats Lead On Issues, CNN | September 4, 2009
Despite the drop in President Obama's approval ratings, Republican policies are still not as popular as Democratic policies, according to a new national poll. A CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey indicates the GOP has gained some ground in polls in recent months, but Democrats still hold the advantage on key issues such as the economy and health care. read more »
