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Hooray For Health Care Reform! Now About That Election… by Richard Kirsch, nationalmemo.com | June 28, 2012
There is only one state in the country in which people don’t have to worry that losing your job will mean losing your health care, or about taking a job that doesn’t have health care benefits, or that you won’t be able to find affordable health coverage if you have a pre-existing condition. That state is Massachusetts, and the great irony is that if the governor who signed the law that created that system gets elected president, it will remain the only state where Americans will have the security of affordable health coverage that’s always there. President Obama and Democrats must embrace ObamaCare as part of the story they are telling voters about the economy. read more »What Would President Romney Do? by Matt Yglesias, slate.com | June 28, 2012
The Supreme Court’s decision to let the core elements of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act stand kicks the fate of the Obama administration’s signature initiative where it properly belongs—into the domain of politics — where a Romney administration would still have ample opportunity to dismantle the main elements of the law. One thing President Romney probably couldn’t do, however, would be the politically expedient step of simply repealing the legally controversial and politically unpopular fine levied on people who decline to purchase health insurance. But a future Romney administration would have to internalize the consequences of stripping the mandate and thus would be unlikely to try to isolate it. read more »Don't Cheer John Roberts by Paul Campos, salon.com | June 28, 2012
Today, John Roberts got to decide what sort of healthcare system the United States should have. It would be difficult to explain to someone not familiar with the American legal-political system why this isn’t a crazy way to decide such an issue, for the very good reason that it is crazy when you think about it, which is why most people don’t. Who exactly is John Roberts, and why did he get to decide what sort of healthcare system the world’s richest and most powerful nation should have? Roberts is no more and no less than a politically well-connected Washington, D.C., lawyer. Roberts, in other words, happened to be in the right place at the right time. read more »Supreme Court ACA ruling: Yes, this is a BFD by Joan Walsh, salon.com | June 28, 2012
To borrow the historic words of Vice President Joe Biden, Thursday’s Supreme Court’s decision upholding the Affordable Care Act was “a big fucking deal” for President Obama. (Or as Democratic National Committee political director Patrick Gaspard tweeted, “It’s constitutional. Bitches.”) Had the law been struck down, the president’s Republican enemies would have been shrieking about the socialist tyrant usurper who’d gotten his constitutional comeuppance by the country’s true leaders, the Republican Supreme Court majority. (Actually, I think that’s what Justice Antonin Scalia wrote in his dissent.) But for today’s decision to be a decisive political win for the president, he and Democrats have to get out and sell his historic healthcare accomplishment, hard. read more »Supreme Court’S Decision Valuable Because It Upholds Important Safety Net Legislation by Elise Gould, epi.org | June 28, 2012
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) is valuable legislation for a host of reasons, but most notably, it provides coverage for millions of Americans who would not have been able to secure insurance, and therefore, health care when they need it. The Supreme Court decision to uphold ACA was also important because it gives clarity and certainty to states and private industry that they should start preparing for the main provision to kick in in 2014. It resolves any uncertainty that was felt throughout the country by the important players, and now provides the necessary push for its implementation. read more »Obamacare’s Reversal of Fortune on the Supreme Court by Michael Tomasky, thedailybeast.com | June 28, 2012
Stunning. There’s just no other way to say it. John Roberts, the fifth liberal? Actually, the decision gets a little more complicated than that in its details, but the bottom line is the bottom line: the Supreme Court upheld the individual mandate — upheld the law pretty much in full. Several legal experts predicted this, but virtually no one in the political world thought it — everyone was braced for the opposite. Thousands of people in politics spent weeks readying themselves for a strike-down, and now suddenly, all the people have to turn on a dime and say, “Now what?” President Obama gets a major vindication. On the substance, sure: the mandate is merely a means to an end, and there are other means that could be substituted for it. But on the politics? No. A mandate strike-down would’ve been horrible for Obama. read more »ObamaCare a Blessing for Millions of Real Americans by Wendell Potter, Huffington Post | June 28, 2012
As I was waiting anxiously for today's Supreme Court decision, I knew there was a man in Colorado I'd met on the first anniversary of the Affordable Care Act who was likely far more anxious than I was. I do not recall the man's name, but I have kept him in mind in the months since he came up to the podium to tell me after I spoke to an audience in Denver that he knew he was alive that day because of the new law. To me, he came to represent the thousands of Americans of whom I know can truthfully say that they probably would be in their graves if not for ObamaCare. That man was among millions of people in this country who insurance companies have labeled "uninsurable," meaning they could not buy insurance coverage at any price because of pre-existing conditions. read more »The Mandate Lives And Conservatives Weep That Americans Don’T Have To Pay More For Health Coverage by Josh Bivens, epi.org | June 28, 2012
he individual mandate lives! Excellent. For uninsured Americans anyway. But for those of us who had comments ready in case it was struck down, it’s kind of inconvenient. So, in the interest of recycling, I do want to keep something front-and-center about this particular conservative attack (opposition to the mandate) on health reform: Whatever it’s premised upon, the practical impact of opposing the mandate (and since this is true of all recent conservative ideas on health care one might be forgiven for thinking that it’s a strategy, not a quirk) is simply to make health care more expensive. And why are conservatives dedicated to making sure Americans pay too much for health insurance? read more »Why The Individual Mandate Is Not A ‘Massive Tax Hike’ On The Middle Class by Travis Waldron, thinkprogress.org | June 28, 2012
The Supreme Court ruled today that the Affordable Care Act, the comprehensive health care reform package signed by President Obama in 2010, is constitutional. The Court upheld the law’s most controversial provision, the individual mandate, ruling that it is constitutional under the government’s authority to levy and collect taxes. Republicans have falsely claimed the mandate was the “biggest tax increase ever in American history,” so of course, conservatives immediately jumped on the idea that the individual mandate was a massive tax hike on the middle class, reviving an argument Republicans have made since the law passed more than two years ago. read more »What America Won Today by Terrance Heath, OurFuture.org | June 28, 2012
Today was a victory. I'll leave it to others to analyze the margins of that victory, parse out what the majority of the Court did and didn't say, and what it means for the progressive movement, the health care reform movement, Democrats, Republicans, the tea party, Mitt Romney, and President Obama. There's a lot that can and will be said about all of the above between now and November. But make no mistake about it, the Supreme Court's decision upholding the entirely of the Affordable Care Act is a victory. It's not merely a victory for the president and his party. It is a victory for millions of Americans whose fate rested in the hands of the Court, and who had much to lose if the Court decided differently. Most of all, it's a victory for America, and a moment that brings us closer to becoming the kind of country we want to be. read more »
The Latest
Senate Vote on Medicaid, Education Funds Delayed, thehill.com | August 3, 2010
The Senate tabled a jobs measure Monday because Democrats underestimated the package’s cost. Democrats had scheduled a vote to end debate on their proposal to send $10 billion in funding to states and local governments to prevent public teacher layoffs. The package contains another $16.1 billion to help states with Medicaid obligations.
Republican Party Eyes Choking Health Law Funding , Politico | August 2, 2010
Republicans may not be able to repeal the Democrats’ health care reform law next year, but they’re eyeing the next best thing: Deny the Obama administration the money it needs to implement the law. read more »
Commonwealth Fund Analysis Highlights Benefits for Women in Health-Care Overhaul, The Washington Post | July 30, 2010
The law Congress adopted this spring to reshape the nation's health-care system will be especially beneficial to women, because they traditionally have relied on health care more than men, faced more insurance problems and had greater difficulty paying medical bills, according to a new analysis. read more »
High-Risk Health Insurance Pools to Bar Abortion Coverage, mcclatchydc.com | July 30, 2010
Elective abortions will be prohibited and people with pre-existing conditions will be able to get comprehensive benefits without paying any more than healthy people under new federal regulations for high-risk health insurance pools released Thursday by the Obama administration. read more »
Poll Shows Opposition to Health Care Overhaul Declining, The Washington Post | July 29, 2010
Opposition to the landmark health care overhaul declined over the past month, to 35 percent from 41 percent, according to the latest results of a tracking poll, reported Thursday. read more »
Nonprofit Health Insurers Holding Large Surpluses, Consumer Group Reports, The Washington Post | July 26, 2010
Nonprofit health insurers may be setting aside unnecessarily large surpluses even as some of them continue to raise premiums, according to an analysis by a consumer rights group. read more »
Healthcare Reform, netrootsnation.org | July 22, 2010
Earlier this year, healthcare reform was signed into law, and now we will discuss what's next. Panelists will consider the possibilities for state-based single-payer reforms and the role that the netroots and labor can contribute in making them a reality. We'll also discuss overlooked healthcare reform priorities such as patient safety reforms and protection of the public health system. read more »
Some States Say They're Not Receiving the Medicaid Services They're Paying For, The Washington Post | July 8, 2010
Now businesses are rushing to get a foothold in states that outsource Medicaid, knowing the law could add 16 million people to the federal-state program for the poor and the disabled. read more »
States Considering Contracting With Managed Care Firms To Implement Medicaid Expansion , wonkroom.thinkprogress.org | July 8, 2010
Healthcare: Democrats Up Ante, thehill.com | July 7, 2010
Speaker Nancy Pelosi is doubling down on healthcare reform, betting that it will do Democrats more good than harm in November’s elections.
She and her leadership team have seized on new polls that suggest healthcare overhaul’s popularity is rising, and they are urging members of Congress to use this week’s recess to tout the new law.
