Health Insurance
White House Escalates Campaign Against Healthcare Reform “Myths”
ABC World News (8/13, lead story, 3:00, Gibson) reporting, “After days of raucous, in your face town hall meetings about healthcare reform, the White House [Thursday] said enough, and launched its own email chain letter campaign to counter the critics and try to get the upper hand in the intense national debate. Supporters of reform say opponents are using malicious misinformation, trying to kill reform for political purposes.” ABC’s Tapper added, “The last few weeks have been dominated by opponents of President Obama’s healthcare reform push. White House officials insist it’s not too late for the President to make his case to the American people.”
Shortage of Primary Care Physicians Affects NC Health Insurance
There are plenty of surgeons and other medical specialists in America - more than enough, perhaps. And specialized institutionalized care of high quality is available for people who are seriously ill. But primary care - the continuing personal supervision of a family’s overall health, with emphasis on prevention and early treatment of illness - is sadly lacking for the urban poor, for most rural residents and for millions of middle-class people, too. How this shortage of primary care physicians affects health insurance in North Carolina remains to be seen.
Vote on Health Care Reform Unlikely Soon
Rep. Pete Stark (D-CA), who serves as chairman of the health subcommittee of the House Ways and Means Committee, said on a conference call earlier this month that Democrats were unlikely to vote on a comprehensive health-care reform proposal until early in 2010. Stark is known to have a longstanding interest in health care issues and has been critical of the fate of the uninsured under the George W. Bush administration. Along with John Conyers in April 2006, Stark brought an action against President Bush and others alleging violations of the Constitution in the passing of the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005, which cut Medicaid payments. The case, Conyers v. Bush, was ultimately dismissed for lack of standing in November of the same year.
SENATORS WORKING TO KEEP HEALTH CARE IN FOREFRONT
Two of the Senate’s most influential leaders are working separately behind the scenes on legislation that would dramatically alter the way Americans get health care, hoping their early efforts — including the release today of a position paper — will push President-elect Barack Obama to move rapidly on the issue and spare the incoming administration some of the missteps that killed Bill Clinton’s health reform initiative in 1994. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) is unveiling a 104-page blueprint today that serves as the opening move in a fierce competition in the Senate to frame the debate. Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.), who is battling a life-threatening brain cancer, has directed aides over the past several months to convene negotiating sessions with a diverse group of stakeholders, including physicians, patient advocates, small-business owners and insurers. He intends to have legislation drafted by Inauguration Day.
Presidential Candidates Face Health Insurance Challenge
Barack Obama and John McCain both have big-ticket proposals to change how people obtain and pay for health insurance, including NC Health Insurance programs. A long history of failed health-reform plans shows how difficult it is to achieve that goal. And the job only got tougher for any future president with the financial meltdown. However, a report by the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association indicates that even with the difficult economic times, neither candidate is signaling any intention to scale back their health care plans.
