President Obama's Health Insurance Bill

President
Obama Releases New Health Care Proposal in Time for Health Summit: On
Monday February 22, 2010, White House officials unveiled a new health insurance
reform overhaul that builds on the Senate version passed last Christmas
Eve, with some changes aimed at pleasing House Democrats who had
concerns with the Senate bill. The President's proposal does not
include the public option, despite the hopes of Senate Democrats, due
to White House concerns that the provision will hinder passage in the
Senate. President Obama ignored requests by Republicans to scratch the
Democratic plan and start over. As such, Republican leaders questioned
Democratic motives and labeled the bill as a massive government
takeover of America's health care system.

Republicans Insist
House Democrats Don't Have the Votes to Pass Legislation: Minority Whip
Eric Cantor (R-VA) announced on Wednesday that Democrats don't have the
necessary votes to pass the President's proposal in the House because
of three new House vacancies and lagging support among some moderate
Democrats. At issue for some Democrats are weaker abortion provisions
in the President's proposal as well as the ongoing controversy over
passing a bill by a simple majority, a process known as reconciliation.

Health Care Summit Preview

On
Thursday, the President's Health Care Summit began at 10:00 a.m. with
opening comments from the President, followed by remarks from both
Republicans and Democrats. The discussion centered on four themes:
controlling health care costs, overhauling the insurance market,
reducing the deficit and expanding insurance coverage. Prior to
Thursday, several top Republicans and some Democrats stated that
expectations were extremely low for the Summit's success.

House
Republicans arrived armed with their own version of a health care bill
that encourages small businesses to join together to buy insurance,
gives federal money to states to run high-risk pools for those unable
to obtain private insurance and limits damages in medical malpractice
lawsuits. The Republican plan would cost $61 billion and cover three
million people over ten years. In contrast, President Obama contends
his plan would cost $950 billion and cover 30 million people over the
same time period. However, officials at the Congressional Budget Office
(CBO) indicated they would not be able to officially score the
President's proposal with just a summary - that legislative language is
needed.

Note: A full summary of the results from the Health Care Summit will be included in next week's newsletter

Additional Activities

WellPoint
Executives Defend Premium Increases: On Wednesday, the House Energy and
Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations held a hearing to
examine the proposed health insurance premium increases by Anthem Blue
Cross in California. Anthem, a WellPoint subsidiary, recently informed
subscribers in California that premiums for individual insurance
policies would be raised an average of 25 percent, with some rates
going up as much as 39 percent. Angela Braly, president of WellPoint ,
said the premium increases were justified by soaring medical costs, and
that pending legislation could make the problem worse, driving up costs
further for young, healthy people.

"Raising our premiums was
not something we wanted to do," Ms. Braly said . "But we believe this
was the most prudent choice, given the rising cost of care and the
problems caused by many younger and healthier policyholders dropping or
reducing their coverage during tough economic times. By law, premiums
must be reasonable in relationship to benefits provided, which means
they need to reflect the known and anticipated costs they will cover."

In
Sacramento , Leslie Margolin, president of Anthem Blue Cross in
California, also testified before lawmakers, joined by vice president
and general manager James Oatman. The focus of that hearing was also
the proposed premium increase for California members in the individual
market, with company executives pointing to the current economic
climate and rising health care costs as reasons for the rate hikes.

U.S.
House of Representatives Repeals Antitrust Exemption from Health
Insurance Companies: On Wednesday, the House of Representatives voted
406-19 in favor of repealing a 65-year-old antitrust exemption from
health insurance companies. Democrats said the repeal would lead to
increased scrutiny of the industry. Yet, the non-partisan Congressional
Budget Office said last year that repealing the exemption would not
significantly reduce premiums because states already investigate health
insurance companies.

In addition, industry executives pointed
out that legislation could further hinder competition and the ability
to share information to improve health care quality. "Health insurance
is one of the most regulated industries in America at both the federal
and the state levels," said Karen Ignani, president and chief executive
of America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP). "The real focus should be
on addressing the rising cost of medical care, which is putting an
unsustainable burden on families, employers and the federal budget,"
she said.

Public Opinion

Polling Suggest Health Care
Reform is Still Key to Economic Recovery: Recent polling on health care
reform shows mixed reaction among the public over the proposed
legislation. According to a recent CNN poll, 48 percent of those
questioned said lawmakers should work on an entirely new bill and 25
percent felt that Congress should stop work on health care reform
altogether.

According to the monthly poll from the nonpartisan
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, 75 percent of Americans still think
it's important that Obama include health care reform in addressing the
nation's economic crisis, while many still harbor doubts about the
legislation.

When asked how health care legislation relates to their economic situation:

* Nearly 31 percent said they thought the Democratic bills would make
their personal financial situation worse, compared with 10 percent who
said it would improve their family budgets.
* Forty-two percent
said the nation's fiscal condition would suffer because of the
legislation, compared with 26 percent who said it would get better.
* Americans were divided on whether the Democrats' approach would
improve overall access to health care around the country, with 35
percent saying it would and nearly that many disagreeing.

Health
Insurance Coverage Varies Widely Based on Age: Coming just before the
President's Summit on Health Care Reform, a newly released Gallup Poll
reinforces the wide degree of variability in health insurance coverage
across U.S. population segments, especially when it comes to age.
Eighty-four percent of 18-year-olds have health insurance, most likely
because they are still covered under their parents' policies. By age
22, health insurance coverage reaches its lowest point, with just 66
percent maintaining coverage. From age 22 on, the percentage of
Americans with health insurance begins to climb, albeit slowly,
reaching the 95 percent level at age 65 when Medicare becomes an option.

Looking Ahead

Legislators
need to determine next steps for health care legislation coming out of
the President's Health Care Reform Summit. On Wednesday, Department of
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius invited
executives from the top five insurance companies to meet at HHS to
discuss their companies' insurance premiums.