Health Insurance Quote Reform Weekly EasyToInsureME 8/28/09

This Week in Health Care Reform

This week, Sen. Ted Kennedy,
longtime champion of universal health coverage, died at age 77. It
remains to be seen how his death will affect the debate over health
care reform as Democrats continue efforts without his guidance. Sen.
Kennedy was involved in nearly every piece of health care legislation
that moved through Congress during his eight-term Senate tenure. In a
statement, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said, "Ted Kennedy's dream
of quality health care for all Americans will be made real this year
because of his leadership and his inspiration."

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Health Reform Activities

Obama
Pledges Health Care Reform: This week, after much infighting over the
fate of the public option, President Obama reaffirmed his commitment to
health care reform legislation, suggesting that he would be willing to
bypass the GOP. As Democrats consider a wide range of strategies for
getting a health reform bill passed, other key senators called for the
President to move more slowly as concerns over the growing deficit and
the economic recession remain.

Republicans Launch Senior Health
Care Bill of Rights: On Monday, the Republican National Committee
introduced a "seniors' health care bill of rights," which outlines six
principles for health care reform. Examples of the principles include
protecting Medicare, prohibiting rationing of health care based on age,
and making sure the government does not come between seniors and their
physicians.

Democrats Launch National Grassroots Offensive: In
an effort to show lawmakers that a majority of Americans still support
an overhaul of the health care system amidst growing public concern,
the Democratic National Committee's grassroots arm launched a national
campaign effort Wednesday. The Democratic Organizing for America, in
partnership with the organization Health Care for America Now, expects
to hold more than 500 events across the country by early September,
when lawmakers return to Washington.

New Divides Emerge in the
Senate: Aides have indicated that as Senate Finance Committee
negotiators work to trim costs of their bill, new divisions are
emerging between Republican and Democratic Senators over proposals to
reduce the size of insurance tax credits to families and scale-back
insurance coverage mandates. The committees, also known as the Gang of
Six, rejected imposing deadlines on their efforts to reach
bipartisanship legislation and agreed to talk again September 4th.

$1.2
Billion Allocated for Electronic Medical Records: Last week, Obama
Administration officials announced that $1.2 billion in federal grants
will be available for electronic health record systems. This is the
first in a wave of funds allocated by the American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act of 2009 to create record-sharing networks. The grant
is part of the $36 billion originally included within the stimulus
legislation to encourage adoption of electronic medical records by
hospitals and doctors.

Looking Ahead

Lawmakers are slated to return to Washington on September 8th.