Daily Dose

Health insurance companies urge staff to fight reforms

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 14:53:22 -0500

By Dan Eggen The nation's largest health insurance carrier is urging its employees to lobby the Senate against reform proposals that would hurt the firm's bottom line, according to copies of e-mails released Thursday by a liberal advocacy group. UnitedHealth Group, which is based in Minnesota, sent an e-mail message (PDF) to its 75,000 employees on Tuesday asking them to write their senators and local newspapers in opposition to a public insurance option, alleging that "government-run health care" will force "millions of Americans" to drop their current coverage. Proposed form letters from the company also lay out opposition to cuts in the costly Medicare Advantage program and advocate higher financial penalties for individuals who do not buy health insurance. The e-mail was sent by United for Health Reform, which is the name of the company's lobbying arm; the subject line read: "Write Your Senators!" "Government-run health care will result in

Lieberman: No reform at all is better than a public option

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 12:46:15 -0500

By John Amick Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (I-Conn.) said Sunday that no health-care reform bill at all is better than legislation that includes some form of a government-run public option. "The truth is that nothing is better than that because I think we ought to follow, if I may, the doctors' oath here in Congress as we deal with health care reform. Do no harm," Lieberman said. Lieberman, a critical vote for Senate Democrats in the health-care debate, said a public option, unlike extending insurance coverage to the uninsured and controlling premium costs, was never a priority until recently. The former Democratic vice-presidential candidate, now an Independent who caucuses with the Democrats, said he would not filibuster to stop debate on health reform, but he feels strongly about discarding any public option. He called public option backers who have declared their stance as the only way to true reform as

Health-care lobbyists continue spending spree

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 05:00:00 -0500

By Dan Eggen The August recess did little to slow the Washington lobbying frenzy over health-care reform, as insurers, drugmakers and hospitals continued to spend millions to attempt to sway the emerging legislation, according to new disclosure reports filed with Congress. The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, the drugmakers' main trade group, shattered records again by spending nearly $7 million on lobbying from July through September, the quarterly disclosure records show. The outlay brings PhRMA's total so far this year to nearly $20 million, just shy of the group's entire lobbying budget for 2008. Other big health-care spenders in the third quarter included Pfizer Inc. ($5.42 million); the American Hospital Association ($3.8 million); the American Medical Association ($3.95 million); Amgen Inc. ($3 million); Bayer Corp. ($2.45 million); and America's Health Insurance Plans ($2.4 million). Many of Washington's broader interest groups have also ramped up their lobbying efforts. The powerful

Player Profile: Robert (Bob) Kocher

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 16:14:56 -0500

Courtesy Who Runs Gov Current Position: National Economic Council, Special Assistant to the President for Health Care (since January 2009) Boss: NEC Director Lawrence H. Summers, NEC Deputy Director Diana Farrell, NEC Deputy Director Jason Furman. Why He Matters An expert on international health policy and the economics of U.S. health care, Kocher joined the Obama administration earlier this year as a member of the National Economic Council. As a member of the president's health-care economics and policy brain trust, Kocher is on the front lines of the administration's efforts to shape and enact health care reform. Kocher is a former partner at the Washington-based international consulting firm McKinsey & Co., where he led research efforts to determine causes of high U.S. health-care costs for the McKinsey Global Institute, the firm's economic research department. In his current role, Kocher is charged with finding ways to reform the U.S. health system

Reformers Target Insurers with Protest Billboard

Wed, 23 Sep 2009 12:15:31 -0500

By Ceci Connolly It isn't exactly subtle, but it certainly is likely to catch the attention of passersby. The liberal pro-reform Health Care Action Now coalition has drawn up a billboard targeting health insurance companies for "making our country sick." The protest billboard is aimed at industry practices that often lead to insurance denials based on an individual's health status, age or pre-existing conditions. "They take our money and then deny claims; raise premiums, co-pays, and deductibles at will; fabricate pre-existing conditions; and refuse to cover the treatments our doctors prescribe," said coalition leader Richard Kirsch. "Enough is enough." The billboard will appear in Wilmington, Little Rock and Raleigh.

Live Blogging the Senate Finance Markup

Wed, 23 Sep 2009 07:34:33 -0500

The Senate Finance markup is taking up Chairman Max Baucus's proposal. The Post's Alec MacGillis gives you a cheat sheet for all the action coming out of the markup of Chairman Baucus's proposal. DAY TWO 6:15 p.m. | Here Comes the 'R' Word Well, after being sidetracked by lengthy debates about legislative schedules and corporate free speech, the committee finally got down to brass tacks: a good old back and forth about health care rationing. For weeks, Republicans have gotten good mileage out of warning that Democratic health care proposals would result in the rationing of health care, culminating in their warnings about "death panels" for those who are deemed unworthy of treatment. Now, Republican senators are bandying about the R-word as they try to drum up worries (and politically useful votes) about Max Baucus' bill on its slow, slow march through markup. Jon Kyl, the Arizona Republican, is

For Some Women, Recession Means Having Fewer Children

Wed, 23 Sep 2009 00:01:00 -0500

By Rob Stein The recession is apparently prompting more women to try to delay having babies, according to the first survey aimed at documenting the effects of the economic downtown on childbearing. Nearly half of working-class women want to put off childbearing or to have fewer children, according to the survey, which was commissioned by the Guttmacher Institute, a private, nonprofit reproductive-health research organization. The study, conducted by Knowledge Networks, involved a nationally representative sample of 947 women ages 18 to 34 with household incomes of less than $75,000, and it was conducted in July and August. “These are women who might not have health insurance or may have lost their health insurance, and so might be most stressed,” said Sharon Camp, Guttmacher’s chief executive and president. “The recession is putting many women and their partners between a rock and a hard place,” Camp said. “They want to avoid an

MoveOn Uses Humor to Promote Public Option

Tue, 22 Sep 2009 17:16:02 -0500

Protect Insurance Companies PSA - watch more funny videos Moveon.org is using the occasion of the already-interminable Senate Finance Committee markup of health care legislation to inject some liberal levity into a key moment of the health care debate with a video promoting the government-run insurance plan while skewering insurance companies. The activist group and Will Ferrell's comedy video web site "Funny or Die" released the ad. Ferrell and lesser-known TV stars plug the public insurance option with a sarcastic script and deliberate ironic echoes of the breakthrough "Yes We Can" Obama campaign video by Will.i.am et al. The two-minute video shows Ferrell, "Mad Men’s" Jon Hamm, "House’s" Olivia Wilde, "Reno 911’s" Thomas Lennon and Robert Ben Garant, "Heroes'" Masi Oka, "My Boys'" Jordana Spiro, "Scrubs’" Donald Faison and "ER's" Linda Cardellini singing the praises of insurance companies. With baleful expressions, they lament the impact that aggressive health care reform

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Tue, 22 Sep 2009 17:16:02 -0500

Democrats Urge Patience on Health Bill

Tue, 22 Sep 2009 16:38:12 -0500

By Ceci Connolly For those who do not like the looks of the health-care bill filed by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus: Be patient. That’s the message coming from prominent Democrats, including the Montana Democrat himself. At the start of Tuesday’s marathon session, Baucus indicated he understands that physicians are miffed that his bill does not make a long-term “fix” to a planned reduction in Medicare payments. Doctors are slated to see Medicare reimbursements slashed 21 percent in January. House leaders crafted a bill that devotes about $230 billion over the next decade to close the gap, which helped win the endorsement of the American Medical Association. But the Baucus bill only increases the Medicare payments in the first year, a decision which lowered the total price tag by about $235 billion, according to the Congressional Budget Office. On Tuesday, Baucus said he hopes to “make progress” on the

Ahead of Obama's AFL-CIO Appearance, Labor Officials Express Concern Over Excise Tax

Tue, 15 Sep 2009 12:17:05 -0500

By Alec MacGillis PITTSBURGH – Labor officials who had been growing disheartened by Democratic concessions are feeling a bit better about things as they host President Obama at the AFL-CIO convention here this afternoon. They’re glad Obama slapped a tariff on Chinese tires and they’re glad that he showed some mettle in last week’s health-care speech. But there is still great concern about the details of the health-care proposals taking shape in Washington. And not just over the public option, the government-run insurance plan that incoming AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka has been declaring must be in the bill if Democrats want labor’s support. The less noted, but potentially more relevant, point of dispute is the unions’ opposition to the source of revenue being embraced by Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, and also endorsed by Obama last week: an excise tax on the most expensive employer-provided insurance plans. The thinking behind

Lobbyists Protest Possible Health Care Tax

Mon, 14 Sep 2009 18:22:04 -0500

By Ceci Connolly He hasn't even released his health care reform bill yet, but Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus already is hearing from unhappy lobbyists. Trade groups representing medical device makers, convenience stores, biologic drug makers and radiologists have sent a letter to the Montana Democrat criticizing a $4 billion tax on devices and diagnostics that Baucus reportedly intends to include in sweeping health care legislation. "The tax would be assessed against a wide variety of products ranging from a pair of eyeglasses to a toothbrush to a stethoscope to test kits for diseases like HIV and diabetes to an artificial heart valve to advanced diagnostic equipment," according to the letter. Baucus hopes to release a draft of his bill as early Tuesday. To read the entire letter, click here.

Health Groups Stick With Obama in His Call for Changes

Thu, 10 Sep 2009 11:33:09 -0500

By David Brown The organizations speaking for interest groups with the most at stake in health care reform say that they remain open to the idea of big changes in the availability, financing and regulation of health insurance, as enunciated by President Obama Wednesday night. Unlike the Clinton administration 15 years ago, the Obama administration took pains to find common ground with health insurance companies, professional societies and drug manufacturers before describing in detail the changes he wanted. Those stakeholders appear to still be on his side, if somewhat less effusively than six months ago. In their official comments, many quickly moved from high-flying rhetoric to their own particular critiques. “We agree the status quo is not sustainable,” said Karen Ignagni, president of America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP). However, she cited her industry’s strong opposition to a government-run or “public option” plan joining the marketplace. “New health insurance reforms and

AHIP Statement on President Obama's Address

Wed, 09 Sep 2009 21:32:17 -0500

Washington, D.C. -- Americas Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) released the following statement today from Karen Ignagni, President and CEO: We agree the status quo is not sustainable. That is why health plans last year did something industries rarely do: stepped up and offered solutions to address the health care concerns raised by the American people. We proposed health insurance reform to guarantee coverage to all Americans, eliminate pre-existing condition exclusions and rescissions, and no longer base premiums on a persons health status or gender. To keep coverage as affordable as possible, these reforms must be paired with an effective coverage requirement to get everyone into the health care system. New health insurance reforms and consumer protections will solve the problem without creating a new government-run plan that will disrupt the quality coverage that millions of Americans rely on today. We share the concerns that hospitals, doctors, employers, and patients have

Wal-Mart Reiterates Support for Employer Mandate

Wed, 09 Sep 2009 15:30:53 -0500

By Ylan Q. Mui Wal-Mart caused a stir this summer when it broke with the business community and joined the Service Employees International Union, a longtime critic, in supporting the notion that all employers, or at least those of a certain size, be required to provide health benefits to their employees. On Wednesday afternoon, one of the company's top executives once again sat side by side with SEIU President Andy Stern at a forum on options for health-care reform that featured two former Senate majority leaders, Republican Bob Dole and Democrat Tom Daschle. The world's largest retailer reiterated its support for the employer mandate, a measure that has lately been overshadowed by debate over whether to create a government-run insurance plan known as the public option. Leslie Dach, executive vice president of government relations, deflected questions about the retailer's stance on the public option. But he said that exemptions to

MoveOn Plans Health-Care 'Vigils'

Wed, 02 Sep 2009 11:08:51 -0500

By Dan Eggen As part of a broad liberal push to counteract conservative opponents, the activist group MoveOn.org says it expects to attract 50,000 participants to 350 health-care "vigils" around the country tonight. "Participants will light candles, hold pictures, and share the names and stories of those suffering under the current health care system to show the desperate need for a real public health insurance option," MoveOn.org said in statement announcing the events. The group, which is known for its aggressive Internet-based tactics, will also hold a "virtual vigil" on its website at 1 p.m. EDT this afternoon for those unable to attend the nighttime gatherings. The events will include tributes to the late Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.), an ardent champion of health-care reform who died last week. The vigils come amid a flurry of organizing by the Democratic National Committee and other liberal groups as they attempt to