First Edition: October 12, 2009

Oct 12 2009

With the Senate Finance Committee scheduled to vote Tuesday on its sweeping health overhaul measure, the insurance industry is launching its attack.

Health Bills Won't Fix Doctor Shortage Even as Congress moves to expand health insurance coverage to millions of Americans, it's doing little to ensure there will be enough primary care doctors to meet the expected surge in demand for treatment, experts say (Kaiser Health News).

How The Modern Patient Drives Up Health Costs The doors to the clinic had been locked for over an hour, and the last light in the sky was quickly fading when two eyes appeared in Teresa Moore's office window, followed by a sharp knock and a glass-muffled plea to be let in: It was a patient (NPR).

Insurance Industry Assails Health Care Legislation In a blistering new attack, the health insurance industry said Sunday that health care legislation drafted by Senate Democrats would drive up premiums, rather than making coverage more affordable, as the White House contends (The New York Times).

Bill Would Raise Rates, Insurance Group Says After months of collaboration on President Obama's attempt to overhaul the nation's health-care system, the insurance industry plans to strike out against the effort on Monday with a report warning that the typical family premium in 2019 could cost $4,000 more than projected (The Washington Post).

Insurers Escalate Criticism Of Health Overhaul The insurance industry sharply escalated its criticism of the Senate health care bill Sunday, charging that the legislation would shift costs to privately insured people, raising the price of a typical policy by hundreds - if not thousands - of dollars annually (The Associated Press).

If A Health Bill Passes, Benefits Not Immediate Sixty years is how long Democrats say they've been pushing for legislation that provides health care access for all Americans. They'll have to wait three more if President Obama gets a bill to sign this year (USA Today).

Health Plan's Effect On Costs May Be Slight Despite repeated promises by President Obama and Democratic leaders that their health care overhaul would lower costs, the proposals before Congress would probably not cut overall US health care spending significantly anytime soon, health policy specialists say (The Boston Globe).

Study Finds Disconnect Between Healthcare Needs And Support For Reform A new study points to a political paradox in the long, wrenching debate over revamping the healthcare system: Some members of Congress whose constituents stand to gain the most are nonetheless opposing the bill, while others whose constituents will likely pay more for little reward are some of its most ardent supporters (Los Angeles Times).

Senate Prospects For Healthcare Co-Ops Dim The prospects for setting up membership-run healthcare co-ops, an idea favored by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.), are growing dimmer in the Senate (The Hill).

Watering Down The Public Option Senate Democrats are growing increasingly bold in predicting a public health insurance option will pass Congress this year, defying months of pessimism and outright opposition from party moderates (Politico).

Obama Points To Health-Care Progress U.S. President Barack Obama used his weekly radio address to point to growing momentum to overhaul U.S. health care and to urge Congress to "finish the job" of enacting such reforms (The Wall Street Journal).

Deductibles Bigger Part Of Health Equation This Year
Workers may need to do more homework when they evaluate their health coverage options this fall (The Associated Press).

KHN's Week-End Round-Up Of Headlines
News summaries from Saturday and Sunday's coverage of the public plan and push back on a new TV ad.

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