Breaking News for Black America &#187; Health Care Reform

Top 10 Racist Rush Limbaugh Quotes

RELATED:

Limbaugh Calls Obama “Uppity”

Obama Widens Medical Rights For Same-Sex Partners

Smokey D. Fontaine — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 14:24:56 +0000

From NYTimes.com:

WASHINGTON — President Obama on Thursday ordered his health secretary to issue new rules aimed at granting hospital visiting rights to same-sex partners.

The White House announced the rule changes, which will also make it easier for gay men and lesbians to make medical decisions on behalf of their partners, in a memorandum released Thursday night. In it, the president said the new rules would affect any hospital that participates in Medicare or Medicaid, the government programs to cover the elderly and the poor.

Click here to view photos of Famous Gay Americans:

Famous Gay African-Americans

Start Gallery

“Every day, all across America, patients are denied the kindness and caring of a loved one at their sides,” Mr. Obama said in the memorandum, adding that the rules could also help widows and widowers who rely on friends and members of religious orders who care for one another. But he says gay men and lesbians are “uniquely affected” because they are often barred from visiting partners with whom they have spent decades.

Richard Socarides, who advised President Bill Clinton on gay rights issues, said that while the memorandum on its own did not grant any new rights, it did “draw attention to the very real and tragic situations many gays and lesbians face when a partner is hospitalized.”

OPINION: Black Voters Should View Gay Marriage As A Civil Rights Issue

Obama Promises To Fight For Gay Rights

YouTube Video Of Health Protests Spurs N-Word Feud

NewsOne Staff — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 10:53:37 +0000

Three Democratic congressmen — all black — say they heard racial slurs as they walked through thousands of angry protesters outside the U.S. Capitol. A white lawmaker says he heard the epithets too. Conservative activists say the lawmakers are lying.

What does the video show? Not much. Indeed, new interviews show that a much-viewed YouTube recording cited as evidence by conservatives was actually shot well after the time in question.

It was March 20, near the end of the bitter health care debate, when Reps. John Lewis, Andre Carson and Emanuel Cleaver say that some demonstrators, many of them tea party activists, yelled the “N-word” as the congressmen walked from House office buildings to the Capitol.

RELATED: Is “Nappy” The New N-Word?

Stung by the charges of racism, conservatives and tea party activists insist it never happened. And one of them is offering big money if anyone can prove it did.

With so many media and citizen cameras at the demonstration, any epithets would have been caught on tape, says Andrew Breitbart. He’s the web entrepreneur who released the video of ACORN workers counseling actors posing as a pimp and prostitute, and has pledged $100,000 to the United Negro College Fund if anyone provides proof of the epithets.

Click here to view photos of Obama Haters:
Obama Haters

Start Gallery

“It didn’t happen,” said Breitbart, who wasn’t there. “This is 2010. Even a racist is media-savvy enough not to yell the N-word.”

The dispute pits the lawmakers — one of them, Lewis, is a leader and survivor of 1960s civil rights battles — against conservatives determined to counter claims of racism within the predominantly white and middle-aged tea party movement. The criticism has proven a distraction to a nascent movement pushing a unified message of fiscal conservatism and limited government.

The issue still echoes in the media and blogosphere.

“Listen, I was there,” Carson, D-Ind., said in an interview. “In many regards I think (the challenges are) a veiled attempt to justify actions that are simply unjustifiable. I think we need to move toward a dialogue that explores why this kind of divisive and reprehensible language is still making it into our political debate.”

A fourth Democrat, Rep. Heath Shuler of North Carolina, who is white, backed up his colleagues, telling the Henderson (N.C.) Times-News that he heard the slurs.

A reconstruction of the events shows that the conservative challenges largely sprang from a mislabeled video that was shot later in the day.

Breitbart posted two columns on his Web site saying the claims were fabricated. Both led with a 48-second YouTube video showing Lewis, Carson, other Congressional Black Caucus members and staffers leaving the Capitol. Some of the group were videotaping the booing crowd.

Breitbart asked why the epithet was not captured by the black lawmakers’ cameras, and why nobody reacted as if they had heard the slur. He also questioned whether the epithets could have been shouted by liberals planted in the crowd.

But the 48-second video was shot as the group was leaving the Capitol — at least one hour after Lewis, D-Ga., and Carson walked to the Capitol, which is when they said the slurs were used.

Questioned about using a video on his Web site from the wrong moment, Breitbart stood by his claim that the lawmakers were lying.

“I’m not saying the video was conclusive proof,” he said.

Lewis declined to discuss the issue with The Associated Press. Asked whether the epithet was used, his spokeswoman said: “Yes. Congressman Lewis did hear the N-word yelled from the crowd.”

Carson described leaving the Cannon House Office Building for votes and bumping into Lewis in the elevator. They chose to walk outside to the Capitol, rather than through the underground tunnels.

Conservatives say Democrats staged a march through a hostile crowd to instigate a reaction. Carson said there was no such plan: It was just the first day of spring.

Soon after leaving Cannon, “I hear someone say it,” said Carson, a former police officer. “You see one or two tea party people kind of look at him, and then you hear it again as we’re walking. Then we walk across (Independence Avenue), and that’s when it starts getting deeper.”

Carson said he heard it coming from different places in the crowd. “You heard it in spurts, in the midst of ‘Kill the bill. Kill the bill.’”

“One guy, I remember he just rattled it off several times. Then John looks at me and says, ‘You know, this reminds me of a different time.’”

Cleaver, D-Mo., was walking a distance behind Carson and Lewis. He says he heard the epithet and was spit on. Capitol police handcuffed a man after Cleaver said he was spit on, but Cleaver told reporters that he did not want to press charges. No arrests were made. The moment was captured on video; debate continues over whether it shows any spitting.

In a separate case, Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., who is gay, said he was called “faggot.”

On Fox News, Bill O’Reilly discussed the issue on four of his shows, beginning March 22. The first segment led with clips from the 48-second video and featured Dana Loesch, a radio talk-show host who accused the congressmen of fabricating their claims.

O’Reilly said, “Just because it’s not on tape doesn’t mean it’s fabricated.” A spokeswoman said O’Reilly thinks that something happened, but is not sure exactly what.

A few days later, Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., told an audience, “No witness saw it, it’s not on camera, it’s not on audio.”

Only 22 seconds of video have emerged from the time in question, filmed by Lee Fang of the liberal American Progress think tank. His YouTube clip — labeled as being filmed about five minutes after the crowd rushed Lewis and Carson — has been posted by Breitbart and dozens of blogs accusing Democrats of lying.

Fang told the AP he was standing “pretty far away” across Independence Avenue from the Cannon building when he saw the crowd erupt, so he hurried over. Fang did not hear the epithet, but he said he believes it was used. “The hatred was palpable,” he said.

Conservatives insist the absence of racial epithets on Fang’s video and the 48-second clip show there was no hate.

“If it didn’t happen on YouTube,” says a regretful Fang, “it didn’t happen at all.”

Obama Visits Iowa To Sell Health Care Reform To Public

NewsOne Staff — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 18:37:07 +0000

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama travels to Iowa City, Iowa, on Thursday to try to sway the public’s opinion of his health care overhaul.

It’s Obama’s first beyond-Washington event aimed at promoting the plan since it was passed Sunday. The president signed it into law Tuesday.

The president is scheduled to speak at the University of Iowa, which is in Democratic Rep. Dave Loebsack’s district. Loebsack voted for the health care bill.

Text continues after gallery …

PRESIDENT OBAMA SIGNS HEALTH CARE REFORM INTO LAW

Start Gallery

Before the vote, Obama promised wavering Democrats, who primarily were moderates in conservative-leaning districts and states, that they wouldn’t be left standing alone if they cast the tough “yes” votes on the bill.

GOP Forces Another House Vote On Health Care Bill

NewsOne Staff — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 12:33:35 +0000

WASHINGTON — Senate Republicans learned early Thursday that they will be able to kill language in a measure altering President Barack Obama’s newly enacted health care overhaul, meaning the bill will have to return to the House for final congressional approval.

It appeared initially that deleting the provisions, dealing with Pell grants for low-income students, should not cause major problems for Democrats hoping to rush the bill to Obama and avoid prolonging what has been a politically painful ordeal for the party. Democrats described the situation as a minor glitch, but did not rule out that Republicans might be able to remove additional sections of the bill.

Text continues after gallery …

Start Gallery

The president, who signed the landmark legislation into law on Tuesday, was flying to Iowa later in the day for the first of many appearances he will make around the country before the fall congressional elections to sell his health care revamp.

Obama was appearing in Iowa City, where as a presidential candidate in 2007 he touted his ideas for health coverage for all. His trip comes with polls showing people are divided over the new health law, and Democratic lawmakers from competitive districts hoping he can convince more voters by November that it was the right move.

As an exhausted Senate labored past 2 a.m. on a stack of GOP amendments, Jim Manley, spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, told reporters that Republicans consulting with the chamber’s parliamentarian had found “two minor provisions” that violate Congress’ budget rules.

Republicans have been hunting for such violations in hopes of bringing down the legislation. Democrats had also been consulting with the parliamentarian, Alan Frumin, and hoped they had written a measure that would not be vulnerable to such problems.

The two provisions are expected to be formally removed from the bill on Thursday. Manley said he expected the Senate to approve the measure without them and send it to the House. He said Senate leaders, after conversations with top House Democrats, expect the House to approve the revised measure.

The Senate scheduled passage of the health bill for Thursday afternoon. Both chambers are hoping to begin a spring recess by this weekend.

Besides reshaping parts of the landmark health overhaul, the legislation transforms the federal student loan program — in which private banks distribute the money — into one in which the government issues the loans directly. That produces some federal savings, which the bill uses in part to increase Pell grants to needy students.

Democratic aides said the problematic provisions deal with protecting students from future cuts in their grants if Congress does not provide enough money for them. They violate budget rules because they do not produce savings, one aide said.

The development came as the Senate completed nine hours of uninterrupted voting on 29 GOP amendments to the legislation. Majority Democrats defeated every amendment.

The legislation would change the new health care law by making drug benefits for Medicare recipients more generous by gradually closing a gap in coverage, increasing tax subsidies to help low-income people afford health care, and boosting federal Medicaid payments to states.

It kills part of the new statute uniquely giving Nebraska extra Medicaid funds — designed to lure support from that state’s Sen. Ben Nelson — that had become a glaring embarrassment to Democrats. It also eases a new tax on expensive health coverage bitterly opposed by unions and many House Democrats, while delaying and increasing a new levy on drug makers.

As they began pushing the bill to passage on Wednesday afternoon, Democrats ran into a mountain of GOP amendments. Outnumbered and all but assured of defeat, Republicans forced votes on amendments aimed at reshaping the measure — or at least forcing Democrats to take votes that could be used against them in TV ads in the fall campaigns.

“There’s no attempt to improve the bill. There’s an attempt to destroy this bill,” said an exasperated Reid, D-Nev.

“The majority leader may not think we’re serious about changing the bill, but we’d like to change the bill, and with a little help from our friends on the other side we could improve the bill significantly,” answered Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.

Senators voted on 29 consecutive GOP amendments between 5:30 p.m. Wednesday and 2:30 a.m. Thursday, when they recessed.

By 57-42, Democrats rejected an amendment by Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., barring federal purchases of Viagra and other erectile dysfunction drugs for sex offenders. Coburn said it would save millions, while Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., called it “a crass political stunt.”

Democrats also deflected GOP amendments rolling back the health law’s Medicare cuts; killing extra Medicaid funds for Tennessee and other state-specific spending; barring tax increases for families earning under $250,000; and requiring the president and other administration officials to purchase health care from exchanges the statute creates.

The landmark legislation that Obama signed Tuesday would provide health care to 32 million uninsured people, and make coverage more affordable to millions of others by expanding the reach of Medicaid and creating new subsidies. Insurance companies would be forbidden to refuse coverage to people with pre-existing illnesses, individuals could buy policies on newly created exchanges and parents could keep children on their family plans until their 26th birthdays.

The $938 billion, 10-year price tag would be financed largely by culling savings from Medicare and imposing new taxes on higher income people and the insurance, pharmaceutical and medical device industries.

13 Red State Attorney Generals File Lawsuits Over Health Care

NewsOne Staff — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 18:45:27 +0000

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Attorneys general from 13 states sued the federal government Tuesday, claiming the landmark health care overhaul is unconstitutional just seven minutes after President Barack Obama signed it into law.

The lawsuit was filed in Pensacola after the Democratic president signed the 10-year, $938 billion bill the House passed Sunday night.

“The Constitution nowhere authorizes the United States to mandate, either directly or under threat of penalty, that all citizens and legal residents have qualifying health care coverage,” the lawsuit says.

Text continues after gallery …

Start Gallery

Legal experts say it has little chance of succeeding because, under the Constitution, federal laws trump state laws.

Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum is taking the lead and is joined by attorneys general from South Carolina, Nebraska, Texas, Michigan, Utah, Pennsylvania, Alabama, South Dakota, Idaho, Washington, Colorado and Louisiana. All are Republicans except James “Buddy” Caldwell of Louisiana, a Democrat.

Some states are considering separate lawsuits — Virginia filed its own Tuesday — and still others may join the multistate suit. In Michigan, the Thomas More Law Center of Ann Arbor, a Christian legal advocacy group, sued on behalf of itself and four people it says don’t have private health insurance and object to being told they have to purchase it.

McCollum, who is running for governor, argues the bill will cause “substantial harm and financial burden” to the states.

The lawsuit claims the bill violates the 10th Amendment, which says the federal government has no authority beyond the powers granted to it under the Constitution, by forcing the states to carry out its provisions but not reimbursing them for the costs.

It also says the states can’t afford the new law. Using Florida as an example, the lawsuit says the overhaul will add almost 1.3 million people to the state’s Medicaid rolls and cost the state an additional $150 million in 2014, growing to $1 billion a year by 2019.

“We simply cannot afford to do the things in this bill that we’re mandated to do,” McCollum said at a press conference after filing the suit. He said the Medicaid expansion in Florida will cost $1.6 billion.

“That’s not possible or practical to do in our state,” he said. “It’s not realistic, it’s not right, and it’s very, very wrong.”

South Carolina Attorney General Henry McMaster, who is also running for governor, said the lawsuit was necessary to protect his state’s sovereignty.

“A legal challenge by the states appears to be the only hope of protecting the American people from this unprecedented attack on our system of government,” he said.

But Lawrence Friedman, a professor who teaches constitutional law at the New England School of Law in Boston, said before the suit was filed that it has little chance of success. He said he can’t imagine a scenario where a judge would stop implementation of the health care bill.

Still, McCollum said he expects the U.S. Supreme Court will eventually decide if the overhaul is constitutional.

“This is not lawful,” he said. “It may have passed Congress, but there are three branches of government.”

Some states are looking at other ways to avoid participating. Virginia and Idaho have passed legislation aimed at blocking requirements in the bill, and the Republican-led Legislature in Florida is trying to put a constitutional amendment on the ballot to ask voters to exempt the state from the federal law’s requirements. At least 60 percent of voters would have to approve.

Under the bill, starting in six months, health insurance companies would be required to keep young adults as beneficiaries on their parents’ plans until they turn 26, and companies would no longer be allowed to deny coverage to sick children.

Other changes would not kick in until 2014.

That’s when most Americans will for the first time be required to carry health insurance — either through an employer or government program or by buying it themselves. Those who refuse will face tax penalties.

“This is the first time in American history where American citizens will be forced to buy a particular good or service,” said Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning, who is also president of the National Association of Attorneys General, explaining why his state joined the lawsuit.

Tax credits to help pay for premiums also will start flowing to middle-class working families with incomes up to $88,000 a year, and Medicaid will be expanded to cover more low-income people.

No Republicans in the U.S. House or Senate voted for the bill.

PRESIDENT OBAMA SIGNS HEALTH CARE REFORM INTO LAW

Smokey D. Fontaine — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 16:07:44 +0000

From CNN:

Washington (CNN) — President Obama signed sweeping health care reform legislation into law at the White House on Tuesday.

Greeted by applause from enthusiastic supporters, he said, “Today after almost a century of trying; today, after over a year of debate; today, after all the votes have been tallied, health insurance reform becomes law in the United States of America.”

Text continues after gallery …

Start Gallery

The president said he is confident the Senate will improve the health care reform law swiftly. He said some health care reforms will take some time to phase in, but others will “take effect right away.”

Obama said Tuesday that under provisions of the health care legislation that will take effect this year, small businesses will receive tax credits to help cover insurance, insurance companies won’t be able to drop people’s coverage when they get sick, and uninsured Americans and parents of children with pre-existing conditions will be able to purchase coverage.

He said he signed the health reform bill into law on behalf of several people, including his mother — “who argued with insurance companies even as she battled cancer in her final days.” He praised Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and congressional committee chairs, saying, “We are blessed by leaders in each chamber who not only do their jobs very well, but who never lost sight of the larger mission. They didn’t play for the short term. They didn’t play to the polls or the politics.”

Vice President Joe Biden, praising Obama’s leadership in forging health care reform legislation, said, “Mr. President, you’ve done what generations of not just ordinary, but great men and women have attempted to do. … You delivered on a promise, a promise you made to all Americans when we moved into this building,” the White House.

DR. BOYCE: Why Black People Should Be Happy About Health Care

DR. BOYCE: Why Black People Should Be Happy About Health Care

NewsOne Staff — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 15:05:42 +0000

Most young people and college students have yawned their way through the less than inspiring battle in Washington over health care. Why do you care about what happens if you get sick when you’re never going to get sick anyway? Young people are healthier than old, and most of them spend more time thinking about the next party than worrying about choosing a doctor. But then again, I can’t over-generalize. Perhaps I am speaking to my own ineptitudes as a young man.

Text continues after gallery …

Start Gallery

I get it. This is not the Obama that you voted for, nor the one that made you cry at his inauguration. You expected the super hero to leap tall politicians in a single bound and make Washington into a place you can appreciate and respect. Sorry, but that last part just ain’t gonna happen. Unfortunately, in spite of all the hoopla and excitement, Barack Obama is just another boring politician. But as Obama is showing us, the seemingly dull, detail-oriented pragmatic approach to solving problems can sometimes yield results.

Good for you Barack, I am proud of you. That does not, however, mean that I am drinking the kool-aid, since you and I both know that the black community is in dire need of targeted economic policy. Obama has been given a huge pass on black America in order to be an effective president, requiring the community to carefully reposition it’s challenge to the very systems that keep us oppressed. But I digress.

The reasons we should be happy about health care reform passing through the House of Representatives is because this Congress has had the courage to implement policy that will keep you from going bankrupt due to an illness. Many hard-working, financially responsible Americans find themselves facing economic devastation because their medical insurance was capped, causing them to have to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars out of their own pockets.

This law also keeps you from being denied insurance due to a pre-existing condition. If you are sick and insurers know you’ve been sick in the past, they can deny you coverage due to your being a health risk. Not anymore.

There are also subsidies to help you afford health insurance if you can’t afford it. You can stay on your parent’s insurance until you are 27 years old, there are limits to your out of pocket expenses, and even your grandma is going to get a little help with her Medicare costs. Everyone benefits on some level from health care reform, so the world might be a better place since it has passed.

This bill is not perfect by any stretch, but it’s a better system than the one we’ve had before. Also, the passage of this bill proves that President Obama is not a wimp. When times got tough, he could have let the effort go, but instead, he pushed it through in spite of the opposition. By getting the votes to pass this bill, Obama might have been able to save the next two years of his presidency. In spite of what you might think about his health care plan, those who supported him should be proud of this achievement.

Dr. Boyce Watkins is the founder of the Your Black World Coalition and the author of the book, “Black American Money.” To have Dr. Boyce commentary delivered to your email, please click here.

Obama May Sign Health Care Bill Tomorrow

NewsOne Staff — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 18:16:10 +0000

WASHINGTON — Now that Congress has passed a health care overhaul, President Barack Obama is expected to sign it quickly, then get back on the road to talk about it some more.

A senior administration official says it’s likely Obama will sign the bill tomorrow, then travel to Iowa on Thursday to sell it to a skeptical public. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the strategy hasn’t been announced.

Text continues after gallery …

House Passed Health Care Reform – What Happens Now?

Start Gallery

Obama will also work to shepherd a companion bill through the Senate that proposes changes to the bill that was passed by the House late last night. Senators are expected to start debating those changes as early as tomorrow.

Democrats hope the proposed fixes will emerge from the Senate intact, while Senate Republicans will attempt to make changes.

The companion bill isn’t just about health care. It also proposes sweeping changes in the student loan program, an effort that has been stalled in the Senate for months.

House Passed Health Care Reform – What Happens Now?

Smokey D. Fontaine — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 14:13:50 +0000

Though the House of Representatives made history last night by passing a sweeping health care reform bill, this fight is far from over. President Obama still has to sign the overhaul into law, and once he does so there remain several “fixes” to be made to the bill and a great deal of legislative wrangling left to do during the controversial “reconciliation” process. Naturally, Republicans can be counted upon to throw up roadblocks during every step of the process. So while the passage of this bill is certainly cause for excitement, it would be a mistake to believe this reform is 100% secure at this stage of the game. Below, MSNBC explains what we can expect going forward. – NewsOne Staff

From MSNBC:

So, now what?

Relieved Democrats may still be celebrating the passage of landmark health care overhaul legislation, but Republicans in the Senate still have an opportunity to try to derail the bill.

Text continues after gallery …

Start Gallery

And if history is any guide, they are likely to force the House to vote on health care again before Easter. “Anybody that thinks that this is only going to be a one-time deal today in the House, I think, is grossly mistaken,” said Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch on CNN’s “State of the Union.”

Late Sunday, the House passed the Senate’s version of the comprehensive bill, and because most members didn’t like it, they also passed a smaller bill of so-called “fixes.”

Passing of those subsequent fixes was a critical component to passage of the Senate bill for House Democrats.

Without them, House Democrats would have been supporting a bill with elements deemed largely undesirable. A promise by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid that the Senate would work to approve the package of fixes coaxed “yes” votes from many Democratic lawmakers who had previously indicated they might oppose the Senate bill.

On Tuesday, the Senate is expected to start its work on the fixes bill using a little-understood procedure known as reconciliation.

For Democrats, reconciliation is the perfect antidote to what they feel is Republican obstructionism in the upper chamber. The process is filibuster-proof, requiring only 51 votes for final passage rather than the usual 60 to overcome a blockade by the minority party.

For Republicans, reconciliation is their best chance to kill the smaller bill or make changes to it. Because the House and Senate must pass the same bills — word for word — even a minor tweak would send it back to the House for another vote.

HOUSE PASSES HISTORIC HEALTH CARE REFORM, 219-212

Smokey D. Fontaine — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 11:59:45 +0000

From NY Times:

WASHINGTON — Congress gave final approval on Sunday to legislation that would provide medical coverage to tens of millions of uninsured Americans and remake the nation’s health care system along the lines proposed by President Obama.

By a vote of 219 to 212, the House passed the bill after a day of tumultuous debate that echoed the epic struggle of the last year. The action sent the bill to President Obama, whose crusade for such legislation has been a hallmark of his presidency.

Text continues after gallery …

Start Gallery

Democrats hailed the vote as historic, comparable to the establishment of Medicare and Social Security and a long overdue step forward in social justice. “This is the civil rights act of the 21st century,” said Representative James E. Clyburn of South Carolina, the No. 3 Democrat in the House.

After a year of partisan combat and weeks of legislative brinksmanship, House Democrats and the White House clinched their victory only hours before the voting started on Sunday. They agreed to a deal with opponents of abortion rights within their party to reiterate in an executive order that federal money provided by the bill could not be used for abortions, giving the Democrats the final votes. Democrats said that in expanding access to health coverage for uninsured Americans, they were creating a new program every bit as important as Social Security and Medicare, while also putting downward pressure on rising health care costs and reining in federal budget deficits.

Republicans said the plan would saddle the nation with unaffordable levels of debt, leave states with expensive new obligations, weaken Medicare and give the government a huge new role in the health care system.

Obama Pressures Wavering Dems Days Before Health Vote

———

[3:03 p.m. - 3/21/2010] – Democrats Say They “Have The Votes Now” For Health Care

From MSNBC:

WASHINGTON – House Democratic leaders predicted that a rare Sunday session will produce one of the most significant legislative triumphs in decades: passage of a landmark health care overhaul that promises to provide coverage to millions of uninsured Americans.

The chances for House passage increased Sunday afternoon after a possible agreement between Democratic leaders and Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., who had led a group of anti-abortion lawmakers in opposing the bill, was revealed.

Stupak is now poised to support the bill, NBC’s Chuck Todd reported. Stupak told CNN that there is no deal yet but that he and the White House are “close” to an agreement. “It’s a work in progress,” he said.

House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman, D-Calif., also said that Democratic leaders been able to secure Stupak’s support.

The potential deal appears to be based on a promise that President Barack Obama will issue an executive order that would provide more assurances that no public money would be used for elective abortions.

“If we get this thing resolved, then they’ll have more than enough votes,” Stupak said on Sunday morning.

———-

[8:36 a.m. - 3/21/2010] – House Prepares To Make Historic Health Care Vote

From CNN:

Washington, D.C. — Former President Bill Clinton made several phone calls Saturday to lobby wavering Democrats to sign on to the health care reform bill, Democratic sources told CNN.

Clinton made phone calls to an unspecified number of House Democrats on Saturday as leaders tried to round up the 216 necessary votes to pass the bill.

According to CNN’s latest count, 33 House Democrats plan to vote against the legislation. Thirty-eight Democratic “no” votes are needed to kill the bill.

On Saturday, President Obama made his last appeal for the reform, telling House Democrats on the eve of the historic vote: “Let’s get this done.”

“If you agree that the system is not working for ordinary families, if you’ve heard the same stories that I’ve heard everywhere, all across the country, then help us fix the system,” Obama said.

“Don’t do it for me. Don’t do it for Nancy Pelosi or Harry Reid,” he said. “Do it for all those people out there who are struggling.”

Obama’s speech came just hours after Democratic leaders decided to abandon a controversial legislative mechanism to avoid a direct vote on the health care legislation. They will now hold an up-or-down vote on the $875 billion reform plan that the Senate has already passed.

Protesters Shout N-Word And Spit At Black Congressmen

NewsOne Staff — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 11:53:32 +0000

WASHINGTON — House Democrats heard it all Saturday — words of inspiration from President Barack Obama and raucous chants of protests from demonstrators. And at times it was flat-out ugly, including some racial epithets aimed at black members of Congress.

Most of the day’s important work leading up to Sunday’s historic vote on health care was being done behind closed doors. Democratic leaders cajoled, bargained and did what they could to nail down the votes they will need to finally push Obama’s health care overhaul bill through the House.

Text continues after gallery …

Top 10 Black Politicians

Start Gallery

But much else about the day was noisy, emotional and right out in the open. After more than a year debating the capstone of Obama’s domestic agenda and just hours to go before the showdown vote, there was little holding back.

The tone was set outside the Capitol. Clogging the sidewalks and streets of Capitol Hill were at least hundreds — no official estimate was yet available — of loud, furious protesters, many of them tea party opponents of the health care overhaul.

Rallies outside the Capitol are typically orderly, with speeches and well-behaved crowds. Saturday’s was different, with anger-fueled demonstrators surrounding members of Congress who walked by, yelling at them.

“Kill the bill,” the largely middle-aged crowd shouted, surging toward lawmakers who crossed the street between their office buildings and the Capitol.

The motorcade that carried Obama to Capitol Hill to whip up support for the bill drove past crowds waving signs that read “Stop the spending” and “Get your hands out of my pocketbook and health care.” Many booed and thrust their thumbs down as Obama rode by.

As police held demonstrators back to clear areas for lawmakers outside the Capitol Obama’s speech, some protesters jeered and chanted at the officers, “You work for us.”

Rep. Andre Carson, D-Ind., told a reporter that as he left the Cannon House Office Building with Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., a leader of the civil rights era, some among the crowd chanted “the N-word, the N-word, 15 times.” Both Carson and Lewis are black, and Lewis spokeswoman Brenda Jones also said that it occurred.

“It was like going into the time machine with John Lewis,” said Carson, a large former police officer who said he wasn’t frightened but worried about the 70-year-old Lewis, who is twice his age. “He said it reminded him of another time.”

Kristie Greco, spokeswoman for Democratic Whip Jim Clyburn, D-S.C., said a protester spit on Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, D-Mo., who is black and said police escorted the lawmakers into the Capitol. Cleaver’s office said he would decline to press charges, but Sgt. Kimberly Schneider of the U.S. Capitol Police said in an e-mail later: “We did not make any arrests today.”

Clyburn, who led fellow black students in integrating South Carolina’s public facilities a half century ago, called the behavior “absolutely shocking.”

“I heard people saying things today that I have not heard since March 15, 1960, when I was marching to try to get off the back of the bus,” Clyburn told reporters.

Inside House office buildings, protesters made their views known by visiting lawmakers’ offices and chanting at legislators walking by.

Among the demonstrators was Delane Stewart, 65, of Cookeville, Tenn., who had come with her husband, Jesse.

“You know what’s coming next if this happens?” she said, referring to the health bill’s passage. “They’re going to come after gun control.”

Retired businessman Randy Simpson, 67, of Seneca, S.C., also said the health bill was just a first step.

“My concerns are about the health care bill, and the direction it takes us is toward communism, quite frankly,” he said.

At a daylong meeting of the House Rules Committee, members of both parties squeezed into a tiny hearing room traded accusations in a session that was often a shouting match.

“You all in the minority know what the American people think,” Rep. Alcee Hastings, D-Fla., said loudly and mockingly at Republicans repeatedly saying the public overwhelmingly opposes Obama’s health care bill.

Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas, said a tricky voting procedure Democrats had been contemplating “corrupts and prostitutes the system” and would “unleash a cultural war in this country.”

Obama’s Capitol Hill visit was the day’s emotional peak for House Democrats as he sought to energize them to finally approve the legislation.

He conceded that it could be tough for some to vote for the bill, but predicted it would end up being politically smart because once it becomes law people will realize they like its provisions like curbs on insurance companies.

“It is in your hands,” the president said in what Clyburn later called the best speech he’d ever heard Obama make. “It is time to pass health care reform for America, and I am confident that you are going to do it tomorrow.”

Insurance Company Targeted HIV Patients To Revoke Coverage

NewsOne Staff — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 21:05:57 +0000

This company’s reprehensible behavior underscores the need for substantive health care reform in this country. If insurance companies can only be relied upon to look after healthy patients, and then make it a policy to abandon them when they get sick, what’s the point of having health insurance at all? Click here to find out how you can advocate for much-needed health care reform in the United States. – NewsOne Staff

From Reuters:

In May, 2002, Jerome Mitchell, a 17-year old college freshman from rural South Carolina, learned he had contracted HIV. The news, of course, was devastating, but Mitchell believed that he had one thing going for him: On his own initiative, in anticipation of his first year in college, he had purchased his own health insurance.

Text continues after gallery …

Celebrities Diagnosed With HIV

Start Gallery

Shortly after his diagnosis, however, his insurance company, Fortis, revoked his policy. Mitchell was told that without further treatment his HIV would become full-blown AIDS within a year or two and he would most likely die within two years after that.

So he hired an attorney — not because he wanted to sue anyone; on the contrary, the shy African-American teenager expected his insurance was canceled by mistake and would be reinstated once he set the company straight.

But Fortis, now known as Assurant Health, ignored his attorney’s letters, as they had earlier inquiries from a case worker at a local clinic who was helping him. So Mitchell sued.

In 2004, a jury in Florence County, South Carolina, ordered Assurant Health, part of Assurant Inc, to pay Mitchell $15 million for wrongly revoking his heath insurance policy.

In September 2009, the South Carolina Supreme Court upheld the lower court’s verdict, although the court reduced the amount to be paid him to $10 million.

Obama And Democratic Leaders Close In On Final Health Care Vote

STUDY: African-Americans Less Likely To Receive Heart-Protecting Meds

Smokey D. Fontaine — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 12:30:19 +0000

From Reuters.com:

The findings, based on data for nearly 475,000 VA patients, found that African Americans had lower rates of prescriptions for cholesterol-lowering statins, as well as ACE inhibitors and beta-blockers used to treat high blood pressure and certain heart problems. They were, however, more likely than white patients to be on aspirin.

At the same time, black patients were less likely than whites to have undergone coronary bypass surgery. The procedure is performed to reroute blood flow around heart-artery blockages, with the goal of relieving serious chest pain known as angina, and reducing the risk of heart attack.

Researchers say these racial gaps in drug prescriptions and bypass may help explain why heart disease deaths are not declining as rapidly among African Americans compared with other racial groups in the U.S.

Text continues after gallery…
The Unemployed

Start Gallery

“It’s likely this may be a result of the lesser use of these strategies,” lead researcher Dr. Jawahar L. Mehta, of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock, said in an interview.

Striking Number Of Obesity Risks Hit Minority Kids

Obama Pressures Wavering Dems Days Before Health Vote

NewsOne Staff — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 12:00:57 +0000

WASHINGTON – Days away from a make-or-break vote on his health care overhaul, President Barack Obama is turning up the pressure as only presidents can, as Democratic leaders make a desperate scramble for votes.

The president is wooing freshman Democrats in the Oval Office, holding at least two one-on-one sessions in the past few days that never appeared on his official schedule, according to aides to two lawmakers invited, Reps. Scott Murphy, D-N.Y., and Suzanne Kosmas, D-Fla.

Both voted “no” when the legislation passed the House on the first go-round last year, but now they’re not ruling out siding with the president and Democratic leaders on what’s expected to be a cliffhanger vote in the House later this week.

Text continues after gallery…
President Barack Obama

Start Gallery

Another lawmaker who opposed the legislation last year, Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, flew with Obama on Air Force One to an Obama appearance in Kucinich’s district Monday. Kucinich, was against the bill because he wants a larger government role in health care, also is not ruling out voting “yes” this time.

With a number of anti-abortion Democrats expected to defect over provisions they contend allow federal funding of abortion, every vote will count for Democratic leaders, who need to win over lawmakers who opposed the legislation the first time — and keep reluctant supporters on board in the face of escalating attacks. Sweetening the pot, those who vote with the president may get more help from him in the future: Party officials said that in determining how to allocate Obama’s time for campaign stops or other events, a vote on something like health care would be a consideration.

House Democrats triggered the countdown Monday for the climactic vote, with the House Budget Committee agreeing 21-16 to fast-track rules for the health bill, a necessary first step before floor action. Even so, the legislation remained incomplete. House Democrats caucused Monday evening, and a number of rank-and-file lawmakers straggled out discouraged that they still didn’t have final legislative language or a cost estimate from the Congressional Budget Office.

Leaders hope to get both those things Tuesday. Until then there’s only so much they can do to pin down wavering lawmakers who will soon be asked to make one of the riskiest votes of their careers.

“There’s no decision yet on what the process is going to be, there’s nothing back from the CBO, there’s no commitment yet from the Senate that they can get 51 votes, and there’s no bill to show me what it’s in it,” said Rep. Dina Titus, D-Nev., a freshman who voted “yes” last year and has been targeted by Republicans. “So until those things get resolved I’m staying uncommitted.”

Democratic leaders sounded notes of optimism anyway.

“When we bring the bill to the floor, then we will have the votes,” said Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.

Obama said in an interview with ABC News: “I believe we’re going to get the votes. We’re going to make this happen.”

In order to avoid a Republican filibuster in the Senate, the House will be voting to approve the Senate’s health overhaul bill, along with a package of fixes to change things House Democrats didn’t like, such as a tax on high-value insurance plans. That fix-it package can pass the Senate with a simple majority, a necessary approach because Republicans are unanimously opposed and Democrats control only 59 Senate votes, one short of the 60 needed to block a filibuster.

A complicated procedure is being contemplated for the House floor, too, one that would shield lawmakers from having to vote directly on the Senate bill, allowing them to instead approve a rule for debate that would deem the Senate bill passed once the fix-it bill has passed.

Outside interests on both sides turned up the heat.

Union groups and other supporters announced a $1.3 million advertising campaign urging 17 House Democrats to vote for the measure, and officials at the Service Employees International Union threatened to withdraw support from Democrats who vote against the bill.

The National Right to Life Committee, which opposes abortions, wrote to lawmakers that support for the Senate bill would be a “career-defining pro-abortion vote.” Although House leaders hope to get the votes they need without changing the abortion language, House Energy and Commerce Chairman Henry Waxman, D-Calif., said Monday that he’d spoken during the day with Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., leader of a group of anti-abortion Democrats, and would continue their conversations.

It was more than a year ago that Obama asked Congress to approve legislation extending health coverage to tens of millions who lack it, curbing industry practices such as denying coverage on the basis of pre-existing medical conditions and beginning to slow the growth of health care costs nationally.

Sweeping legislation seemed to be on the brink of passage in January, after both houses approved bills and lawmakers began working out a final compromise. But those efforts were sidetracked when Republicans won a special election in Massachusetts — and with it, the ability to block a vote on a final bill in the Senate.

Obama Pushes For “Up Or Down” Vote On Health Care

Smokey D. Fontaine — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 22:05:56 +0000

From the NY Times:

WASHINGTON — President Obama, beginning his final push for a health care overhaul, called for Congress to allow an “up or down vote” on the measure, and sketched out an ambitious — and, some Democrats said, unrealistic — timetable for his party to pass a bill on its own within weeks.

“I believe the United States Congress owes the American people a final vote on health care reform,” Mr. Obama said during a 20-minute speech in the East Room of the White House. He said there was no point in starting over, as Republicans are demanding, and called on nervous Democrats to stick with him, declaring there was no reason “for those of us who were sent here to lead to just walk away.”

Text continues after gallery …

Start Gallery

The speech, less than a week after Mr. Obama held a high-profile televised health care forum, will usher in what White House officials say will be their last campaign to bring Washington’s long and contentious health care debate to a close — with a bill-signing ceremony at the end.

Obama To GOP On Health Care: “Let’s Get This Done”

Cord Blood Stem Cells Help Meet Minority Transplant Needs

Smokey D. Fontaine — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 19:20:55 +0000

Because of a disproportionate gap in health care coverage, among other things, African-Americans tend to be at higher risk for many life-threatening illnesses, including but not limited to breast cancer and heart disease. They also, often, lack access to treatment options and donors. To find out how you can help bridge this gap and to learn more about the unique organ/blood donation & transplantation issues that affect minorities, CLICK HERE. To learn more about the benefits of cord blood stem cells, click here. -NewsOne Staff

From CNN.com:

Cleveland, Ohio (CNN) — Diana Tirpak was so sure her leukemia was going to kill her, she bought a suit for her husband, Jake, to wear at her funeral.

“I was bound and determined he was going to look fine at the funeral,” says Tirpak, 68, a retired school nurse in Hudson, Ohio.

Text continues after gallery…
Black Breast Cancer Survivors

Start Gallery

Until recently, Tirpak would have faced a death sentence without a bone marrow transplant. But Tirpak’s physician, Dr. Mary Laughlin, turned to something deemed medical waste until recently: umbilical cord blood.

WATCH the story here:

Cord blood is rich in stem cells and easier to match than adult bone marrow because the immune cells are not developed. Also, patients can get the treatment in about three weeks — as opposed to six to eight for bone marrow from an adult donor, said Laughlin, founder and medical director of the Cleveland Cord Blood Center.

“That can be a critical time interval for a patient who is in remission,” she said, noting that doctors often fear a patient’s relapse while awaiting the transplant.

Jasmina Alvarez, Harlem Girl Who Met With Obama & Rihanna, Dies

Thousands Donate To Harlem Girl With Leukemia

Obama To Include GOP Ideas In New Health Care Plan

Smokey D. Fontaine — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 14:19:52 +0000

While it is increasingly frustrating to watch President Obama’s continued overtures to a party that has no intention of working him no matter what he does, that doesn’t necessarily mean that all GOP ideas are bad ones and should be excluded. In particular, tort reform could prove useful to driving down the costs of health care by freeing doctors from the necessity of practicing defensive medicine. Hopefully after these new additions to Obama’s proposal, Democrats can finally stop pandering and get around to actually passing a bill. - NewsOne Staff

From CNN:

Washington — In a last-ditch attempt to craft a bipartisan health care reform bill, President Obama will release a new proposal Wednesday that will include Republican ideas on tort reform and health savings accounts, according to Democratic officials familiar with the plans.

But top Republicans, including House Minority Whip Eric Cantor, R-Virginia, immediately said the new proposal is not good enough and reiterated calls for the president to scrap the plan and start over.

The situation is setting up a likely showdown that top Democrats say will end up with the president trying to pass the health legislation with only Democratic votes through the legislative shortcut of reconciliation.

In fact, senior congressional Democrats have privately expressed frustration that the president is spending time at this late date reaching out to Republicans, when it has become increasingly clear the two parties can not settle their differences on this contentious issue.

The senior Democrats said they think the White House should be devoting time trying to win over Democrats, because it’s still not clear they can secure a simply majority in the House and Senate for the president’s plan.

Obama Trades Barbs With Republicans At Heath Care Summit

Obama To GOP On Health Care: “Let’s Get This Done”

NewsOne Staff — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 15:47:29 +0000

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama said Saturday he is ready to compromise with Republicans on health care if they are serious about it, but that an overhaul must go forward. “Let’s get this done,” he said.

Obama’s comments in his weekly Internet and radio address, two days after an all-day bipartisan summit across from the White House, were the latest sign that Democrats are getting set to try to pass health care legislation without any Republicans on board.

Text continues after gallery…
Obama Haters

Start Gallery

Success will require colossal efforts on the part of Obama and Democratic leaders to round up votes after a year of corrosive debate and a Senate special-election upset that threw the overhaul effort into limbo last month. But Obama and the Democrats reject the piecemeal approach sought by Republicans and have no intention of scrapping their 10-year, $1 trillion bill and starting over, as the GOP demands.

“I am eager and willing to move forward with members of both parties on health care if the other side is serious about coming together to resolve our differences and get this done. But I also believe that we cannot lose the opportunity to meet this challenge,” Obama said.

“The tens of millions of men and women who cannot afford their health insurance cannot wait another generation for us to act. Small businesses cannot wait. Americans with pre-existing conditions cannot wait. State and federal budgets cannot sustain these rising costs.

“It is time for those of us in Washington to live up to our responsibilities to the American people and to future generations,” Obama said.

Obama’s legislation would insure some 30 million more Americans over 10 years with a new requirement for nearly everyone to carry insurance and would end insurance company practices such as denying coverage to people with medical problems. Republicans generally oppose mandates that make everyone get insurance, and although they want people with health conditions to be able to buy insurance, they would try to address the problem without new requirements on insurers.

Obama plans to release an updated proposal in the week ahead, likely on Wednesday, according to press secretary Robert Gibbs. Gibbs suggested it would include concepts put forward by Republicans at the summit. One attendee, Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., was contacted Friday by the White House and asked to submit details of suggestions he made to tackle waste and fraud in the medical system, Coburn’s spokesman said.

John Hart said Coburn views Obama’s legislation as a government takeover and would not be able to support it even if it includes some of his proposals.

Adding Republican ideas is not likely to win Republican votes because the GOP insists Democrats should start from scratch. But Obama would be able to say that he’d listened to Republicans and attempted to meet them part way. Moving ahead may mean using Senate rules that would let Democrats pass legislation with a simple majority instead of the 60 vote they no longer command.

The approach infuriates Republicans and is opposed by some Democratic moderates because of its partisan nature.

Coburn, in the GOP’s weekly address, argued against a Democrats-only bill.

“Unfortunately, even before the summit took place the majority in Congress signaled its intent to reject our offers to work together,” Coburn said. “Instead they want to use procedural tricks and back-room deals to ram through a new bill that combines the worst aspects of the bills the Senate and House passed last year.”

“The American people are telling us to scrap the current bills, which will lead to a government takeover of health care, and we should start over,” Coburn said.

Obama Trades Barbs With Republicans At Heath Care Summit

NewsOne Staff — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 18:49:30 +0000

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama alternatively courted and blasted Republicans who have impeded his health care plan Thursday, in an extraordinary live-on-TV summit aimed at breaking a partisan deadlock over his top domestic priority.

With the unprecedented, daylong policy debate available from start to finish to a divided public, Obama and Democratic leaders cast the reform they want as critical to tackling an issue that is even more pressing to many Americans — the struggling economy. Republicans fought back, and tempers flared.

“We just can’t afford this. That’s the ultimate problem,” said Rep. Eric Cantor, the No. 2 House Republican.

Passing a version of the bill that Republicans managed to block despite solid Democratic majorities in Congress also is critical to the president’s political future and that of his party ahead of congressional elections in November.

With that in mind, Obama is trying to boost support from moderate Democratic lawmakers, who could face the wrath of conservative voters if they back their president’s plan.

Text continues after gallery …

Start Gallery

“We all know that this is urgent,” Obama said.

At stake is the Democrats’ stalemated legislation to extend coverage to more than 30 million people who are now uninsured.

Polls show Americans want their elected leaders to address the problems of high medical costs, eroding access to coverage and uneven quality. But the public is split over the Democrats’ sweeping legislation, with its $1 trillion, 10-year price tag and many complex provisions, including some that wouldn’t take effect for another eight years — after Obama has packed up and left the White House.

For Obama, the summit is his chance to make a compelling closing argument to the American people. If he succeeds, Democrats will push ahead to pass the legislation with a package of revisions he’s proposed. If Obama falters, another Democratic president will have been humbled by health care. He will have to appeal to both sides to at least give him a modest bill smoothing some of the rough edges from the current system.

Obama lamented the partisan bickering that has stalled the health care legislation. “Politics I think ended up trumping practical common sense,” he said. But, he noted, “everybody here understands the desperation that people feel when they’re sick. And I think everybody here is profoundly sympathetic and wants to make sure that we have a system that works for all Americans.”

And yet, even as he pleaded for cooperation he acknowledged agreement may not be possible. “I don’t know that those gaps can be bridged,” Obama said. “If not, at least we will have better clarified for the American people what the debate is all about.”

Both chambers of Congress passed separate bills last year. But before the two versions could be reconciled, Republicans captured the Massachusetts Senate seat in a special election to replace the late Edward M. Kennedy. That cost Democrats the 60-vote supermajority needed to overcome Republican procedural obstacles and pass major legislation.

Public skepticism about the health care plan was seen as contributing to the Republican victory in Massachusetts, an overwhelmingly Democratic state. With the supermajority lost and Democrats getting nervous, the White House had been expected to shift its attention to job creation, an issue more likely to resonate with voters.

Disagreements were not always expressed diplomatically on Thursday.

The forum at one point yielded a testy exchange between the president and his former opponent Sen. John McCain, who complained that Obama reneged on a campaign promise to bring change to Washington for encouraging health care dealmaking behind close doors.

“We’re not campaigning any more. The election is over,” Obama snapped, prompting the Republican to retort that he’s “reminded of that every day.”

Republican Sen. Lamar Alexander challenged Obama’s claim that insurance premiums would fall under the Democratic legislation. “You’re wrong,” he said. Responded Obama: “I’m pretty certain I’m not wrong.”

As with much in the complicated health care debate, both sides had a point. The Congressional Budget Office says average premiums for people buying insurance individually would be a little higher under the Senate legislation, as Alexander said. But the policies would cover more medical services, and around half of people could get government subsidies to defray the extra costs.

With such opposing positions well staked out before the meeting and no signs of them changing, the president and his Democratic allies prepared to move on alone.

Despite losing their supermajority, Democrats can still pass major health legislation by using special budget rules that require only a simple majority. They have been reluctant to use that process so far because it would enrage Republicans and likely further worsen the partisan divide.

Another alternative if bipartisan agreement eludes Obama on Thursday is going smaller, with a modest bill that would merely smooth some of the rough edges from the current system.

The White House developed the slimmed-down health care proposal so the president will know what the impact would be if he chooses that route, according to a Democratic official familiar with the discussions.

The slimmer backup plan was first reported by The Wall Street Journal.

The summit was held at Blair House, the elegant presidential guest quarters across the street from the White House. Leaders of both parties spoke, with Obama steering the debate as moderator.

It wasn’t a grand, or even particularly comfortable, setting. About 40 senators, representatives and administration officials were crowded around a large hollow square table in a cramped room, perched for the six-hour marathon on wooden chairs with thin cushions. Coffee breaks had been ruled out, so the only pause in the action would come during lunch.

The C-SPAN cable network carried complete coverage, while news operations from cable networks to public broadcasting were making it the focus of their day.

Obama Unveils His Own Health Care Reform Plan

NewsOne Staff — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 16:25:43 +0000

WASHINGTON — Making a last-ditch effort to save his health care overhaul, President Barack Obama on Monday put forward a nearly $1 trillion, 10-year compromise that would allow the government to deny or roll back egregious insurance premium increases that infuriated consumers.

Posted Monday morning on the White House Web site, the plan would provide coverage to more than 31 million Americans now uninsured without adding to the federal deficit. It comes just four days before Obama’s one-of-a-kind, televised health care summit with Democrats and Republicans.

Even with the latest changes, it’s highly uncertain such an ambitious proposal can get through Congress. Republicans are virtually all opposed, and some Democrats who last year supported sweeping health care changes are having second thoughts in an election year. After a year in pursuit of what was once his top domestic priority, Obama may have to settle for a modest fallback.

Text continues after gallery …

Start Gallery

Weeks ago, the president and congressional Democrats were on the verge of an historic step — a long-sought remake of the nation’s health care system after a half-century of unsuccessful attempts by scores of politicians. Then Republican Scott Brown stunned Washington with an upset win in the Massachusetts Senate race, denying Democrats their 60-seat majority and reversing any political momentum.

Determined to avoid facing voters empty-handed, Obama offered a fresh proposal based on Democratic-passed bills.

The plan conspicuously omits a government insurance plan sought by liberals and viewed as a non-starter by conservatives and some congressional moderates. It includes Senate-passed restrictions on federal funding for abortion adamantly opposed by abortion foes as well as abortion rights supporters.

The new White House plan would give the federal government the power to regulate the health insurance industry much like a public utility. The Health and Human Services Department — in conjunction with state authorities — would be able to deny egregious premium increases, limit them or demand rebates for consumers.

Obama, who deferred to Congress on the specifics for more than a year, has finally put forward a detailed plan of his own. By and large, it follows the bill passed by Senate Democrats on Christmas Eve, with changes intended to make it acceptable to their House counterparts.

It would require most Americans to carry health insurance coverage, with federal subsidies to help many afford the premiums. Insurance companies would be barred from denying coverage to people with medical problems or charging them more.

The plan dramatically scales back a Senate tax on high-cost health insurance plans objected to by House Democrats — and labor unions. Instead of raising $150 billion over 10 years, it would bring in just $30 billion, the administration said. A Medicare payroll tax increase on upper-income earners would help plug the revenue gap. For the first time, Medicare taxes would be assessed on investment income, not just wages.

Like the Senate bill, the Obama plan would create competitive insurance markets in each state for small businesses and people buying their own coverage. But it would strip out special Medicaid deals the Senate bill granted to certain states, gradually close the Medicare prescription coverage gap, make newly available coverage for working families more affordable. Those changes move in the direction of the House bill.

Estimated to cost about $1 trillion over 10 years, Obama’s plan would be paid for by a mix of Medicare cuts, tax increases and new fees on health care industries.

Oversight of insurance companies has traditionally been a state responsibility. Obama’s proposal for a new federal role calls for setting up a seven-member Health Insurance Rate Authority to monitor insurance industry practices and issue an annual report. States that beef up their consumer protection programs would be eligible for a share of $250 million in federal grants.

House Majority Whip James Clyburn, D-S.C., declined to say that House leaders have the votes now to pass the new plan, but said some of the concerns of House members were addressed by the changes Obama is proposing.

“So I do believe that there is more fertile soil today than when we first took this up,” Clyburn said.

Democrats, who now hold 255 of the House’s 435 seats, drew only one GOP ally when the House passed its health care bill, 220-215, last November. Since then, one Democrat who voted for the bill has resigned, one has died and a third plans to leave office Feb. 28.

Obama To Offer Own Health Care Bill To Ease Impasse

Smokey D. Fontaine — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 14:16:21 +0000

From NYTimes.com:

WASHINGTON — President Obama will put forward comprehensive health care legislation intended to bridge differences between Senate and House Democrats ahead of a summit meeting with Republicans next week, senior administration officials and Congressional aides said Thursday.

Democratic officials said the president’s proposal was being written so that it could be attached to a budget bill as a way of averting a Republican filibuster in the Senate. The procedure, known as budget reconciliation, would let Democrats advance the bill with a simple majority rather than a 60-vote supermajority.

Text continues after gallery…
President Barack Obama

Start Gallery

Congressional Democrats, however, have not yet seen the proposal or signed on.

The House and the Senate each adopted a version of sweeping health care legislation late last year. But efforts to combine the measures stalled after a Republican, Scott Brown, won a special Senate election in Massachusetts on Jan. 19, effectively stripping the Democrats of the 60th vote they needed to overcome Republican filibusters.

“It will be a reconciliation bill,” one Democratic aide said. “If Republicans don’t come with any substantial offers, this is what we would do.”

Senate Passes Landmark Health Care Bill

RELATED:

Obama Highlights Benefits Of Health Care Bill

9-Year-Old Dies After State Accidentally Ends His Medicaid

Smokey D. Fontaine — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 22:32:11 +0000

From HuffingtonPost.com:

Zumante Lucero, a 9 year-old Denver boy with asthma, died in July after a severe attack. His family had previously been on Medicaid, but was unexpectedly cut off from the program, and lost access to medication as a result. Zumante’s doctors believe that access to a prescription that helped control inflaming in his lungs could have saved his life.

Since Zumante’s death, it has become clear that the Lucero family should have had prescription drug benefits under Medicaid, and the State of Colorado erred in cutting them off of coverage.

Text continues after gallery…
The Unemployed

Start Gallery

According to Zuton Lucero, Zumante’s mother, she called Denver Human Services every few days for months. Human Services responded by affirming that all of her children were in fact covered under Medicaid. However, when local pharmacists’ computers did not register the family as having prescription drug coverage. This pattern continued until Zumante’s death in July.