www.coalition4healthcare.org Latest News

Politico: Running late on the EARLY act

2010-05-28T11:53:57Z

Although it’s racing to roll out consumer-friendly aspects of the health care law before November’s midterm elections, the Obama administration has just missed the deadlines to set up task forces on breast cancer and health care in Alaska.

The Washington Post: Senate approves emergency war funding; larger aid bill stalls in House

2010-05-28T11:48:57Z

The Senate approved emergency war funding and disaster relief Thursday but a larger bill, packed with jobless aid, business tax breaks and other economic incentives, stalled in the House amid rising deficit concerns.

Kaiser Health News: The Decline Of Employer-Sponsored Coverage Under Health Reform: Good, Bad or Ugly?

2010-05-27T13:22:28Z

One of the latest criticisms of the new health overhaul law is that it will encourage employers to stop offering health insurance. In fact, it will.

The New York Times: Health Care Study Calls Risk Pool Money Lacking

2010-05-27T13:24:18Z

The new health care law does not allocate nearly enough money to cover the estimated 5.6 million to 7 million Americans with pre-existing medical conditions who will qualify for temporary high-risk insurance pools, according to a report scheduled for release on Thursday.

The San Francisco Chronicle: Options for those losing Cobra coverage

2010-05-27T13:27:57Z

After Monday, many Americans will start paying a lot more for health insurance when their 15-month federal Cobra premium subsidy runs out.

The New York Times: New Breed of Specialist Steps in for Family Doctor

2010-05-27T14:06:50Z

By the time Djigui Keita left the hospital for home, his follow-up appointment had been scheduled. Emergency health insurance was arranged until he could apply for public assistance. He knew about changes in his medication — his doctor had found less expensive brands at local pharmacy chains. And Mr. Keita, 35, who had passed out from dehydration, was cautioned to carry spare water bottles in the taxi he drove for a living.

Kaiser Health News: Sebelius To Employers: Cover Young Adults Now

2010-05-28T11:50:05Z

Federal regulators want self-insured employers – who provide health coverage for millions of Americans – to keep young adults up to age 26 on their parents’ plans before the new law requires them to do so.

The Hill: GOP moves to repeal healthcare law

2010-05-28T11:51:56Z

House Republican leaders introduced a bill Thursday to repeal and replace the sweeping healthcare law adopted in late March.

The Associated Press: Checks to seniors with high drug bills out earlier

2010-05-28T11:53:05Z

The Obama administration says checks to help seniors with high drug costs will go out starting June 10, ahead of schedule.

Politico: Experts: 'Doc fix' a budget band-aid

2010-05-26T14:37:17Z

The Medicare “doc fix” is back in play on Capitol Hill, and its mere mention provokes a torrent of scorn and vitriol rarely seen among the generally mild-mannered community of policy mavens who inhabit the nation’s think tanks and universities.

The Washington Post: Obama administration asks judge to dismiss Virginia suit against health-care law

2010-05-26T14:45:15Z

The Obama administration asked a federal judge Monday to dismiss Virginia's challenge of the health-care overhaul law, arguing that the state has no standing to sue over the law and that Congress's power to regulate interstate trade makes the measure constitutional.

The New York Times: Big Gains for Young People in Health Law

2010-05-26T14:45:01Z

After Eric Heininger left his job (and medical insurance) to follow his girlfriend to graduate school in New Haven, he wanted to get a physical, so he volunteered to take part in a medical study.

CNN: How much health insurers actually spend on you

2010-05-26T14:44:42Z

Consumers spend thousands of dollars a year on health insurance premiums, and the reform law aims to regulate just how much of that money insurers actually spend on medical costs.

USA Today: Budget cuts dilute children's health coverage

2010-05-26T14:44:29Z

A federal law that President Obama signed early last year to expand health insurance to 4 million more low-income children has gotten off to a slow start because of budget problems in the states.

The Hill: Sensing momentum, Senate Dems don't want to ease up

2010-05-24T13:09:00Z

Senate Democrats are calling on their leaders to continue tackling controversial proposals even though the elections are nearly five months away.

Politico: Congressional Dems push 'doc fix'

2010-05-24T13:13:36Z

Democrats in Congress have proposed easing a planned cut in payments to doctors under Medicare in an effort to stem an expected shortage of primary care doctors and address the top issue for physicians who backed health reform.

Kaiser Health News: House Poised to Consider COBRA Subsidy Extension, Medicare Payment 'Fix'

2010-05-24T13:15:31Z

Caught up in the congressional politics swirling around a pending tax bill are two proposals to extend — once again — subsidies for COBRA health insurance and a "fix" of Medicare payments to doctors. Without action by the end of the month, those laid off after June 1 would have to pay the entire cost of continuing their health insurance and doctors could see their Medicare payments slashed by 21 percent.

The Washington Post: Health-care law faces test as regulators settle which plans must do what

2010-05-24T13:18:19Z

Now that Congress has imposed new requirements on health insurance plans, regulators are trying to resolve another big question: Which plans must comply with the requirements?

The New York Times: Study Points to Health Law's Penalties

2010-05-24T13:19:42Z

About one-third of employers subject to major requirements of the new health care law may face tax penalties because they offer health insurance that could be considered unaffordable to some employees, a new study says.

The Hill: Report: Healthcare law tax credits encourage small businesses to stay small, not hire

2010-05-24T13:20:56Z

A study by the National Center for Policy Analysis shows that tax credits in the new healthcare law could negatively impact small-business hiring decisions.

The Associated Press: Fact Check: Tax cut math doesn't add up for some

2010-05-20T17:47:56Z

Zach Hoffman was confident his small business would qualify for a new tax cut in President Barack Obama's health care overhaul law.

The Associated Press: Tax law may get more businesses to go high-tech

2010-05-20T17:49:22Z

Tucked away in the health care overhaul bill that became law this year was a provision that will require small business owners to keep better records of what they buy. They'll also have to report some purchases to the government.

The New Republic: How They Did It (Part One)

2010-05-20T17:51:07Z

When the president and his closest advisers huddled in the Oval Office last August, they had every reason to panic. Their signature piece of legislation, comprehensive health care reform, was mired in the Senate Finance Committee and the public was souring on it.

The Wall Street Journal: AFL-CIO: Health Care Vote Won't Help in November

2010-05-20T17:52:21Z

A top union political operative offered an assessment of the 2010 landscape that could send a chill through the Democratic Party ranks: the health care bill won’t help in November.

Reuters: Who's packing ERs? Not the uninsured

2010-05-20T17:53:18Z

One in five people in the United States visit an emergency room every year, and most of them have health insurance of some kind, according to a U.S. government survey released on Wednesday.

USA Today: Study: Uninsured don't go to the ER more than insured

2010-05-20T17:54:07Z

A kiss gone awry isn't the typical route that lands a person in the emergency room, but that's just how Maggie Craytor ended up in the University of Virginia Medical Center's emergency department in August.

Politico: Amid concern, White House speeds up health care benefits

2010-05-18T13:14:03Z

President Barack Obama and his Democratic allies are using the levers of government to speed up and promote what they consider the most popular aspects of the new health care law before a highly skeptical public passes judgment in November.

The Hill: White House seeks missing health bounce

2010-05-18T13:15:07Z

The White House is aggressively touting the new healthcare law after failing to see an immediate bounce in polls from congressional approval of the legislation.

Modern Healthcare: Reform law holds tax benefits for small business, officials say

2010-05-18T13:16:24Z

Small businesses are eligible for more than they think under the new tax credit provisions of the healthcare reform law, federal officials said during a teleconference.

The Washington Post: Millions of small businesses could be eligible for health care tax credits

2010-05-18T13:22:17Z

As many as 4 million small businesses might be eligible for federal tax credits to help cover the cost of health insurance for their workers, administration officials said Monday, one of the first benefits to flow from the recently enacted health-care overhaul.