Health Reform: Senate Finance Proposal, Challenging Critics

Published On: September 8th, 2009

Congress is back from recess today, and Obama will address them in a joint session tomorrow. Meanwhile, here are some of the highlights about health reform this morning:

A proposal making the rounds among the Senate Finance Committee would require new fees for industry stakeholders but not for individuals, offer a lower-cost insurance option to adults 25 and younger and expand Medicaid coverage to millions who are currently ineligible, reports the New York Times. As expected, the plan contains no government-run health plan option, but instead proposes member-run co-operatives as an alternative.

President Obama continued to push for a public option in a speech to the AFL-CIO yesterday (read coverage from the WSJ, Los Angeles Times and Washington Post). He also challenged his critics in the speech: “I’ve got a question for all these folks who say, you know, we’re going to pull the plug on Grandma, and this is all about illegal immigrants — you’ve heard all the lies,” Obama said. “I’ve got a question for all those folks: What are you going to do? What’s your answer? What’s your solution?”

Toughness and directness on health reform are critical for Obama moving forward. “The most important thing that he did here was take this thing head-on,” Ohio Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown told the WSJ after the speech. “He’s beginning to lead.” Politico.com also has advice for the president in his speech Wednesday: be specific.

Excerpt from:
Health Reform: Senate Finance Proposal, Challenging Critics

STOP PANIC ATTACKS - A Natural Technique To Stop Panic Attacks and Anxiety Fast!

The technique I teach has been developed by me Joe Barry, a former sufferer of all too frequent panic attacks and GAD. I developed a completely natural approach to eliminating 100% of general anxiety and panic attacks. This may seem very hard to believe for someone who may have had this condition for some time but believe me the new information is now available to be free from anxiety. I will reveal the whole technique to you.

Did you know:

Female breast cancer: Incidence rose between 1980 and 2001, then began to fall through 2005.

HoldemEagle : Please go to http://t.co/0YyTzfWa the Daily Action Plan @twoplustwoforum and help advocate for online #poker! Please retweet!

2012-02-11T13:01:28Z - Reply - View Tweet
poorconservativ : 33 Members Of Congress Secure Funds For Projects Near Their Own Properties http://t.co/E6x3Hzib

2012-02-11T13:01:19Z - Reply - View Tweet
Balaji__S : RT @sprayrose: @ashutoshibn7 pls do a program on 1984 riots and Rajiv gandhi's congress' role in that. then call yourself brave. @KanchanGupta

2012-02-11T13:01:06Z - Reply - View Tweet
artdecoarch : Photo: Security First National Bank, Los Angeles, California from Library of Congress Spandrel on a bank... http://t.co/1oqdz0dv

2012-02-11T13:01:03Z - Reply - View Tweet
barrybj711 : RT @luchadora41: Has #Congress called for Obama's impeachment? No? Then they're part of the problem. Let's vote them out and support Constitutional leaders.

2012-02-11T13:01:01Z - Reply - View Tweet
murali830 : RT @India_Today: Top Headlines - Exam scandal: Peerzada to continue in J-K ministry: The Congress minister had forw... http://t.co/3AdJnF7C #breakingnews

2012-02-11T13:00:53Z - Reply - View Tweet
rmoldez2 : RT ?@KM_Jessica_Soho: Libo-libong tupa mula sa Australia, ibiniyahe dito sa Pilipinas!?-naiwan si Tupas sa congress...

2012-02-11T13:00:47Z - Reply - View Tweet

Health Reform: But What Will Senate Finance Bill Say?
If the government’s health care costs are high and rising, and you extend subsidized health insurance to millions more people without fundamentally changing the system, you’re going to put the government on the hook for a lot more money. Douglas Elmendorf, the guy who heads the Congressional Budget Office, made that point yesterday and became..
Health Bill Clears Senate Finance Committee
Health-care reform in the U.S. cleared a major hurdle Tuesday, with the Senate Finance Committee passing a bill with a modicum of bipartisan support. But WSJ’s Janet Adamy reports there’s still significant opposition ahead. ..
Health Insurers: Senate Finance Bill Would Raise Premiums
The health insurance industry is planning to circulate a study that says the Senate Finance Committee’s big health-care bill would raise health insurance premiums by thousands of dollars a year. The insurance industry has largely backed the big health-care overhaul so far ..
Health Reform: A Deal in the House, a Hint from the Senate
For the moment, anyway, the health-overhaul narrative out of Washington is that the congressional logjam may be breaking up, with things starting to flow again. The big House bill has been stuck in the Energy and Commerce Committee ..
Health-Care Overhaul: Counting Votes in Senate Finance
So after a lot — really, a lot — of debate, the Senate Finance committee is going to vote on its big health-care overhaul bill this week. ..
Medicare Payments to Doctors, the Senate Finance Bill and CBO
The Senate Finance Committee’s health-overhaul bill leaves in place a planned 25% cut in Medicare payments to doctors in 2011. Congress probably won’t allow this to happen; lawmakers will likely swoop in, as they’ve done repeatedly in recent years, and block the planned cuts ..

Orshe