A lot of time on your hands?

For anyone who has the time and wants a link to it. Try this one:

http://www.congress.org/congressorg/bill.xc?billnum=H.R.3590&congress=111

Seven quick fixes to health care

What would happen soon if the health-care overhaul passes.

By Ryan Teague Beckwith

To hear the rhetoric on both sides, you’d think the health-care overhaul in the Senate would change the U.S. system overnight.

In reality, most of the changes — such as the new health insurance exchanges and insurance mandates for individuals — would not take place until 2014 (or 2013 in the House version).

Still, a few provisions are set to begin next year, if the legislation passes.

Some of the most significant changes would extend existing programs and rules in order to immediately reduce the number of uninsured Americans. Others would end unpopular practices in the private insurance industry.

The measures are designed to build immediate support for the longer-term provisions in the bills, which could still be changed by future legislation. They will also provide President Barack Obama and Congressional Democrats with talking points going into the 2010 elections.

If the bill passes, expect to hear a lot more about these provisions in the near future.

Below, a few of the immediate changes:

* Insuring high-risk citizens. Both bills would create a $5 billion fund for temporary insurance for citizens with pre-existing conditions who have not been insured for at least six months. The program would end once the insurance exchanges begin in 2013 or 2014.

* Extending insurance for adult children. The House bill would allow parents to keep unmarried adult children on their health insurance until their 27th birthday; the Senate bill, until their 26th birthday. This would reduce the number of uninsured young adults.

* Extending insurance for the recently unemployed. Under current law, laid-off workers are allowed to continue buying their existing insurance through the COBRA program for up to 18 months. The bills would extend that coverage until the insurance exchanges begin.

* Ending lifetime limits on benefits. Both bills would end the lifetime caps on insurance coverage which have sometimes been used to deny payments to consumers with particularly expensive treatments. Both bills would also restrict annual limits on health-care benefits.

* Ending rescission. Insurance companies often cancel policies for consumers who require expensive medical care because they made honest mistakes on their medical histories. Both bills would prohibit insurance plans from canceling coverage except in cases of fraud.

* Starting to close the doughnut hole. Both bills would begin closing the so-called “doughnut hole” in Medicare Part D prescription drug coverage by providing an additional $500 in coverage starting in 2010. Over several years, the gap would be reduced until it was closed entirely.

* Taxing plastic surgery. The Senate bill would include a new 5 percent tax on elective cosmetic surgery. The tax is estimated to raise $5.8 billion over the next 10 years. It does not apply to cosmetic surgery to fix problems caused by accidents, disease or birth defects.

Ryan Teague Beckwith is deputy editor of Congress.org

Environmental Working Group

Some groups other than the government are also working on solving health problems. This one looks rather good. Lots of data on lots of environmental issues that effect human health. I’m listing them in the links. Here is a taste of what they cover.

Envirnomental Working Group

Opinions on the Health Care Bills

It is not my intention to impose my thoughts on others on the details of the health care bills. I am using this blog to gather information from various sources. As many details are constantly changing and others are updating their sites, I suggest you look at the latest data by following the links in the left column and on the Healthcare Reforms page. I repeat them here. The Kaiser information is fairly detailed, and the Washington Post is much simpler to understand.

Kaiser’s Side-b-ySide Comparison of Major Health Care Reform Proposals

http://www.kff.org/healthreform/sidebyside.cfm

Interactive Graphic from washingtonpost.com shows similarities and differences between the House and Senate bill. According to this graph, the House Bill covers fewer people and is less expensive. The Senate bill covers more people and is much more expensive.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/special/nation/health/compare-health-plans-2009/?referrer=emaillink

© 2009 The Washington Post Company

Probublica’s latest article on the effects of the Proposed Health Care bills on Medicare.

Medicare Advantage has been a major flash point [5] in the health care reform debate, giving fodder to opponents of reform who say that Medicare would be cut to pay for the proposals. Our analysis of the impact of reforms on one very satisfied Medicare Advantage member finds the changes would be a loss for many seniors, but a win for taxpayers.

About Medicare Advantage: The elderly can participate either in traditional Medicare, which is administered by the government, or in Medicare Advantage, which subsidizes HMO plans administered by private insurance companies.

Read More

Bob Dole: Health Care Will Pass, GOP Should Get On Board

Bob Dole on Huffington
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Another take on the subject

Insurance Industry Whistleblower Wendell Potter Blasts Senate Panel Rejection of Public Insurance Option

(Amy Goodman on democracynow.org)
Efforts to create a government-run health insurance plan were dealt a setback Tuesday after the Senate Finance Committee rejected a pair of amendments to create a public option. Both amendments were defeated when a group of Democrats, including Senate Finance Committee Chair Max Baucus, joined with Republicans to oppose the public option. We speak with Wendell Potter, the former chief spokesperson at CIGNA, one of the nation’s largest private insurers, and now one of the health insurance industry’s most prominent whistleblowers. [includes rush transcript]

The Battle Not the War

The glass is half-full version coming from Health Care for America Now (9.30.09)

Yesterday, we fought a battle for the public health insurance option. Though we didn’t win it, we came away with a strong showing that put us in a better position for the coming war.

In a long debate on the amendments to add a public health insurance option to the Baucus Bill in the Senate Finance Committee, Senators spoke out vigorously in favor of the idea. The intellectual and moral case for the public health insurance option was clear.

The Finance Committee then voted on two public health insurance option amendments offered by Senators Rockefeller and Schumer.

In the end, 10 out of 13 Democrats on the committee – John Rockefeller (WV), Jeff Bingaman (NM), John Kerry (MA), Ron Wyden (OR), Charles Schumer (NY), Debbie Stabenow (MI), Maria Cantwell (WA), Bill Nelson (FL), Robert Menendez (NJ), and Tom Carper (DE) – voted for a public health insurance option.

Three Democrats – Max Baucus (MT), Kent Conrad (ND), and Blanche Lincoln (AR) – sided with the Republicans to defeat these amendments. The final roll call was 10-13.

In the most conservative committee in the Senate, which is itself the most conservative house of Congress, a public health insurance option got the support of an overwhelming majority of the governing party. And there were some surprises – we picked up more votes than we had originally expected.

So what’s next?

A public health insurance option has been passed by four out of five committees in Congress dealing with health care, and received a huge amount of support in the Senate Finance Committee. The next time the public health insurance option will come up for consideration is when Majority Leader Harry Reid merges the Finance bill with the HELP bill.

Yesterday was the first step in building momentum for a public health insurance option in the Senate. Clearly, the idea has weight – even self-described moderates such as Bill Nelson and Tom Carper voted for it. As we move to the floor and into conference, with Schumer, Rockefeller, and other champions pledging support and whipping their colleagues, those numbers can and will continue to grow.

We have hundreds of organizers and thousands of supporters around the country, and we have the American people on our side. As Senator Schumer says, a public health insurance option will be in the bill President Obama signs into law.

Thank you for your continued support. Onwards!

To your health,

Levana Layendecker
Health Care for America Now

Kaiser Offers Comparisons

Kaiser’s Side-b-ySide Comparison of Major Health Care Reform Proposals

http://www.kff.org/healthreform/sidebyside.cfm

Has Obama’s Handling of the Bank Bailout Undermined Health Care Reform?

I am in favor of the public option, but I can see why some people are hesitant to trust the administration who bailed out the banks, promised transparency, but has not delivered a report on where the money went.

Why no report and why no media coverage on the Bloomberg case? In that case the judged ordered the Federal Reserve Board of Governors to hand over the information on who received what to the Bloomberg News reporters who requested it under the Freedom of Information Act. We need to see that report, or some explanation for why it is not available yet, such as the Fed is appealing the case.

What is the Fed so concerned about hiding? It is not their money they are handing out. We are told it is taxpayers’ money. The judge ruled that as investors we have a right to know where our money is being invested, what kind of risks we are taking on.

Let us hear the full report and then maybe the taxpayers will trust the government on spending more money.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Health-Care Reform: How the Bills Stack Up

Interactive Graphic from Washingtonpost.com shows similarities and differences between the House and Senate bill. According to this graph, the House Bill covers fewer people and is less expensive. The Senate bill covers more people and is much more expensive.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/special/nation/health/compare-health-plans-2009/?referrer=emaillink

© 2009 The Washington Post Company