Welcome to this installment of the Weekly Health Insurance News Roundup. This week we’ll look at a few articles dealing with the hot-button issue of health insurance and health care reform. We’ve covered this a lot lately, and some interesting things have happened recently that deserve even more attention.
The first article comes to us from AlterNet and is entitled, “Health Care: It’s Time for a Major Overhaul.” In this article, author Alexander Zaitchik takes a look at a new lobbying group — or “umbrella group” — called Health Care for America Now. HCAN is made up of several different groups, including ACORN, USAction, MoveOn, SEIU and the AFL-CIO. HCAN was apparently built to influence those inside of Washington D.C. and beyond, and has the might to do so. This coalition of companies and non-profit groups hopes, through a concentrated advertising campaign, to educate the American public to the benefits of universal health care coverage.
The article states that they have an uphill climb ahead of them. While well connected, funded and organized, HCAN has an uphill battle ahead. They’re trying to defeat the “message machines” of republicans and big business while also trying to unify democrats behind their reform ideas. They understand this, though, and know the tough times they have ahead. Hopefully some muscle behind the reform idea will help push forward reform in the long run.
Our next article comes from the Kaiser Network, and is entitled, “Consensus for Universal Health Care Coverage Appears To Be Emerging, According to Los Angeles Times.” Here they talk about a recent article from the LA Times in which they say that a consensus is emerging among Americans on how universal health care reform will be achieved, and that’s through an “unprecedented government intervention to create a system of universal protection.” The article also says the Times criticizes Democratic plans for an overhaul, saying details are vague and that “few specifics” have been provided.
The article goes on to discuss opinions and ideas from elsewhere. According to some, once you get to the details of a plan, consensus can vanish pretty quickly, which is possibly why details have been kept vague for now. The article also looks at proposed incremental overhauls to the system rather than one large, massive one. For example, expanding SCHIP and Medicare might be more feasible in the short term rather than a larger overhaul of the entire system.
Our final article comes from CQPolitics and is entitled, “Insurers Offer Own Proposal for Health Care Overhaul.” In this article, they discuss how a lobby group called America’s Health Insurance Plans — which is the lobbying group for the insurance industry — proposed a document which is light on some details and specific on others, yet shows vagueness in others. For example, it suggests “a 30 percent reduction in the projected growth of national health expenditures” yet is vague on suggestions about efficiency and value. Maybe, again, they don’t want to provide specifics on fear of losing consensus.
However we as a country move forward on health care and health insurance reform, it’ll take a concentrated effort not just by legislators and lobbyists, but by the general public to accept and move it forward as well. It will be interesting to see where this battle for reform takes us, but we’ll cover it and other topics each week to keep you informed. Until next time, be happy and healthy.
Other Health Insurance News Options:
Return to Articles Page.
More Opinions on Health Insurance and Health Care Reform
Welcome to this installment of the Weekly Health Insurance News Roundup. This week we’ll look at a few articles dealing with the hot-button issue of health insurance and health care reform. We’ve covered this a lot lately, and some interesting things have happened recently that deserve even more attention.
The first article comes to us from AlterNet and is entitled, “Health Care: It’s Time for a Major Overhaul.” In this article, author Alexander Zaitchik takes a look at a new lobbying group — or “umbrella group” — called Health Care for America Now. HCAN is made up of several different groups, including ACORN, USAction, MoveOn, SEIU and the AFL-CIO. HCAN was apparently built to influence those inside of Washington D.C. and beyond, and has the might to do so. This coalition of companies and non-profit groups hopes, through a concentrated advertising campaign, to educate the American public to the benefits of universal health care coverage.
The article states that they have an uphill climb ahead of them. While well connected, funded and organized, HCAN has an uphill battle ahead. They’re trying to defeat the “message machines” of republicans and big business while also trying to unify democrats behind their reform ideas. They understand this, though, and know the tough times they have ahead. Hopefully some muscle behind the reform idea will help push forward reform in the long run.
Our next article comes from the Kaiser Network, and is entitled, “Consensus for Universal Health Care Coverage Appears To Be Emerging, According to Los Angeles Times.” Here they talk about a recent article from the LA Times in which they say that a consensus is emerging among Americans on how universal health care reform will be achieved, and that’s through an “unprecedented government intervention to create a system of universal protection.” The article also says the Times criticizes Democratic plans for an overhaul, saying details are vague and that “few specifics” have been provided.
The article goes on to discuss opinions and ideas from elsewhere. According to some, once you get to the details of a plan, consensus can vanish pretty quickly, which is possibly why details have been kept vague for now. The article also looks at proposed incremental overhauls to the system rather than one large, massive one. For example, expanding SCHIP and Medicare might be more feasible in the short term rather than a larger overhaul of the entire system.
Our final article comes from CQPolitics and is entitled, “Insurers Offer Own Proposal for Health Care Overhaul.” In this article, they discuss how a lobby group called America’s Health Insurance Plans — which is the lobbying group for the insurance industry — proposed a document which is light on some details and specific on others, yet shows vagueness in others. For example, it suggests “a 30 percent reduction in the projected growth of national health expenditures” yet is vague on suggestions about efficiency and value. Maybe, again, they don’t want to provide specifics on fear of losing consensus.
However we as a country move forward on health care and health insurance reform, it’ll take a concentrated effort not just by legislators and lobbyists, but by the general public to accept and move it forward as well. It will be interesting to see where this battle for reform takes us, but we’ll cover it and other topics each week to keep you informed. Until next time, be happy and healthy.
Other Health Insurance News Options:
Return to Articles Page.