NEWS

Government Becoming Insurer for More People - Wall Street Journal

More people are getting their health insurance from the government as the number of individuals with coverage from an employer declines, according to figures released Thursday by the U.S. Census Bureau.

President’s Speech Allays Some Fears in the Health Insurance Industry  – New York Times

During the summer’s heated discussions over health care, when Democrats seemed quick to portray the health insurance companies as the system’s main villains, the industry seemed to be in policy makers’ cross hairs.

Senators Continue Work on Health-Care Bill, but Obstacles Remain – Washington Post

Senators are proposing changes to a draft health-care bill offered this week by Senate Finance Chairman  Max Baucus (D-Mont.), but their work has made plain that deep divisions remain among the lawmakers a week before they are due to make their bill official.

Obama sets stage for using budget maneuver to pass health reform – The Hill

President Barack Obama this week has been laying the foundation for Senate Democrats to use a controversial budget maneuver to pass healthcare reform.

With a shout, illegal immigrants become part of health care debate – Sacramento Bee

On national television, President Barack Obama contended this week that his plan to overhaul the country’s health care system wouldn’t spend a single federal dime on undocumented immigrants.

A.M.A. Endorses a Health Care Overhaul – New York Times

The American Medical Association — the group that polls show is most trusted by the public to recommend the right changes to the health care system — on Wednesday issued a public letter to Congress and President Obama broadly endorsing his proposed overhaul on the morning before he makes his biggest push for the plan in a televised speech.

From the Fact Check Desk: Illegal Immigrants and Health Care Reform – ABC

Defending his reasoning, if not his outburst, today Rep. Joe Wilson, R-SC, declared that “the Congressional Research Service has indicated that indeed the bills that are before Congress would include illegal aliens.”

US Sen Grassley: GOP Will Push For Medical Malpractice Limits  - Wall Street Journal

The top Republican on the Senate Finance Committee signaled Thursday that he would push hard to put limits on medical malpractice lawsuits in a committee health-care proposal.

OPINION

Planned Parenthood: Reform plan wouldn’t fund abortion - Baltimore Sun

After a month of right-wing activists employing every scare tactic imaginable at congressional town hall meetings on health reform, columnist Kathleen Parker, in her recent column, offered the journalistic equivalent by falsely stating that health care reform would lead to federally funded abortions. The truth is that advocates for women’s health care, including Planned Parenthood, are focused on achieving affordable, quality health care for all and ensuring that women’s broad health needs are met through reform. Nonetheless, conservative activists and pundits like Ms. Parker are focused on defeating President Obama and blocking reform by spreading false information about one of the most charged topics in health care — funding abortion. We cannot allow them to succeed, and we must come to the defense of their first victim — the truth about reform and women’s health.

New Census Numbers: Public Health Programs Are A Lifeline For Americans Who Can’t Afford Coverage  - Think Progress

While conservatives continue to fear-monger and misrepresent public health programs as “inefficient rationed care,” “government run” or “controlled,” a weakened economy and rising health care costs are pricing many Americans out of the market. Increased job loss and skyrocketing premiums are leading a greater number of Americans into government-sponsored safety-net coverage.

Wishful Thinking From Schumer? – The New Republic

Now that Obama’s Big Speech is over, the focus of the health care debate has moved swiftly back to the Senate Finance Committee, as it prepares to release its own bill next week. At a press conference on Capitol Hill today, the Senate Democratic leadership stood before a bold blue sign with their newly minted slogan: “The Season for Action Is Now.” It’s a variation on a line from Obama’s speech, “Now is the season for action.”

Why Does Olympia Snowe Want to Increase Unemployment for Poor People? – Ezra Klein

Steve Pearlstein comments on the so-called "free rider" provision.

(compiled for Health Care for America Now)