National Press Clips
Dems: We need Obama
The Hill (Reid Wilson) “Dems: We need Obama”: The White House has stepped up its involvement in the 2010 elections, particularly in the past two months as polls show Republicans gaining traction in the healthcare debate and as Democratic poll numbers have slipped. Democrats will rely heavily on Organizing for America, the offshoot of Obama’s presidential campaign that now operates within the Democratic National Committee (DNC), and its vaunted e-mail list that can reach millions of the president’s supporters. A White House spokesman deferred to the DNC, where press secretary Hari Sevugan declined to describe specifics. “Midterm elections are always meaningful for the majority party,” Sevugan said.
Obama administration poses 'Health Reform Video Challenge' - Are you game?
IN - Post-Tribune (Jerry Davich) “Obama administration poses 'Health Reform Video Challenge' - Are you game?”: Maybe it's me, but I couldn't imagine the Bush administration ever doing something like this about any issue in any presidency. "So today, we're proud to announce a powerful new way for you to help: Organizing for America's Health Reform Video Challenge.
"This is your chance -- you ingenious, insightful, funny people out there -- to make a 30-second ad telling the story about why the status quo has got to go, or explaining how the Obama plan will ensure we get the secure, quality care we need without breaking the budget.
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Frist: An Individual Mandate for Health Insurance Would Benefit All
Nobody should fear bankruptcy due to illness or injury
US News (Bill Frist) “Frist: An Individual Mandate for Health Insurance Would Benefit All”: I believe in limited government and individual responsibility, cherish the freedom to choose, and generally oppose individual mandates—except where markets fail, individuals suffer, and society pays a hefty price. Let's face it, in a country as productive and advanced as ours, every American deserves affordable access to healthcare delivered at the right time. And they don't have it today. It is time for an individual health insurance mandate for a minimum level of health coverage. Catastrophic coverage would be an appropriate place to start. In our reimbursement-driven, public-private health sector (which delivers the most robust health services on the globe), the only way affordable access can be achieved is for every citizen to have some type of insurance.
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Young Back Health Proposals Amid Potential Costs
Wall Street Journal (Nomaan Merchant) “Young Back Health Proposals Amid Potential Costs”: Young adults remain some of the strongest supporters of a health-care overhaul, but many acknowledge they don't understand proposals that will likely saddle them with higher costs. In the latest Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll, 18- to 34-year-olds showed some of the same apprehension as other age groups when asked whether President Barack Obama's health-care plan was a good idea. But half in that age group said they support a public insurance option, one of the most controversial elements of some of the proposals, with 43% opposed. It was the only age group in which more respondents supported than opposed a public option. At the same time, the poll suggested many young adults didn't know what was in the legislation, with 48% saying they didn't understand or understood only somewhat what was being debated. That compared with 40% for respondents aged 65 and over.
Republican Govs. blast Baucus bill
The Hill (Molly Hooper): A group of Republican governors are working together in a coordinated attack on Sen. Max Baucus’s healthcare reform legislation. A group of Republican governors are working together in a coordinated attack on Sen. Max Baucus’s (D-Mont.) healthcare reform legislation, according to GOP sources and documents obtained by The Hill. At least 14 of the nation’s 22 Republican governors have sent, or will soon send, letters to their respective congressional delegations claiming the Democrats’ healthcare bills would bankrupt their states. Republican leaders on Capitol Hill have been actively involved in the effort. And while
Republican lawmakers are hoping the GOP governors will be more united against Democratic healthcare reform bills than they were on the $787-
billion stimulus, not all of governors are on board yet.
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