They came with strollers and strong opinions…moms converged on Capitol Hill demanding universal coverage for kids.

Pamela Shaw, Senior Policy Consultant of the Children’s Defense Fund said, “Without significant changes children will be worse off rather than better off. We say that children must be better off after health reform.”

Today opponents of health care reform stage their own rally.

Representative Steve King of Iowa said, “There are buses that are coming in from state after state after state.”

GOP critics are encouraging them to storm lawmakers’ offices and demand “no” votes on overhaul plans.

Representative Michael McCaul of Texas said, “You have the power to defeat this government takeover of the health care system and to take over one-sixth of our economy.”

To Democrats, it’s obstruction of change they promised.

Senator Sherrod Brown of Ohio said, “My Republican colleagues have become the party of no.”

The stakes are monumental for President Obama.

He said, when it comes to healthcare, families can’t afford “no change”.

President Barack Obama said, “We had an obligation to create a better healthcare system that works for our people, our businesses and our government alike.”

The President leans on lawmakers in person Friday, to try to close the deal for Democrats.

WASHINGTON  – August will be a make-or-break month for the drive to revamp health care, as members of Congress use the recess to either sell the need for an overhaul to voters or continue criticism of the insurance industry, the chief of the insurers’ main lobbying arm said Monday.

Karen Ignagni, president of America’s Health Insurance Plans, told editors and reporters from The Associated Press that if lawmakers use their break to vilify her industry, “members of Congress will come back to Washington without a strong sense that health care reform is doable. And that would be a lost opportunity. We think health care reform is going to be won or lost in August.”

Hoping to buttress support for their effort to reshape health care, President Barack Obama and his Democratic allies have targeted the insurance industry with some of their sharpest barbs. Obama has accused insurers of “abuses” and “record profits,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., has called them “villains,” and Obama’s campaign organization, Organizing for America, accused them Monday of “stirring up fear with false rumors.”

Ignagni said such attacks are designed as a distraction as the health care debate becomes more contentious, saying, “When polls are slipping, people turn to tried-and-true tactics.”

Pelosi spokesman Nadeam Elshami said lawmakers were talking to constituents about an overhaul that would let doctors and patients make decisions, not insurance companies.

“Health insurance reform means that never again will Americans be denied coverage because of a pre-existing condition, lose their health coverage if they lose their job, if they become sick or if they file for bankruptcy because of medical bills,” he said.

The insurance industry says it favors bipartisan changes in a health system it concedes has become unaffordable for many. But it is battling a proposal at the core of Democrats’ blueprints: Creating an optional, government-run health insurance plan. Democrats say public coverage would push costs down by competing with private insurers, and the idea gets strong support in many polls.

Ignagni said a federally run plan would drive insurance companies, hospitals and doctors into bankruptcy, leaving only the government to provide coverage, often called single payer. Obama and other Democrats say they have no intention of setting up such a system.

“It is a very short step to a single payer, and that’s what this whole discussion is about,” she said. Despite Democrats’ claims that private insurers would continue to compete for business, “the reality is it’s never going to work that way,” she said.

The insurance lobby was a leading force in killing President Bill Clinton’s attempt to revamp health care in 1993 and 1994. This year, the momentum has shifted toward overhaul proponents with congressional control of the White House and Congress and many health care providers and businesses agreeing that medical coverage is becoming too costly.

Months ago, the insurance industry proposed easing several of its longtime restrictions, like refusing to issue policies to many sick people or charging them higher rates. In exchange, the industry wants health care legislation to require that nearly all individuals purchase insurance coverage – a proposal that would
bring insurance companies millions of new customers and which Democrats support.

Lawmakers have left Washington until next month with neither chamber having voted on health overhaul legislation, although House and Senate committees have produced initial bills. That has turned
August into a public relations battlefield, with groups on both sides spending millions on TV advertising and encouraging supporters to voice their views to legislators.

Most notably, Democratic lawmakers have held numerous town-hall meetings that have been disrupted by unruly opponents. Democrats have said many of the disturbances have been instigated by industry-backed groups, but Ignagni said, “None of those people you’ve seen on TV are ours.”

In May, the insurers joined other health care providers at a White House ceremony and promised to produce a combined $2 trillion in savings over the next decade. So far, the pharmaceutical and hospital industries have agreed to $235 billion in savings, but the insurers have yet to publicly pledge to a specific figure. Ignagni said her group is working with Congress on proposals that will produce “a very high value” of savings.

Health care town halls are being called town brawls.An event in Tampa kept the rowdy overflow crowd outside as participants inside bumped lawmakers from the spotlight.

Some opponents in Tampa got wind of the event through the 9-12 project, TV commentator Glenn Beck’s website, aimed at rallying anti-tax tea parties and now protests of Democrats’ health care plans.

The Senate’s top Republican says the outrage is genuine.

“Of course American citizens are concerned about it. And many of them are upset about it,” said Sen. Mitch McConnell.

Democrats see the opposition as manufactured.

They cite Internet flyers like this one, encouraging critics yell back and have someone else follow up with a shout out.

While facing anti-stimulus bill rallies this spring, they gave it a name.

“We call it Astroturf, not really a grass-roots,” said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

With his health care reform plan on the line President Obama said it’s being misrepresented.

“Let me start by dispelling the outlandish claims that reform will promote euthanasia, cut Medicaid, or bring about a government takeover of health care. That’s simply not true,” said President Obama.

Dozens more town halls are scheduled this month.

Editor’s Note: This is the second of two opinion pieces, each expressing opposing views on health care.

By U.S. Rep. Frank Wolf – R – Virginia

Central to any discussion about health-care reform is choice, affordability and portability. Another imperative: controlling costs.

There is no doubting that health-care costs have been on the rise for far too long and that something must be done to stem the tide of those without health insurance. Action on this complex issue is critical, but legitimate questions have been raised about the speed with which health-care reform legislation is being rushed through Congress and its staggering trillion dollar price tag.

President Obama has promised that health-care reform will reduce costs, allow people to keep a health-care plan that they like, and that no family will pay higher taxes than in the 1990s. The plan being fast-tracked through the House, in my opinion, doesn’t come close to meeting these goals. The fact that the world-renowned Mayo Clinic in Minnesota has expressed reservations about the plan speaks volumes.

I am opposed to the bill working its way through the House. It features a government-run option to compete with private plans and a mandate that employers provide health insurance to workers and that individuals enroll in an employer-based, private or government health insurance plan, or face penalties. For employers, under the proposed plan, businesses with a payroll above $500,000 that do not offer coverage to their employees would pay a payroll tax of up to 8 percent. For individuals with income below 400 percent of the poverty level (about $88,000 for a family of four and $43,000 for individuals), subsidies would be offered to help cover insurance costs.

To pay for the plan, the legislation includes a surtax for individuals reporting income above $280,000 and married couples above $350,000. The rate would take effect in 2011 and double in 2013 unless the rest of the health-care bill saves the government more money than currently projected. Because this new tax is based on adjusted gross income rather than taxable income, deductions for state and local taxes, mortgage interest, and charitable contributions would not be allowed for purposes of calculating the surtax. I am very concerned, however, that new taxes as proposed in the draft bill could place significant burdens on small business owners, more than half of whom fall into the top tax brackets because of business income, and could result in significant job losses in an already struggling economy.

A preliminary report released by the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates that the proposed bill would cost over $1 trillion during the next 10 years and leave at least 17 million of the nation’s estimated 47 million uninsured people still lacking health-care coverage.

At a Senate Budget Committee hearing on July 16, the director of the CBO testified that the draft legislation he has reviewed would raise health-care costs, not lower them. That is an extremely troubling analysis, especially for an economy reeling from recession and spiking unemployment.

Congress must carefully study the implications of a costly new government spending program at a time when the country already owes more than $56 trillion in promised entitlement obligations through Medicare and Social Security. Concern also must be raised about the national debt, which has doubled since 2000, topping $11 trillion for the first time in our history, and the unprecedented federal deficits which could result in increased interest rates for consumers if we continue to finance government by borrowing from foreign lenders.

I am the co-author of the leading bill in the House to establish a bipartisan blue ribbon panel – called the SAFE Commission – to review entitlement spending with tax policy on the table to ensure that Congress addresses these spending issues, which if left unchecked, will be disastrous for future generations.

Congress needs to get this legislation right and not rush through a plan under some artificial timetable. This is a critical national issue that deserves thoughtful and thorough consideration, including the implications of a costly government program that could force private health plans to stop offering coverage and instead rely on government spending.

I believe that any plan put forward must control costs, not add billions of dollars to an already ballooning deficit; ensure competition and choice, and provide that patients and their doctors make the decisions on medical care rather than a government-run agency.
We must be committed to offering affordable, accessible, and portable health-care choices with the goal of fixing what’s broken and keeping what works.

Republican Frank Wolf is a member of the United States House of Representatives from Virginia’s 10th Congressional District.

Editor’s note: This is one of two opinion pieces, each expressing an opposing view on health care.

By U.S. Rep. Gerry Connolly – D – Virginia

You might be surprised to hear this, but the problem with health care in America today is not that we spend too little, but that we spend too much.

Health-care cost increases for families, small businesses and government are unsustainable. Premiums have doubled over the last nine years and we currently spend 18 percent of our nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) on health care. If we do nothing, premiums will continue to rise and by 2040 we will be spending a staggering 34 percent of GDP.

That’s why we need reform now. But we have to get it right.

When Congress returns in September, we will continue work on a health-care bill. My approach to dealing with this issue has been to read the bill from cover to cover, immerse myself in the fine print and the nuances of health-care reform, and most importantly listen to you, my constituents.

Through telephone town hall meetings, a presidential town meeting, office open houses, community events, health-care town halls at senior centers, e-mails, phone calls, and even while eating lunch at the Roy Rogers in Manassas, I’ve heard your thoughts and concerns and those of thousands of others.

This is what you’ve had to say:

• Reform must make health care more affordable for everyone – families, businesses, and the government. The legislation must not increase the deficit and can’t place new burdens or taxes on families and small businesses already struggling under the weight of health-care costs.

• You must have the freedom to choose your own doctor and insurance plan. If you like the plan you have, you must be allowed to keep it. If you would like a new plan, you should have that option as well.

• Insurance companies shouldn’t be allowed to cherry pick and drop coverage based on pre-existing conditions, giving you the peace of mind to know that you can’t lose your coverage if you get sick or lose your job. We need to take power away from the insurance companies and give it back to people.

• We need to cap costs for those who suffer a catastrophic illness so that no individual or family is forced into bankruptcy or faces losing their home and everything they own because a loved one suffers a life-threatening or debilitating injury, illness or disease.

• We need to close the “donut hole” in Medicare Part D that costs seniors thousands of dollars many cannot afford to pay for prescription drugs they need to stay alive or maintain their quality of life.

• Every American should have access to quality care. Economists estimate that families with health insurance pay an extra $1,000 each year in premiums to cover the cost of the uninsured. That’s wrong.
In addition, we have to hold the line on taxes. New taxes should be the last resort, not the first.

We must do everything possible to find cost savings. As I mentioned before, we are spending too much, not too little, on health care. For example, the top 10 insurance companies have seen their profits increase 428 percent over the last decade. Yet, they have offered nothing by way of cost reductions. That’s unacceptable. Simple reform there could save as much as $100 billion.

I oppose taxing employer-provided benefits. That tax would have a devastating impact on Northern Virginia residents, many of whom enjoy generous employer-provided health plans. Thankfully, it appears that proposal is no longer on the table.

I also joined other moderate Democrats in expressing concerns about the impact of a proposed “surtax” on high incomes.

The original surtax proposal would have had a disproportionate impact on small businesses and families in Prince William County and across Northern Virginia.

I want to make sure that the final bill Congress sends to the president will make health-care costs more affordable, improve the quality of health care, provide access to all Americans and hold the line on taxes.
We have postponed final consideration of the bill until September. That gives us more time to make sure we get it right and more time for you to give me your views on what we need. Please don’t hesitate to contact me through my Web site – connolly.house.gov – and let me know what you think.

Democrat Gerry Connolly is a member of the United States House of Representatives from Virginia’s 11th District.

Over the next three weeks, the State Employees Association of North Carolina will host a series of town hall meetings on health insurance reform across the state.  SEANC and community members will share their health care concerns and hear local experts discuss the dire need for health insurance reform.  SEANC also invited local congressmen to join the town hall events.

“State employees are concerned about health care.  Many of them can’t afford to cover their spouses or children on the State Health Plan, adding to the growing number of uninsured North Carolinians,” said SEANC Executive Director Dana Cope.

Last year, SEANC’s delegates voted to “support federal and state legislation to provide access to quality and affordable health care for all U.S. citizens,” as part of SEANC’s Top Ten Policy Platform Objectives.  To that end, SEANC supports a public health care option, which will expand affordability and choice for the uninsured.  Members will share their personal stories with members of Congress, either in person or by letter following the town hall meetings.

SEANC, SEIU Local 2008 is the South’s leading state employees’ association 55,000 members strong.

In our area, SEANC will hold two meetings:
Wed., August 26, 7 p.m.- St. Matthew AME, 1629 Bennett St., Raleigh
Tues., September 1, 6:30 p.m. – Martin St. Baptist Church, 1001 E. Martin St., Raleigh

RALEIGH, N.C. – While the President and Congress move full speed ahead on an overhaul of the nation’s health care system, it appears the administration’s demand for higher taxes for universal healthcare coverage is not widely supported by voters in North Carolina.

North Carolina voters say that health care costs is their main concern and they are not willing to pay higher taxes or trust a government run insurance plan, according to the latest poll released today by the Civitas Institute.

According to the live caller poll of 600 voters, 61 percent of voters selected keeping cost affordable as their highest priority in any health care reform.  18 percent selected maintaining a high quality system while only 16 percent said universal coverage for all.

“While political leaders cite all kinds of reasons federal action is needed, at the end of the day North Carolina voters are most interested in keeping health care costs affordable,” said Civitas Institute executive director Francis De Luca. “Politicians would be wise to listen to what the voters are saying.”

When specifically queried on whether they would personally be willing to pay higher taxes to provide health insurance for all Americans, only 36 percent of respondents said yes while 56 percent said no, 9 percent were not sure.

Retirees and seniors over 66, those most familiar with the present government run health care system, were most likely to say no when asked about trusting their family health to a government run insurance plan. Both groups answered no to trusting a government run health insurance plan over a private insurance option by 60 and 61 percent respectively. Only the self-employed answered no at a higher percentage.

“When asked in the abstract whether health care reform is desirable, people will always say yes, but when the public learns that ‘reform’ may include higher taxes and government run health care, voters become much more skeptical” said Civitas Institute executive director Francis De Luca.  “Voters are unwilling to pay higher taxes for health care “reform” and are dubious that a government run system will lead to better health outcomes.”

Full text of questions:

When thinking about Health Care Reform, what should be the highest priority: ensuring universal coverage for all Americans, maintaining a high quality health care system or keeping health care costs affordable?

Universal Coverage for All – 16%

High Quality System – 18%

Keep Costs Affordable – 61%

Not Sure – 4%

Would you personally be willing to pay higher taxes to provide health insurance for all Americans?

Yes – 36%

No – 56%

Not Sure – 9%

Given your knowledge of Medicaid and other government sponsored health care programs, would you entrust your health or your family’s health to a government run health insurance plan over a private insurance option?

Yes – 29%

No – 56%

Not Sure – 9%

The study of 600 registered voters was conducted July14-17, 2009 by Tel Opinion Research of Alexandria, Virginia.  All respondents were part of a fully representative sample of registered voters in North Carolina. For purposes of this study, voters we interviewed had to have voted in either the 2004, 2006 or 2008 general elections or were newly registered voters since 2008.

The confidence interval associated with a sample of this size is such that: 95 percent of the time, results from 600 interviews (registered voters) will be within +-4% of the “True Values.” True Values refer to the results obtained if it were possible to interview every person in North Carolina who had voted in either the 2004, 2006 or 2008 general elections or were newly registered voters since 2008.

WASHINGTON – The White House scrambled Wednesday to get Democrats behind a unified message of affordability and choice on health legislation amid concerns that Republicans could scare the public with images of a health care system run by bureaucrats.

President Barack Obama used his bully pulpit for the third straight day to reinforce his commitment to reshaping the nation’s health care system to bring down costs and extend coverage to 50 million uninsured people.

At his side, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi reiterated her pledge to bring a health care overhaul bill to the House floor before August.

The White House dispatched top political adviser David Axelrod to Capitol Hill to meet behind closed doors with Senate Democrats on selling health care reform to voters.

Senators emerged from the meeting in agreement that messaging was key. Affordability and choice would be emphasized. The issue of coverage for the uninsured would be tied to affordability for all. The message, for example, would be that uninsured people drive up costs when they go to emergency rooms for routine care.

“Message is important,” Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb., told reporters after the Axelrod meeting. “How you express things. Whether it’s ‘universal’ or ‘everybody gets coverage.”‘

Last week political strategist Frank Luntz gave Republicans detailed advice on how to attack the Democrats’ health plan, even though it doesn’t yet exist in anything approaching final form.

Luntz’s advice included the use of lines like “a committee of Washington bureaucrats will establish the standard of care for all Americans.”

Luntz’s memo to Republicans served as “an interesting catalyst for us,” said Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., the No. 2 Senate Democrat.

“This is an effort to coordinate our messaging so we present a health care reform effort that the American people trust,” Durbin said.

Sen. Evan Bayh, D-Ind., said, “There was some unease that we didn’t have a strategy so (Axelrod) was coming up to reassure senators that they do have a strategy.”

As part of that strategy the White House has streamlined its health reform goals, repackaging eight principles Obama outlined in February into three that he touts now: lowering costs, giving people more choices in health coverage and providing affordable care for all).

Obama and his congressional supporters want to avoid the mistakes that President Bill Clinton and his wife, Hillary Rodham Clinton, made during the 1990s when their health care bill failed after opponents defined it in a way that caused voters to fear they might lose the health coverage they already had.

Obama appeared at the White House on Monday with health industry officials who once opposed an overhaul to proclaim their commitment to reining in their own costs. On Tuesday, it was a meeting with business leaders to hear their health strategies for their employees.

But Tuesday also saw the release of a report showing looming deficits in the Medicare government health insurance program for the elderly – providing Republicans fresh ammunition to attack Obama’s health care goals as too costly amid ballooning government spending and deficits.

Obama was quick to address such criticism Wednesday.

“We’ve had a lot of discussions in this town about deficits, and people across the political spectrum like to throw barbs back and forth about debt and deficits,” the president said.

“The fact of the matter is the most significant driver by far of our long-term debt and our long-term deficits is ever-escalating health care costs,” he said. “And if we don’t reform how health care is delivered in this country, then we are not going to be able to get a handle on that.”

Pelosi voiced the same message.

“Health care reform is entitlement reform, and this is about cost – taking down the cost of health care to the Americans, to our economy and to our budget,” she said after she met with Obama along with the chairmen of the three House committees with jurisdiction over health care.

But Democrats are also confronting divisions in their own party. Hundreds of nurses swarmed Capitol Hill on Wednesday to call for “single payer” – or government-run – health care, and demand “no” votes from liberal lawmakers on anything falling short. Congressional leaders on health care have taken single payer off the table as politically impractical.

WASHINGTON  – Health care providers are promising President Barack Obama $2 trillion in savings to help cover the uninsured. It may sound like a huge windfall, but don’t line up yet for those health insurance cards.

How about a reality check instead?

Heading to the White House on Monday to pledge restraint were groups that represent hospitals, doctors, drug makers, insurers and others. But they can’t actually dictate what their members charge. A doctor in New York or a hospital in Los Angeles would be free to ignore their advice.

Also, medical providers have a long track record of avoiding fiscal constraints, as witnessed by the government’s efforts to tamp down Medicare costs.

And then there’s one more catch: Even if every penny of the promised savings shows up, not all of it would be used to help cover an estimated 50 million uninsured Americans.

Actual savings to the government are all that can be counted as Congress tries to figure how to cover the cost of subsidies that will be needed to help make health insurance affordable for everyone.

The medical groups’ pledge is “a very hopeful sign,” said economist Robert Reischauer, head of the Urban Institute. “But when we get down to hammering out the details, health care reform remains both complex and philosophically and politically difficult to accomplish.”

Costs could still turn out to be the greatest obstacle to Obama’s health care plan.

Outside experts estimate the taxpayers’ tab could total between $1.2 trillion and $1.5 trillion over 10 years. Obama’s budget proposal includes a down payment that may cover less than half the bill.

The president wants to build on the current system in which most people get coverage through private insurers. But he wants to change the rules so the sick can’t be denied insurance. And he wants to provide taxpayer subsidies to help low-wage workers and even some in the middle class afford their premiums.

“No matter how great this might sound, the reality is the administration still does not know how to pay for its massive health care plan,” said Antonia Ferrier, press secretary for House Republican Leader John Boehner of Ohio.

Still, a new coalition for a health care overhaul seems to have formed, with the White House and most of the health care industry and consumer interest groups holding the political center.

Left out, for now, are conservative Republicans, who oppose Obama’s direction but have yet to articulate their own vision, and Democratic liberals who have been hoping to move toward a nationalized system of Medicare for all.