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  – The Senate Democratic leader is indicating lawmakers may not complete health care legislation this year, missing President Barack Obama’s deadline on his signature issue.

Asked if the Senate would complete comprehensive legislation in the next two months, Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., said Tuesday:  “We’re not going to be bound by any timelines.”

Reid said he was awaiting a final cost analysis on the bill from the Congressional Budget Office.

Obama has pressed Congress for a bill by year’s end. Across the Capitol, the House is expected to vote on its version of legislation later this week. Lawmakers from both chambers then would have to meld the two bills and cast final votes in the House and Senate before the legislation could be sent to the president.

WASHINGTON  – After months of struggle, House Democrats rolled out sweeping legislation Thursday to extend health care coverage to millions who lack it and create a new option of government-run insurance. A vote is likely next week on the plan largely tailored to President Barack Obama’s liking.

Speaking on the steps of the Capitol, Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Congress was at a “historic moment” with lawmakers “on the cusp of delivering on the promise of making affordable, quality health insurance available to every American.”

Officials said the measure, once fully phased-in over several years, would extend coverage to 96 percent of Americans. Its principal mechanism for universal coverage is creation of a new government-regulated insurance “exchange” where private companies would sell policies in competition with the government. Federal subsidies would be available to millions of lower-income individuals and families to help them afford the policies, and to small businesses as an incentive to offer coverage to their workers.

Large firms would be required to cover workers, and most individuals would be required to carry insurance.

The ceremony marked a pivotal moment in the Democrats’ yearlong attempt to answer Obama’s call for legislation to remake the nation’s health care system by extending insurance, ending industry practices such as denying coverage on the basis of pre-existing medical conditions, and slowing the growth of medical spending nationwide.

Across the Capitol, Senate Democrats, too, are hoping to pass legislation by year’s end. Legislation outlined by Majority Leader Harry Reid earlier this week would include an option for a government-run plan, although states could drop out if they wished, a provision not in the House measure.

Obama issued a statement saying House Democrats had reached a “critical milestone” on the road toward a health care overhaul, and singled out the proposed government insurance option. He also said the bill “clearly meets two of the fundamental criteria I have set out: It is fully paid for and will reduce the deficit in the long term.”

Republican reaction was swift and critical.

Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga., head of the Republican Study Committee, issued a statement saying Democrats had produced a “government takeover that will limit choice, competition and innovation in health care while increasing costs and decreasing quality.” He said the measure would kill jobs, raise taxes and inflict cuts on a program of private Medicare that provides benefits to millions of seniors.

GOP leaders long ago decided to oppose the approach requested by Obama and taken by Democrats, and health care is expected to figure in next year’s congressional election campaigns. Democrats issued a statement saying their 1,990-page measure “lowers costs for every patient” and would not add to federal deficits. They put the cost of coverage at under $900 billion over 10 years, a total that excludes several items designed to improve benefits for Medicare and Medicaid recipients and providers, as well as public health programs and more.

With Republicans expected to oppose the measure unanimously, Pelosi and her lieutenants worked for weeks to resolve differences within the Democratic rank and file.

The toughest of them covered the terms under which the government insurance option would function. Liberals generally wanted the government to dictate the rates to be paid to doctors, hospitals and other health care providers, with the fee levels linked to Medicare.

Moderates, fearing the impact on their local hospitals, held out for negotiated rates between the government and private insurers – and won.

Not all liberals were ready to sign on. “My inclination is not to support it,” said Rep. Raul Grijalva, D-Ariz., a co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, but that represented a softening of his opposition.

Grijalva acknowledged there was an argument for progressives to vote “yes.” “The logic is to keep the ball rolling,” Grijalva said Thursday.

Democrats control 256 seats in the House, are overwhelmingly favored to win one special election next week and are competitive for another. As a result, they can afford more than 30 defections on the legislation and still prevail.

House Democrats’ campaign arm wasted no time in using the bill release as a fundraising opportunity. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee e-mailed supporters asking them to help raise $50,000 by Thursday night “so we have the resources to fight back against Republican attacks and prove that grassroots Democrats are standing strong behind health insurance reform with a strong public option.”

The legislation would be financed by a combination of cuts in planned Medicare spending and an income tax surcharge of 5.4 percent on individuals making at least $500,000 annually and couples making at least $1 million. The bill would require nearly everyone by 2013 to sign up for health coverage either through their employer, a government program or the new exchange.

In the meantime, a temporary government program would help people turned down by private insurers because of medical problems, lawmakers said. After that, insurers no longer could refuse to provide coverage to the sick, nor could they charge more because of poor health of the insured.

The plan also calls for a significant expansion of Medicaid, the federal-state health program for low-income people. And it would impose a requirement on employers to offer insurance to their workers or face penalties.

Pelosi, D-Calif., and the leadership have yet to work out disputes over abortion services and health care for immigrants, issues that must be settled before the bill can come to a vote. Pelosi has also said the bill would strip the health insurance industry of a long-standing exemption from antitrust laws covering market allocation, price fixing and bid rigging. Democratic officials said the bill also would give the Federal Trade Commission authority to look into the health insurance industry at its own initiative. The officials spoke Wednesday on condition of anonymity, saying they were not authorized to pre-empt a formal announcement.

While precise figures were not immediately available, it appeared the legislation would target the drug industry for more than the $80 billion that pharmaceutical firms agreed to contribute toward health care in a deal earlier this year with the White House and key senators. But the industry managed to come away with a provision worth billions: 12 years of market protection for high-tech drugs to combat cancer, Parkinson’s and other deadly diseases.

Medical device makers also took a hit, with a 2.5 percent excise tax on sales of their products that is reported to cost the industry $20 billion over the next decade. A $40 billion fee on those businesses was included in a Senate Finance Committee-approved version of the legislation, but Reid is considering cutting it by as much as half.

WASHINGTON  – President Barack Obama says small businesses that participate in a proposed government health care plan could save a quarter on their premiums by 2016.

Obama on Thursday told small business leaders that few people have a bigger stake in health reform than they do. He says the House version of a health care bill would help millions of small businesses cut growing health care costs and was written with small businesses owners in mind.

Obama says small businesses have been hit harder than most and their owners understand the need for changes to the nation’s health care system.

The president says too many entrepreneurs can’t take a chance on new ideas because they cannot leave their jobs to start new projects. He says that situation hurts the economy.

WASHINGTON — U.S. Senator Kay R. Hagan (D-NC) will join the other Democratic women Senators on Larry King Live tonight to discuss how health care reform will have a positive impact on women.

This morning, Hagan joined eight of her colleagues for a series of back-to-back floor speeches to discuss inefficiencies and disparities in the health care system that negatively affect women.  In the majority of states, insurance companies currently charge women more than men for the same coverage.

In eight states and the District of Columbia, insurance companies also deny coverage to victims of domestic violence. Very few insurance companies cover comprehensive maternity care.

Hagan discussed this issue in a floor speech last Thursday and at a press conference in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 30.

RALEIGH, N.C.  – North Carolina Sen. Richard Burr says a new health care proposal offered in Congress “fails several crucial tests.”

The Republican lawmaker rejected the bill Wednesday despite Democratic concessions on a public insurance option. He said he opposed the measure because of increased spending, taxes and cuts to Medicare.

Burr had long opposed President Barack Obama’s plan to create a government insurance option to compete with private carriers. The latest Democratic plan released by Sen. Max Baucus does not include such a plan but instead a system of nonprofit member-owned cooperatives – something Burr had previously said he would consider.

North Carolina’s other senator, Democrat Kay Hagan, supports the bill. She released the following statement:

“Last week, I joined a group of other moderate Democrats who discussed with the President the importance of ensuring the health care reform package is fiscally responsible. I am pleased the Finance Committee produced a bill that does not increase our deficit.  The Congressional Budget Office estimates the bill will reduce our federal deficit by $49 billion over the next ten years. I also commend Chairman Max Baucus for working hard with our colleagues across the aisle to include Republican input in the bill.

“I am very supportive of the insurance market reforms in the Finance bill, which are similar to those that we passed in the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.  It prevents insurance companies from turning you away due to a preexisting condition, removes annual and lifetime caps on coverage, and removes co-pays for preventative services.

“The Finance Committee bill also includes a CO-OP model, one backstop option for providing insurance to those without employer-sponsored care. I would like to see a backstop option included in the final bill.

“While there are many details that still need to be worked out, we ultimately need health insurance reform that ensures people who like their insurance and doctors keep them, expands access to health insurance for those without it, and slows down the skyrocketing cost of health care.  I am committed to working with my Senate colleagues to ensure these critical components are included in the final bill.”

WASHINGTON  – Sen. Max Baucus on Wednesday brought out the much-awaited Finance Committee version of an American health-system remake – a landmark $856 billion, 10-year measure that starts a rough ride through Congress without visible Republican backing.

The bill by Baucus, chairman of the Finance Committee, would make major changes to the nation’s $2.5 trillion health care system, including requiring all individuals to purchase health care or pay a fine, and language prohibiting insurance company practices like charging more to people with more serious health problems.

“This is a unique moment in history where we can finally reach an objective so many of us have sought for so long,” Baucus said.

“The Finance Committee has carefully worked through the details of health care reform to ensure this package works for patients, for health care providers and for our economy.”

Consumers would be able to shop for and compare insurance plans in a new purchasing exchange. Medicaid would be expanded, and caps would be placed on patients’ yearly health care costs. The plan would be paid for with $507 billion in cuts to government health programs and $349 billion in new taxes and fees, including a tax on high-end insurance plans and fees on insurance companies and medical device manufacturers.

The bill fails to fulfill President Barack Obama’s aim of creating a new government-run insurance plan – or option – to compete with the private market. It proposes instead a system of nonprofit member-owned cooperatives, somewhat akin to electric co-ops that exist in many places around the country. That was one of many concessions meant to win over Republicans.

In other ways though, including its overall cost and payment mechanisms, the bill tracks closely with the priorities Obama laid out in his speech to Congress last week. Baucus is still holding out hope for GOP support when his committee actually votes on the bill, probably as early as next week.

The measure represents the most moderate health care proposal in Congress so far, compared to legislation approved by three committees in the House and the Senate’s health panel. Obama’s top domestic priority is to revamp the health care system to provide coverage to nearly 50 million Americans who lack it and to rein in rising costs.

The bill includes provisions to keep illegal immigrants from obtaining health coverage through the new insurance exchanges – reflecting the White House’s newly stringent stance on the issue after a Republican House member interrupted Obama’s speech last week to accuse him of lying about it.

The bill also would prevent federal funds from being used to pay for abortions except in cases of rape, incest, or if the life of the mother would be endangered. It’s all but certain that the Baucus provisions will not be the last word on either of those volatile issues.

The bill would set up a verification system to make sure people buying insurance in the exchanges are U.S. citizens or legal immigrants, using Social Security data and Homeland Security Department files. The bill would impose penalties for fraud and identity theft.

While only legal residents would be able to buy coverage through the exchanges, illegal immigrant parents would be able to get insurance for their U.S. born children.

The bill would prohibit abortion from being included in any minimum benefits package. However, plans in the exchange could offer unrestricted coverage for abortions, provided that no funds from government subsidies are used to pay for them. Women who want coverage for abortions would have to pay for it with their own money.

Wednesday’s bill release follows months of negotiations among Baucus and five other Finance Committee senators dubbed the “Gang of Six” – Republicans Chuck Grassley of Iowa, Mike Enzi of Wyoming and Olympia Snowe of Maine, and Democrats Kent Conrad of North Dakota and Jeff Bingaman of New Mexico.

Enzi said he couldn’t support the Baucus bill and preferred an incremental approach. “Let’s start by focusing on the issues where we already have broad, bipartisan agreement,” he said.

In the end, Democrats believe Snowe may be the only Republican to support the bill, though she wasn’t ready to commit her support Tuesday night. “Hopefully at some point through the committee process we can reach an agreement,” she said.

The bill drew quick criticism from Republican leaders.

“This partisan proposal cuts Medicare by nearly a half-trillion dollars, and puts massive new tax burdens on families and small businesses, to create yet another thousand-page, trillion-dollar government program,” said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. “Only in Washington would anyone think that makes sense, especially in this economy.”

Many liberals also have concerns. Some wanted Baucus to include a public option, while others fear that, in his effort to hold down the price of his bill, Baucus didn’t do enough to make health coverage affordable to working-class Americans. Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., a member of the Finance Committee, said Tuesday that he couldn’t support the bill in its current form.

Baucus’ plan, released as a detailed 223-page summary, aims to make health insurance more affordable for self-employed people and those working for small companies, who now have the biggest problems in getting and keeping coverage.

People insured through large employers would not see major changes, but some of their health care benefits would be nicked to help pay for the cost of the plan. The Baucus proposal would limit to $2,000 a year the amount people can contribute to flexible spending accounts, which are used to cover copayments and deductibles not paid by their employers. That provision would raise $16.5 billion over 10 years.

Everyone covered through an employer would learn the full costs of their health benefits, which starting next year would be reported on employees’ W-2 tax forms. Although family coverage averages about $13,000 a year most workers don’t know how much their employer is paying.

Not carrying insurance could result in a steep fine, as much as $3,800 per family, or $950 for an individual. People who can’t afford their premiums would be exempted from the fine.

The plan proposes a $6 billion annual fee on health insurance providers, which would recoup some of the profits the companies expect to make from millions of new taxpayer-subsidized customers.

Unlike the health care bill written by majority Democrats in the House, which permanently rolls back scheduled cuts in Medicare payments to doctors, the Baucus plan only suspends the reductions for one year. That trims more than $100 billion from the cost of the bill, but has already led to criticism from the American Medical Association.

The legislation makes no changes in medical malpractice laws. It does incorporate Obama’s call for federal funds for state experiments on alternatives to malpractice lawsuits. Democratic leaders are aiming for votes in the full House and Senate this fall.

RALEIGH, N.C.  – North Carolina ministers are holding a religious service outside the office of Sen. Kay Hagan to promote health care reform.

Congregants participating in the interdenominational service will bring petitions for the Democrat. Rev. Tom Rhodes of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship said the “religious community must do its part to make sure that Sen. Hagan and other elected officials understand that health reform is an urgent moral imperative.”

Rhodes said people of faith must speak out whenever people are suffering or dying due to problems with insurance.

By Richard Craver.
JOURNAL REPORTER

The governor’s office said yesterday that North Carolina has received a $17 million federal grant to pay for a pilot health-coverage program for uninsured, low-income residents.

The grant, which covers five years, is from the U.S. Health and Human Services Department.
North Carolina is one of 13 states participating in the State Health Access Program. The program will be administered by the N.C. Office of Rural Health and Community Care, and the N.C. Division of Medical Assistance.

The goal is to provide coverage to at least 1,500 families. David Kochman, a spokesman for the governor’s office, said that it has not been determined which areas will receive the initial money in early 2010.

To qualify, a family’s household income must be at or below 125 percent of federal poverty level, or $27,563 for a family of four.

Parents must demonstrate their children are enrolled in, or have applied for, Medicaid or the state Children’s Health Insurance Program, or otherwise have private-insurance coverage.

Enrollees will be expected to pay “a modest premium and small copayments,” according to the governor’s office.

The state will receive more than $1.26 million to develop a low-cost, limited benefit plan. The annual amount increases to $4 million in years two through five.

“As an unstable economic climate has caused increasing numbers of families to face limited access to vital services to maintain good health and well being, we are pleased to be a part of this program that’s designed to close the gap,” said Lanier Cansler, the secretary of the state’s Health and Human Services Department.

According to the N.C. Institute of Medicine, almost half of the uninsured in North Carolina are low-income adults. A U.S. Census Bureau report released Thursday found that about 1.4 million North Carolinians under 65 – or one in six – were without health coverage in 2007 and 2008.

Given that the state’s unemployment rate has nearly doubled in the past 12 months to 11 percent in July, health-care analysts say that this year it is highly likely that even more residents don’t have coverage.

The federal program also outlines plans to work with private insurers in North Carolina to develop a limited benefit plan, which can be offered to small businesses by year four of the grant.