State News Health Insurance News

MercuryNews.com – With a huge number of residents who buy health care on their own and relatively few companies selling them coverage, California is just the kind of market in need of a new government-run insurance plan, supporters of the controversial proposal dominating much of the health reform debate say.

Missoulian – HELENA – Thirty-year-old Melissa Armington of Billings has shopped around for health insurance, but no one wants to cover her: She was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis last year.

The New Health Dialogue Blog – Talking about health care reform all over the country, I have the opportunity to see many states’ health systems up close.  In particular, we spend a lot of time in Colorado – as evidenced by our study on Grand Junction. In the context of current reform discussions, I began focusing on the state in earnest in 2006 when the Colorado Blue Ribbon Commission for Health Care Reform began trying to identify a sustainable future for the state’s health care system.

Public News Service – COLUMBUS, Ohio – The U.S. House has done its part to advance the President’s top domestic priority by passing a health care overhaul bill, and the debate now moves to the Senate.

Denver Business Journal – Without health-care reform, Colorado businesses will face ever-higher costs over the next 10 years, a new study says.

California Healthline – California officials and advocates are offering different predictions about how the House’s recently passed health care reform bill (HR 3962) will affect California and the rest of the country, The Hill’s “Blog Briefing Room” reports.

The Iowa Independent – A new white paper released by The Iowa Policy Project focuses on the disparities at play when rural residents seek health care insurance.

Blog Briefing Room (The Hill) – A leading Senate Independent on Monday stressed he would support using reconciliation to break a filibuster and bring healthcare reform to a conclusive vote.

USA TODAY – The lone Republican who voted for the sweeping health care changes that passed the House said Sunday that he “had to make a decision of conscience based on the needs of the people in my district.”

Kaiser Health News – SANTA ANA, Calif. – Robin Willer slumps on the metal bench, her sweater drawn up over her swollen cheeks. “The cold hurts it,” she says, pointing gingerly to three broken teeth.