health insurance news

Blog Briefing Room (The Hill) – Seeking to fend off criticism from Republicans that its healthcare reform plan is more of the same, the White House on Monday unveiled a list of GOP ideas included in its proposal.

Congress Blog (The Hill) – Some of the nation’s top political commentators, legislators and intellectuals offer their insight into the biggest question burning up the blogosphere today.

Huffington Post – President Obama’s proposal to regulate the premiums charged by health insurance companies is a game changer. And this week’s health care summit will almost certainly serve as a tipping point in the year-long health care debate. The President’s proposal to regulate health care premiums forcefully reframes the public dialogue in exactly the right terms – a battle between insurance industry profits and the welfare of average Americans.

USA Today – More than half the states are reducing Medicaid services and payments to health care providers this year as the recession propelled enrollments to record levels and sapped money from treasuries.

Los Angeles Times – Reporting from Washington – President Obama, after sustaining months of criticism for not being clear about what he wanted in healthcare legislation, will post specific proposals for a comprehensive plan on the Internet by Monday, according to the White House.

Daily Finance – Profits for the 10 largest U.S. insurance companies jumped 250% between 2000 and 2009 while millions of Americans have lost coverage, according to a report released Thursday by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The report found that the five biggest insurance companies – WellPoint (WLP), Cigna (CI), UnitedHealth Group (UNH), Aetna (AET) and Humana (HUM) – saw their profits increase 56% in 2009, a year in which 2.7 million people lost their private coverage.

CBS4.com – The White House and congressional leaders are preparing a detailed health care proposal designed to win passage without Republican support if GOP lawmakers fail to embrace bipartisan compromises at next week’s summit.