Uninsured Cancer Patients Die More Often

Insurers now required to spend 80% of premiums on customers

(NEWSER) - A rule requiring health insurers to spend at least 80% of premiums on customers and a $2.5 billion tax on drug makers are among the health care reform provisions taking effect today. The new rules also plug the "doughnut hole" in Medicare drug benefits and provide free preventive services like cancer screenings to almost all Medicare beneficiaries, the Washington Post reports. More»

States can't alter guidelines on Medicaid, kids' insurance

(NEWSER) - It will take years for the entirety of the health care reform to be enacted, but some provisions went into effect the moment President Obama signed it into law today. One of the most wide-ranging prevents states from cutting Medicaid and children’s health insurance coverage—or tightening rules to restrict eligibility—until the new state-run exchanges are in place in 2014. The measure could come into play as cash-strapped states look for budget cuts, notes the New York Times . More»

'The health of each of us depends on the health of the rest of us'

(NEWSER) - The Democrats are in danger of losing the health care reform battle over an argument "that a novice debater would have no trouble putting down," writes Thomas Frank for the Wall Street Journal. Reformers need to directly address the role of government in health care, Frank writes, and demolish the myth that "health insurance is a form of property, a matter of pure personal responsibility" earned by the hard work of individuals, and that those who don't have it "chose a toxic life of fast food and fast morals." More»

Keep plans private, creating gov't care 'by proxy'

(NEWSER) - Amid “widespread national revulsion,” Obamacare as it stands “is dead,” but the Democrats can revive it if they’re willing to make some key concessions, writes Charles Krauthammer—a nonpracticing physician in addition to pundit—in the Washington Post. What they must do:

1. Dump the public option.
2. Forget about “any reference to end-of-life counseling.”
3. Don’t let government decide what procedures are best.
4. Don’t treat the overhaul as a cost-cutting measure.

Mayo Clinic boss could be reform's 'Petraeus'

(NEWSER) - To fix health care, we need a commander like Gen. David Petraeus: “a professional who can break through the political chaff and describe a strategy for reform that can unite the country,” writes David Ignatius in the Washington Post. He nominates Mayo Clinic CEO Dr. Denis Cortese, who’s already doing what the country needs: “providing high-quality health care at relatively low cost.” More»