A Digital Pill a Day May Keep the Doctor Away

Action on curbs didn't make final cut, leaving 'very big loophole'

(NEWSER) - Turns out the big health care reform bill doesn't actually rein in those out-of-control premium rate hikes. The Democrats used outrage over whopping increases to corral support for the overhaul, but the bill doesn't deliver, finds the Los Angeles Times , because it doesn't give the government the regulatory authority. "It is a very big loophole in health reform," says Sen. Dianne Feinstein. More»

Don't be taken in by misinformation, warns Paul Krugman

(NEWSER) - Health care reform has made a miraculous comeback but its opponents are going to try to hoodwink the public with misinformation and lies down the home stretch, writes Paul Krugman. He outlines "three big myths" about reform in the New York Times .

• "The government is grabbing control of a sixth of the economy." Private insurance—mostly regulated, subsidized employee plans—only makes up a third of health spending. The only extra place the government is intervening now is the "disastrous" market in which people buy their own plans, he notes.

Employers plan to hike premiums, copays, penalties for obese

(NEWSER) - Large companies have big plans for their employees' health plans next year: sizable premium hikes, higher deductibles and co-payments, higher charges for covering spouses, penalties for results of certain lab tests, and tighter eligibility standards that may even exclude overweight people from the most desirable health plans. That's what 507 major employers said in a recent survey about health care costs. More»

People under employer plans will see rates fall or remain steady

(NEWSER) - Fears that the health bill before the Senate will send the cost of most health insurance plans skyrocketing are unfounded, according to a Congressional Budget Office report. The CBO found that premiums for people covered by employer plans will remain steady or drop slightly under the bill, while people buying individual plans eligible for subsidies will see premiums drop by more than 50%. More»

White House betrayed by 'hatchet job' predicting cost hikes

(NEWSER) - The White House is steamed this morning over a report, sponsored by the insurance industry, saying the Senate Finance Committee’s health care bill would cause premiums and costs to rise. The report was commissioned by America’s Health Insurance Plans, an industry group that has until now supported reform publicly, while fighting to kill certain ideas, like the public option, behind the scenes, Politico notes. It claims the bill would, by 2019, cost a family $4,000 more in premiums than projected. More»