health care debate

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As ObamaCare Hearings Begin, 5 Things to Watch

Today's the day at the Supreme Court

(Newser) - The Supreme Court will hear three days of arguments on the constitutionality of President Obama's health care law starting today, and Politico offers up five things to keep an eye on:
  • Do politics enter the discussion? It will be difficult for the justices to ignore the political debate that
...

67% Oppose Health Law's Individual Mandate
67% Oppose Health Law's Individual Mandate
NEW POLL

67% Oppose Health Law's Individual Mandate

Majority of Americans want it tossed out by Supreme Court

(Newser) - As the Supreme Court prepares to open hearings on the constitutionality of the federal health care law next week, a new poll finds that Americans oppose the law 52% to 41%. And an even higher percentage—67%—want the court to either throw out the entire Affordable Care Act, or...

Book Scuttles Obama's Health Care Story

His mother had health insurance when she died, and it paid up

(Newser) - A recent book on President Obama’s mother undermines his oft-told story that his mother spent the final years of her life battling insurance companies over her medical bills. The book, by New York Times reporter Janny Scott, reveals that Ann Dunham actually had health insurance that readily paid her...

Dana Milbank: Anthony Weiner Is the Only Democrat Fighting for Health Care
 Weiner's the 
 Only Dem in 
 Health Brawl 



Dana Milbank

Weiner's the Only Dem in Health Brawl

Dana Milbank: Only he is standing up to Republican attacks on law

(Newser) - Republicans keep attacking health care reform, and with one loud exception, Democrats have been "passive to the point of wimpy" in defending it, writes Dana Milbank in the Washington Post . That exception? "Brooklyn-born streetfighter" Anthony Weiner. "I don't represent the hide-under-the-desk wing of the Democratic Party,"...

Judge Tosses Christians' Obamacare Suit

Plaintiffs argued God provided only health insurance they wanted

(Newser) - A federal judge has chucked a lawsuit filed on behalf of people who claimed health reform was against their religion. The Christian plaintiffs argued that requiring all Americans to buy health insurance or pay a penalty violated their religious freedom because they believe God will heal them and they wish...

GOP's Health Reform 'Analysis' Is Assault on Logic
GOP's Health Reform
'Analysis' Is Assault on Logic
paul krugman

GOP's Health Reform 'Analysis' Is Assault on Logic

They don't really believe it will kill jobs, writes Paul Krugman

(Newser) - In their effort to repeal health care reform, the GOP has produced “some numbers and charts to wave at the press”—but they’re not part of any “rational discussion,” writes Paul Krugman in the New York Times . Their figures are, in fact, part of the...

Clinton: Whoops, I Thought Health Care Would Be Popular

Long Timeline and GOP Opposition Have Stifled Support

(Newser) - Bill Clinton thought that once it was signed into law, Barack Obama's health care reform bill would become amazingly popular. But the polls are in, and now Clinton admits he miscalculated, the Hill reports. "First of all, the benefits of the bill are spread out of three or four...

Odds of Health Care Bill Passing About 50-50
Odds of Health Care Bill Passing About 50-50
nate silver

Odds of Health Care Bill Passing About 50-50

Nate Silver isn't quite ready to place his bet with InTrade

(Newser) - Nate Silver notes that the folks at InTrade now say the smart money is on President Obama getting his health care bill through Congress. They put the chances at 52%, a significant jump in just the last few days. Silver agrees the odds have improved from a "post- Masspocalypse"...

Bishops to Congress: Get Health Reform Done
 Bishops to Congress: 
 Get Health Reform Done 
NOW THEY'RE FOR IT

Bishops to Congress: Get Health Reform Done

Church's role in health debate becomes even more paradoxical

(Newser) - The US Catholic bishops, whose primary role in the health care debate until recently was to voice concern about abortion funding, have changed tack in the wake of Scott Brown's election and are now urging Congress not to abandon the "moral imperative" of universal health coverage. The appeal the...

Foot-Dragging Is Killing the Obama Agenda

Squandering a full year on health care reform doesn't cut it

(Newser) - The Democrats need to be quicker, or they'll be dead, writes Harold Meyerson. "A president with an activist agenda met a Senate all but incapable of action," and the results, Meyerson says, have been deadly. Almost a year spent haggling over health care is killing them at the...

Mass. Election Could Seal Fate of Health Reform

Dems' options if Brown wins not looking good

(Newser) - With polls showing the majority of Americans opposed to the Democrats' health care reform bill, a victory for Scott Brown in Massachusetts today could sound the death of the party's yearlong effort at health reform. If Dems try to proceed with the reforms in the wake of a Brown victory,...

Health Reform's Biggest Hurdle: The Constitution
Health Reform's Biggest Hurdle: The Constitution
George Will

Health Reform's Biggest Hurdle: The Constitution

The government can't simply require people to buy something

(Newser) - Democrats giddy about being on the verge of health care reform ought to look out for a "rock dead ahead," writes George Will. That "rock" is the US Constitution. The idea of forcing people to buy health insurance just doesn't jibe with the principle of individual liberty,...

There's Not More Extremists, Just More Internet
There's Not More Extremists, Just More Internet
NATE SILVER

There's Not More Extremists, Just More Internet

The fringes aren't more prevalent, but they are more visible

(Newser) - With all the left- and right-wing "extremism" out there, the media love pushing the narrative that "the country is coming apart at the seams! The center is dying!” But it’s not true, writes Nate Silver. A glance at long-running polls show Americans identify with the fringes...

The 3 Final Health Care Sticking Points

Abortion, taxes, and the public option continue to plague both sides

(Newser) - With the Senate and House health care bills expected to come together later this week, McClatchy Newspapers takes a look at the three biggest issues that have yet to be resolved:
  • Abortion: Both bills have placed limits on abortion, but neither side is happy, with abortion rights supporters feeling women
...

Surgery Marathons Raise Questions on Cost, Ethics

One man's procedure cost $300K, but it could push the field

(Newser) - After 43 hours of on-and-off “ex vivo resection”—organs removed, operated on, and replaced—a Wisconsin man is free of the 10-pound tumor strangling his liver. Along with it went parts of his stomach and intestine, and his abdomen contains not only Gore-Tex tubing but parts of his...

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