HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius today announced the release of a new report highlighting the benefits of health insurance reform for New Mexico. Click for a copy of Health Insurance Reform and New Mexico: The Case for Change.
“Families, seniors and businesses are all suffering under the health care status quo,” [...]
Here's video of Sen. Tom Udall's speech on the Senate floor this morning about the health insurance reform bill in the debate leading up to a cloture vote to permit the bill to move forward. You can read his remarks here (pdf).
Senator Udall noted that the vast majority [...]
If we go by today's floor speeches by Dem Senators -- we now have the 60 votes needed to fend off a GOP filibuster and win the cloture vote on H.R. 3590, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. A total of 58 Dem Senators will join with [...]
A new national poll of AARP members released yesterday finds strong support across party and ideological lines for key provisions in HB 3962, the Affordable Health Care for America Act, and its companion bill, H.R. 3961, the Medicare Physician Payment Reform Act of 2009.
The telephone survey, fielded [...]
It's always an adventure to retrieve the Albuquerque Journal from my driveway each morning, sit down at our round table in the den with a steaming cup of strong coffee, take the rubber band off the paper and check out the latest snowjobs the editors [...]
I thought you might enjoy seeing a press release I got from the White House today. It's a transcript of President Barack Obama's remarks in the Rose Garden this afternoon about House passage of the Affordable Health Care for America Act, as well as something the President defines as [...]
Update: Here are statements released about tonight's vote by Rep. Ben Ray Lujan (pdf) and Rep. Martin Heinrich (pdf).
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In an historic vote that ended at 11:14 PM Eastern Time, Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 3962 by a margin of 220-215. Every Republican except one' [...]
Earlier today, after a closed door meeting with House Democrats, President Barack Obama addressed the press from the Rose Garden.
"Now is the time to finish the job," Obama said. "The" [...]
Here's the video:
"Six principles have guided my work here and determined my vote on this legislation: health insurance reform must create stability, contain" [...]
The U.S. House is expected to vote on their health insurance reform bill late this week. If you're wondering exactly what's in the legislation, there are resources available that can help. Open Congress provides links to the entire text of H.R. 3962, the 1,990-page House health insurance' [...]
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has released its preliminary analysis of the House health insurance reform bill that Speaker Nancy Pelosi unveiled yesterday. I could recap the analysis provided in the director's summary but I think it's worth a read in its entirety. If you're brave, you can also' [...]
Rep. Ben Ray Luján (NM-03), who has been among the most passionate supporters of health care reform and a strong public option, issued this statement today in response to Speaker Nancy Pelosi's release of the House reform legislation (Affordable Health Care for America Act) that melds the three [...]
This morning on the Capitol steps
Here it is, in its entirety. Public option yes! Rates based not on Medicare, but on negotiations between HHS and providers. An expansion of Medicaid and improved Medicaid payment rates. Most everything we wanted.
Today, on the steps of the Capitol, Rep. Martin Heinrich [...]
Yesterday, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Senator Kay Hagan of North Carolina held a conference call to discuss a new report, More Choices, Better Coverage: Health Insurance Reform and Rural America. The report examines the health care status quo in rural communities and the importance of [...]
Yesterday, Rep. Ben Ray Luján (NM-03) spoke on the House floor about the need for health insurance reform and, specifically, for Congressional action to fix the broken system. He told stories from constituents in his district who are struggling under the current health insurance system. Watch the video above or [...]
Rep. Martin Heinrich is holding a telephone town hall meeting for seniors on Wednesday, October 28, 2009 at 6:30 PM MST to discuss health insurance reform and strengthening Medicare. To RSVP for the meeting, seniors in the First Congressional District of New Mexico should call Rep. Heinrich’s district office [...]
Rep. Ben Ray Luján has long been one of the most passionate and outspoken supporters in Congress of a public option, so I'm not surprised he's still out front on this critial component of genuine, effective health insurance reform. Still, it's exciting to hear him once again publicly support' [...]
I was putting the finishing touches on a comment about how hard it is to grasp the complexities of health insurance reform when the voices of KUNM reporter Jim Williams and Senator Jeff Bingaman seized my attention. They were elucidating the insurance exchange idea. [...]
