Lawmakers and consumer groups are concerned that many Americans would not be able to afford health insurance even if they are required to have coverage. The major healthcare bills in Congress would require coverage and all of them also provide some level of assistance for lower-income people. But the question of how to make insurance affordable for all Americans is one of the difficult issues facing Congress.
In this blog post, pathologist Seymour Handler, MD, says cost inflation is "the most important problem facing healthcare in the United States." He outlines a few key factors in our healthcare system that contribute to this challenge, including public perception of what medical care can offer and entrepreneurial zeal.
Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid has acknowledged that his chamber is unable to pass healthcare reform before its August recess, a move that highlighted internal Democratic divisions on the legislation and is likely to result in significant changes to the shape of the final bill. The Aug. 7 deadline that President Obama set for House and Senate leaders to move their versions of reform served as a tool for congressional leaders in minimizing dissent as the $1 trillion package moved through five committees.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said that she doesn't feel bound by the $235 billion in deals that the White House and the Senate Finance Committee cut with hospital and pharmaceutical companies to defray costs of a new healthcare plan, stating that she thinks the industries could do more. The nation's hospitals have agreed to forgo $155 billion in government healthcare reimbursements, and drug companies promised $80 billion, to help keep the cost of President Obama's healthcare reform plan under $1 trillion.
The general public has grown increasingly anxious about Washington's efforts to reconfigure healthcare and what it may mean for middle-class families. Some remain frustrated by the lack of available detail about his plan’s contours and cost, and feel that they are being asked to buy on spec from a government they do not trust, according to the New York Times.
White House officials negotiated furiously to keep major healthcare legislation on track after the Senate majority leader, Harry Reid of Nevada, said his chamber would not vote on a health measure until after Congress returned from its summer recess. The White House chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, led a hastily called three-hour negotiating session at the Capitol with conservative Blue Dog Democrats, the group that has stalled action on the healthcare bill in the House.