Health Care Reform

San Marcos resident Maggie Yount wasn't surprised when the letter from insurance giant Anthem Blue Cross arrived the other day. Yet she couldn't help but be frustrated. "Some medical conditions, either alone or in combination with the cost of medication, present uncertain medical underwriting risks," Anthem informed her. "In view of these risks, we find we are unable to offer you enrollment at this time." In other words, no health coverage for you.

With congressional Republicans defying him on healthcare, President Obama is trolling for prominent GOP officials and independents outside Washington who will publicly endorse his plans as the legislative fight moves toward a crucial phase. On Tuesday, the White House rolled out its latest trophy -- a letter from Republican California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger saying he shares many of the same healthcare goals as the president, including "slowing the growth in costs" and "enhancing the quality of care."

President Obama is becoming more personally invested in rallying the public and Congress behind a healthcare overhaul, even as some Republicans raise the stakes in the debate by claiming that defeating his plan would undermine his presidency.

It might have looked as if real progress toward healthcare reform was made last week when leading insurers proposed ending their long-standing practice of charging higher rates to sick people and denying coverage to those with chronic conditions. But not so fast. A closer look at the insurance industry's plan reveals a potentially huge loophole that could short-circuit genuine reform.

Frustrated that years of financing studies and demonstration projects have not translated into widespread improvement in medicine, California philanthropic foundations and think tanks are shedding their traditionally detached stances to crusade for healthcare reform in the state Capitol and in Congress.

Healthcare spending in the U.S., already the highest in the industrialized world, continued its steady rise in 2007, even as the growth eased slightly to its lowest rate in 10 years. The mild slowdown -- due in part to less growth in drug spending -- was a rare bit of good news as Washington policymakers begin to debate how to reshape the nation's healthcare system, a top priority of congressional Democrats and the new administration.

President Obama's first week in power was a whirl of activity, but the orders and pronouncements flowing from the White House had little to do with the central mission of his presidency: overhauling healthcare, weaning the nation from foreign oil and fixing the economy. Obama's early moves carried huge symbolic value. On his first full day he called in top military advisors and pressed them for a faster timetable for withdrawing combat troops from Iraq. He announced that he would close the U.S.

President Obama and his congressional allies took a modest step toward reshaping the nation's healthcare system Thursday as the Senate passed legislation to expand health insurance for children. But rather than building momentum for the sweeping healthcare reform Obama has promised, the victory on Capitol Hill -- a largely party-line vote, 66 to 32 -- marked a rocky start for what many hope will be the biggest reform campaign in a generation.

Making good on populist rhetoric he has employed since he was a candidate, President Obama plans to begin paying for a healthcare overhaul with $634 billion in new taxes on wealthy Americans and by changing the way the government pays for some health services, administration officials said Wednesday.

President Obama says he will adhere to eight "principles" in trying to overhaul the healthcare system. One is to "aim for" providing every American with insurance, also known as universal coverage -- though Obama does not lay out a course for accomplishing that. Other principles include reducing premiums, guaranteeing that Americans have a choice of health plans, and ending the insurance company practice of denying coverage to people with preexisting conditions.