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Finding the right balance between too much and too little care is excruciating and highly personal for physicians, patients and families - one reason it's not discussed at a national level. This reluctance is mirrored by an unwillingness by lawmakers to confront hard choices on medical spending.
President Obama will visit Philadelphia and St. Louis this week to continue his push to have Congress pass health overhaul legislation this month.
If the Democrats get their way, Blue Cross companies will have to change their business model, so that they act a bit more like the Blue Cross plans of old--the ones that helped schoolteachers, not stockholders.
Under the health bills being debated in Congress, young adults would be required to buy insurance - but they could buy low-cost "catastrophic" plans, requiring high deductibles. That's igniting a fierce debate whether young adults - sometimes known as the "young invincibles" - would benefit from such plans.
Lawmakers are under intense pressure in the health care debate. The president is hitting the road to reassure nervous House members and shore up support for his plan. Republicans are taking their opposition to the bill directly to the voters, too.
One of the central arguments President Barack Obama has made on behalf of the health care plan he wants Congress to approve in coming weeks is that it would begin to address the problem of rising costs and thus also begin to bring down future federal budget deficits. But will it?
Palliative services are designed to help patients and their families sort through their options - ome of which may help restore the patient, while others may increase suffering for a minimal health benefit.
Living wills and advance directives were the hope for end-of-life decision-making decades ago. But a 2004 survey by FindLaw found that 36 percent of Americans have a living will, and even when people have filled out living wills, doctors often ignore them.
In the era of modern medicine, there is often no easy way to navigate between an acceptable quality of life and a death with dignity. But palliative care specialists, relatively new players on the health care scene, offer comfort, support, pain control and, if requested, spiritual counsel, helping people sort through often confusing and ambiguous medical options.
There are exempt insurance practices that, at least in theory and under certain conditions, could help insurers defend and expand their market share against competitors. But the exemption simply does not shield the most straightforward kinds of conduct by which companies get big.
A proposed tax on high-cost insurance plans could make it more difficult for small businesses to purchase health coverage. Even though many businesses don't offer rich benefits, their plans may be costly because the covered employees are predominantly older, sicker or female, three categories that currently result in higher premiums. Other provisions in health overall legislation could mitigate the impact of the tax, however.
This video highlights President Obama's new proposal for health reform, which includes changes to what he calls the "worst practices" of insurance companies and efforts to control rising health care costs.
President Obama presented his new proposal on health reform Wednesday afternoon. Read his full speech here.
The White House released selected remarks in advance of the President's speech later this afternoon.
Former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle says Democrats need to seize the moment to pass a sweeping health care overhaul. He's "confident" House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will get the votes to pass the bill.
The President's letter to congressional leaders highlighted what he called areas of agreement between the Democrats and the Republicans on health reform proposals.
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