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For the tens of thousands of individual insurance agents nationwide, proposed changes to the health care system could radically alter how they do business.
In interviews, two agents talk about how they are bracing themselves for the post-reform environment. One thinks her fellow agents are too complacent, the other says "in every adversity, there is opportunity."
A trade group says insurers only make 1 cent off every dollar spent on health care. But that figure measures insurer profits against all the money pumped into the U.S. system. Economists say profits are traditionally calculated by how much insurers spend versus how much money they take in.
Many voters agree the current system is broken, but the "confusing babble" from D.C. sounds worse.
Obama and congressional leaders hope to reduce health care spending by promoting prevention to catch disease early. But some insurance and health officials say such efforts-although laudable-may not cut overall health costs.
Jackie Judd talks with Eric Pianin about the House Energy and Commerce Committee's vote last Friday, wrapping up its work on major health care legislation, before Congress adjourns for the August recess.
Jackie Judd talks with Eric Pianin about the House Energy and Commerce Committee's vote last Friday, wrapping up its work on major health care legislation, before Congress adjourns for the August recess.
NPR's Linda Wertheimer talks with Billy Tauzin, president and CEO of PhRMA, the biggest trade association for the prescription drug industry.
Democratic and Republican lawmakers will offer their constituents very different takes on pending health care legislation during the August recess. Democrats will say the bills will "hold insurance companies accountable" and guarantee lower costs and more choice, while the Republicans will warn against a government takeover that will undermine competition and drive up costs.
An agreement between the House leadership and conservative Democrats sparked protests from states worried about higher Medicaid costs and liberals upset about the paring back of subsidies.
Dr. David Scheiner wants to make a house call to one of the most famous houses in the world. For 22 years, he was President Obama's doctor. Now, he would like to counsel his former patient and says the President should be doing more to heal the system's ills by holding out for a single-payer approach to health reform.
Medicare data tell a different story about a public plan option.
After weeks of painstaking talks, Democrats celebrated breakthroughs on health care overhaul on both sides of the Capitol. Yet many lawmakers and health care experts said that yesterday's events marked only one step on the very bumpy road to a final deal that President Barack Obama might sign into law.
Unions and advocates for low-income workers are criticizing a possible Senate Finance Committee move to drop an employer mandate in favor of a "free-rider" penalty. The provision would require companies to pay for part of the subsidies for uninsured workers to buy health insurance on the proposed exchanges. Business lobbyists say it's better than a straight mandate.
Jackie Judd talks with Eric Pianin, reporting from Capitol Hill, on today's significant developments. A stalemate between Blue Dogs and House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman was broken, and in the Senate Finance Committee, a new CBO score was substantially less than what had been projected.
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., said Wednesday that a preliminary Congressional Budget Office score of his panel's draft health care overhaul package would cost under $900 billion over the next decade and provide health coverage to 95 percent of uninsured Americans.
To raise money to help pay for a health overhaul, Sen. John Kerry is proposing taxing insurance companies on expensive "Cadillac" policies. A new group of opponents is emerging: employers who "self-insure." They say they shouldn't have to pay taxes on the benefits they give their workers.
Mary Agnes Carey and Eric Pianin of Kaiser Health News provide an update on health overhaul negotiations on Capitol Hill.
Mary Agnes Carey and Eric Pianin of Kaiser Health News provide an update on health overhaul negotiations on Capitol Hill.
Consumer and patients' groups criticize proposal that would let employers bestow bigger premium discounts on employees who embrace wellness programs.
In today's Health On The Hill, Jackie Judd talks to Kaiser Health News' Mary Agnes Carey about what will be a crucial week for health care legislation.
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