Just in time to meet the 72-hour window for Thursday’s Healthcare Summit, Obama’s healthcare proposal is out. Notice it’s not called a “plan”. There’s a reason for that. The one word that comes to mind having browsed through it is “reactive”, and reacting is not planning. Nonetheless, here’s what’s in it, including a link so you can thumb through the 11-page document yourself.
Senator Michael Bennett is gathering co-sponsors for his letter asking Harry Reid to pass a public option via reconciliation. Now Democracy for America is giving you the chance to join 10 Senators and 119 Representatives by becoming a citizen co-sponsor of the letter. Sign it here, and find out the latest Congressional representatives to sign on to this critical measure.
In one of the most thorough surveys available, Robert Woods Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin have painstakingly ranked every county in every state so you know how healthy your area is. They evaluated both health outcomes (life expectancy and quality of life) and health factors (things that affect health, like healthy behaviors, healthcare, social and economic factors, and the physical environment).
Not content to sit on their hands and wait for something to come out of Washington’s political games, 26 states are moving ahead with healthcare reform. Not all are as bold as California’s single payer initiative or Massachusett’s mandated coverage. But each cash-strapped state is taking meaningful steps towards reform, improving access, quality, and affordability in its own way.
Read the HealthLeaders story to find out where you may want to move.
Who needs biotechnology firms with their expensive R&D and iron-clad patents when we have teenagers? One teen in particular may have just invented the most reliable way to test for a concussion yet – and it’s so simple it’s not even patentable.
