Transparency On Healthcare Pricing Will Increase Quality, Says House Democrat

By Antonia Aguilar
University of New Mexico/Talk Radio News Service

Rep. Steve Kagen (D-Wisc.) said Thursday that initiating price transparency within the health care marketplace will generate competition, driving quality up and prices down.

Kagen's remarks came during testimony before the House Energy and Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Health.

“Doing so will...[allow] families to find the essential information necessary to make their health care decisions based upon the quality, the price and the service of available caregivers within their hometown area and even across the nation," said Kagen.

Kagen affirmed his support for the recently introduced, Transparency in All Health Care Pricing Act of 2010. The bill would require all medical service and product providers to publicly disclose the overall price for all services rendered. Kagen likened the bill to the traditional formality at restaurants where the customer knows in advance the description and price of a meal before ordering.

“A foot-long sandwich costs you $5 no matter what you decide to put into it,” he said. “If the owners of Subway can figure out how to make money by “lumping” their prices, so can our nation’s hospitals.”

Reid: Republicans Must Stop Making Love To Wall Street

By Antonia Aguilar - University of New Mexico / Talk Radio News Service

“The Republicans are having difficulty determining how they’re going to continue making love to Wall Street,” said Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) at a press briefing Wednesday where he accused Republicans of delaying the progress of financial reform through the Senate.

“The Republicans have stopped us from doing anything on this bill. We are doing absolutely nothing on the floor and it's very, very troubling for all of us,” said Reid after lamenting on other key issues the Senate has yet to address because financial reform hasn’t been passed.

Reid stressed that two weeks after financial reform was proposed to the Senate, Wall Street is still operating under the same programs that they did when they started their “fly-by-night scams” that lead to the financial crisis.

“Programs are still in place,” Reid said. “We don’t have the rules to enforce anything, thats what this legislation is all about and its a shame that we haven't been able to move to it.”

The Majority Leader said he hopes to get enough support to pass legislation through the floor but remains skeptical of a quick turn out in light of recent disagreements with Ranking Member Richard Shelby (R-AL).

“It's obvious that [Republicans] do not want to put any decent restrictions on what Wall Street has done or are doing and that's pretty clear,” said Reid.

Dorgan Proposes Amendment To Stop Financial Institutions From Growing Too Big To Fail

By: Antonia Aguilar / University of New Mexico - Talk Radio News

Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-ND) proposed an amendment to the Wall Street Reform bill Tuesday to prevent financial institutions from expanding into powerhouses that are “Too Big To Fail.”

“This amendment that I offer would be mandatory rather than permissive,” said Dorgan. “If you have risen to be judged to have been 'too big to fail,' which would cause a grave financial risk to our entire economy ... the best most direct and most effective approach will be to have those institutions divest those activities and those portions of their business that have made them 'too big to fail.'”

According to Dorgan, his amendment will stop the future risk of taxpayer bailouts on Wall Street. The amendment will appoint the Financial Oversight Council to identify companies that pose a high risk to the financial stability of the U.S. and restrict their business activities until they are no longer a concern.

“It is another approach that is far superior, much more direct, more decisive and one that will produce better results,” said Dorgan. “It is the only one I think that effectively will end 'too big to fail.'”

Implementation Of Health Care Reform Presents A Challenge, Says AHIP Executive

By Antonia Aguilar - University of New Mexico / Talk Radio News Service

Although the debate over health care reform may be over, a significant struggle remains, an executive for America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) said Friday.

“Everyone who thought getting a bill done was the hard part, you're in for a surprise," said Scott Keefer, the Vice President of Policy Development for AHIP's Center for Policy and Research. "Implementation in many ways is going to be an equal challenge."

Alliance for Health Reform Chairman Ed Howard, who appeared with Keefer, outlined a number of the changes that private insurers will soon need to tackle.

“There are sweeping changes in store for the private insurance industry and they are going to effect what gets sold, to whom, at what cost and in what form the sale gets made,” said Howard.

Democrats Launch Campaign To Preserve Arctic Refuge

By Antonia Aguilar - University of New Mexico / Talk Radio News Service

Senators Tom Udall (D-NM), Mark Udall (D-Colo.) and Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) marked the 50th anniversary of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge by launching a nationwide campaign to protect the Alaska based refuge from oil drilling and other industrial developments.

“In wildness is the preservation of the planet,” said Tom Udall. "We need to make sure that we preserve this area. It’s a very very special area.”

Titled “The Arctic is Alive,” the campaign will focus on the natural resources along the coastal plain as well as the native species that inhabit the area.

“The coastal plane of the Arctic refuge is the biological heart of the region and central to the survival of many species,” said Markey. “We would never dam the Grand Canyon, we would never strip mine the Yellow Stone and we should never drill in the Arctic Refuge.”

Mark Udall said he hopes the campaign will sway Congress to list the coastal plain under wilderness protection legislation, which would officially ensure its preservation.

“I think our mission is to not have to come back and celebrate the 100th anniversary... because it’ll just be a given that the wildlife refuge has been permanently protected as wilderness,” said the Colorado senator. "This isn’t just about us, it’s about the generations to follow.”