Six in ten Americans, including Catholics, said they support a requirement by the Obama administration that health plans supply free contraceptives as a preventive benefit for women.
Some Republican leaders want to overhaul Medicare, a $520 billion program that covers nearly 47 million older and disabled Americans. Here’s a guide to some of the changes being discussed.
Republicans want to slash funds for family planning clinics and eliminate federal support for Planned Parenthood, a major provider of reproductive health care in the U.S.
The Republican effort to repeal the health care law is sure to founder in the Democratic-controlled Senate, but that doesn’t mean that the GOP is ending its assault on the law. House Republicans are already beginning work in committees to lop off and possibly replace some of the law’s individual provisions.
Efforts to repeal health-care reform are likely to fail. First, Americans like much of the law.
But, more importantly, so do key interest groups. In fact, hospitals, insurers, large employers, and the pharmaceutical industry do not favor repeal.
While GOP voters say they want to start from scratch on health reform, major players in the health-care industry, usually strong Republican allies, aren’t so keen on the idea.
Even if Republicans could revise the new health law in the next two years, the effort might hurt chances of eventually repealing it, some conservatives say.
In at least 10 states, including Kansas, Tennessee and Oklahoma, Republicans replaced Democrats in governors’ mansions. The GOP also picked up seats in legislatures in many states.
Most Republicans acknowledge that repealing the new health reform law is a long shot, given President Obama’s veto power. Still, they’ll possess some powerful tools to challenge the law if they win the House.
GOP says plan is a far less costly and intrusive than the Democratic proposals.
While Republicans don’t have one health care plan, some have proposals that would reshape the health care system.
LocalHealthGuide is a health news and information web service for Seattle and the Puget Sound Region. We are independent and unaffiliated with any hospital, medical association or insurer. If you have questions or if your group has an upcoming event that you would like us to cover, please let us know by going to our "Contact Us" page and dropping us a note. -- Michael McCarthy, Editor
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