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Healthcare Reform
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 Hollywood Promotes Health Care Reform; Will It Work?
After months of debate over healthcare reform, celebrities have entered the fray. Actress Heather Graham, best known for movie roles like The Hangover and Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, has joined with liberal advocacy group MoveOn.org to create a viral video supporting the public option. Hollywood and progressive causes have gone hand-in-hand for decades, but this level of involvement during an election off-year is unusual. The ad is currently set to air on several national cable networks, with a six-figure production and advertising budget. Marketing and public relations have played a big role in affecting the views of the American people on this issue. Will this ad actually succeed in convincing people to pressure politicians with phone calls and emails?
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Health Insurance News
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 The open enrollment period is about to begin for the millions of Americans who receive health insurance from their employers. Employees have about one or two months to choose which of the offered plans they will take; they'll be stuck with their selection for a while year, so it's a very important decision. Don't rely on Congress' healthcare reform bill to provide you with a public option; it won't take effect until 2013, and its exact provisions are still unknown. Here are some tips on what to expect during the open enrollment process:
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Healthcare Reform
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 Healthcare reform seems to be moving along in Congress. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi appears to have a majority of Democratic representatives on Board, while Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is on his way to getting 60 votes in the Senate. However, there is one major issue that has the potential to derail Democrats' reform efforts: abortion. Some pro-life Democrats in Congress, like Rep. Bart Stupak are worried that the current bill will force the government to pay for abortions. It isn't a direct payment to providers that they're concerned with; rather, it's a seemingly benign subsidy meant to help low-income individuals and families purchase health insurance--either the public option or a private plan. Pro-choice leaders in Congress have already agreed to prevent recipients from using the subsidies specifically to pay for an abortion, instead leaving that expense to employer- or individual-paid premiums. Despite that provision, opponents still consider it federal funding since money can't be directly separated. Their belief is that if a woman receives a discount on a health insurance plan through a federal subsidy, she may then use the money she saved on that procedure. Technically, you could also make the argument that food stamps promote illegal drug use because they free up funds that would otherwise be used to feed people, and can instead be used to buy drugs. Stupak is planning to block the healthcare reform bill from moving out of committee unless House leaders like Henry Waxman allow him to offer a separate amendment that further prevents any of the new health care funds from being used for abortion services.
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Health Insurance News
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A newly-released survey of human resources professionals suggests that HSAs (or Healthcare Savings Accounts / Flexible Spending Accounts) need a strong legislative antibiotic to ward off a growing epidemic of consumers who are enrolling in higher deductible health care plans in a flat, uncertain economy.
Originally signed into law as a cornerstone of the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement and Modernization Act of 2003, HSAs were endorsed by then-President George Bush as a compromise between healthcare industry advocates who insisted at the time that higher co-payments for medical coverage are necessary to make a profit and please their shareholders and the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP), who lobbied hard for retirees on fixed incomes to obtain public assistance for medications. When the dust settled, the HSA was supposed to be the panacea for skyrocketing healthcare costs.
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Healthcare Reform
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 The AARP (Association for Advancement of Retired Persons) is the predominant lobbying group for senior citizens in the United States. Healthcare reform is an issue that impacts many seniors today; many are worried that their Medicare or Medicare Advantage benefits will be cut. One of the methods proposed for finding the funding to insure more Americans is to cute Medicare's reimbursements to doctors; this could lead to a decreasing number of practictioners who are willing to accept Medicare. That's why it's surprising that the organization has announced its support for the Democratic healthcare reform bill. Their power (40 million Americans over age 65 are card-carrying members) has the potential to push the House of Representatives' and Senate's bills over the amount of votes needed to pass. As a result, some Republicans have questioned AARP's status as a nonpartisan organization. It must be said, though, that AARP has made enemies of politicians in both parties in the past; and their seeming neutrality gives their views more credibility.
Believe it or not, AARP is actually willing to endanger the business of its own corporate partners. It makes money off of Medicare Advantage plans and other products sold by UnitedHealthcare and other health insurance companies. The reform bill AARP is backing will, above all, see significant cuts to Medicare Advantage. AARP officials insist that the fact that they collect over $220 million per year from AARP-branded insurance doesn't cause them to have a conflict of interest. Since they appear willing to sacrifice their own profits for what they believe is the greater good, respondents of a recent poll have greater trust in them to recommend the right solutions to our healthcare crisis. A majority of independents and Democrats have more confidence in the AARP than in health insurance companies. Even Republicans are equally confident in the seniors' organization.
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