Health Care Reform | featured news

President Obama is now happy to call it "Obamacare." Once a term of derision used mostly by Republicans who have vowed to repeal the new health care law, Obama deployed it in both of his Colorado appearances on Wednesday. "The Affordable Care Act -- also known as Obamacare," Obama said to applause from backers at the University of Denver.

"I actually like the name," he added. "Because I do care -- that's why we fought so hard to make it happen."

It's Aug. 1, which means today is the day most insurers must start fully covering an array of women's health services, including birth control, under the health reform law.

Insurers and government officials say a new regulation regarding health insurance rebates may be keeping premiums lower for everyone.

"You are still paying for that coverage expansion but not getting the benefit of it," said Herb Kuhn, president of the Missouri Hospital Association. "So you as a state are exporting your dollars to another state. If you have some adjoining state that accepts (the Medicaid expansion) then you are basically sending your dollars to your neighbor."

Health-care reform. Same-sex marriage. Illegal immigration. The social safety net. When it comes to some of the top issues facing the states, it might seem that the partisan divide among the country’s governors is as wide as it has ever been.

So you think the Supreme Court upheld a law that requires most people to buy health insurance? That's only part of it. The measure's hundreds of pages touch on a variety of issues and initiatives that have, for the most part, remained under the public's radar.

Democrats say the extra federal money attached to the expansion will prove too good for most governors to pass up, especially as Medicaid and other healthcare costs continue to soar... "My guess is that they will beat up the president for passing a great bill until he's re-elected and then join up and take the money because they know it's the best thing for their states," he told Reuters.

House Republicans have now voted to repeal the Affordable Care Act 33 times. Every time they take this vote, it’s time they could be spending on other issues... But though they’ve found the time to vote to repeal the Affordable Care Act on 33 separate occasions, they have voted to replace the Affordable Care Act exactly … never.

The White House casts today's House Republican vote to repeal the health care law as a waste of time while Americans are hurting economically. "We do not need to refight the battles of two years ago, three years ago," said White House spokesman Jay Carney. "We need to help the American economy now." The GOP-run House is likely to support repeal of Obama's health law with a vote this afternoon. The repeal proposal would go nowhere in the Democratic-run Senate... Carney said that, by his count, this is the 33rd time that congressional Republicans have voted to repeal or defund health care. He says the GOP is engaged in "a quixotic effort to try and score political points.

Here they go again. Again. Again. Curious to know how many times the House has voted to strip away all or part of the health-care reform law? The magic number is 32 — and it will be 33 after today, as House Republicans plan to vote again to repeal the entire law... And even if today’s vote never gets signed into law by President Obama, Republicans vow to keep trying.