But Wait There's More

CBS Radio just called to chat with Richard. I'm too hyped up to sleep these days anyway so getting a call at 7:45am was actually not a huge deal. I'm sure I will crash later, but for now, all's good. Here's some more HCAN in the news for your perusal:

Bloomberg:

“It’s great to see folks intending to work together to control costs, but the success will depend on actual implementation,” said Richard Kirsch, director of Health Care for America Now, a Washington-based group lobbying for Obama’s health plan and supported by groups including the AFL-CIO, a labor federation representing about 11 million workers.

Supporting cost-cutting doesn’t mean insurers will stop fighting against Obama’s proposal to create a government-run health plan to compete with private insurance companies and help reduce costs, he said.

Powerful Groups Oppose

“There are major features that powerful groups have said they oppose, and these will be issues Congress has to continue to wrestle with,” Kirsch said.

Associated Press:

A look at 10 groups with the most influence, or most at stake, in the health debate, and what they want and are trying to avoid:

The estimated 50 million uninsured people in the U.S. don't have lobbyists, but various advocacy groups aim to speak on their behalf. The liberal group Health Care for America Now says any health overhaul should mean coverage for everyone by including a public plan, basing out-of-pocket costs on ability to pay and providing a standard benefit with preventive care and treatment for serious and chronic diseases.

LATimes:

MoveOn has been joined by other liberal advocacy groups such as Health Care for America Now, which aired its own ad last month promoting a public plan. Last week, it aired a second ad highlighting Scott's former work for healthcare giant Columbia/HCA, which a decade ago paid $1.7 billion to settle fraud charges against the company.

And both WaPo writes made the CNN Ticker:

Washington Post: Health Groups Vow Cost Control
Volunteering to "do our part" to tackle runaway health costs, leading groups in the health-care industry have offered to squeeze $2 trillion in savings from projected increases over the next decade, White House officials said yesterday.

Washington Post: Ex-Hospital CEO Battles Reform Effort
The television ads that began airing last week feature horror stories from Canada and the United Kingdom: Patients who allegedly suffered long waits for surgeries, couldn't get the drugs they needed, or had to come to the United States for treatment.