On Monday, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius released a
state-by-state breakdown of
how healthcare reform will benefit the US. Many local news
outlets covered the report's findings on their states.
The Atlanta
Journal-Constitution (11/24, Keefe) reports that the
"health reform bill the Senate will take up next week would
extend coverage to 1.7 million Georgians -- either through
expansions in Medicaid or by allowing them to enroll in public
insurance exchanges -- who do not currently have health
insurance, according to a report released Monday by" HHS. But
"Georgia's Republican lawmaker...counter Democrats' claims of
big savings, saying both the bill already passed by the US House
and the bill pending in the Senate would cost the state -- and
all its residents -- dearly." Sebelius said that she
"understands the concerns," but that "they aren't mentioning the
potential savings to the states."
The analysis was "based on data provided by the Robert
Wood Johnson Foundation and the Urban Institute," according to
the Detroit Free Press
(11/24, Spangler). For Michigan, the report "says nearly 800,000
Michigan residents could qualify for federal subsidies to help
pay for affordable insurance coverage purchased through a new
national exchange...and that 1.6 million seniors...will finally
get free preventive coverage through the program."
The Cincinnati Enquirer
(11/24, Peale) calls the report "another push [by the Obama
Administration] for its healthcare reform bill." According to "Sebelius,
a Cincinnati native, the bill would help insure 1.4 million
Ohioans and 654,000 Kentuckians." Meanwhile, "a study partially
funded by WellPoint, owner of Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield
in Ohio,...said that average premiums in the state would more
than double."
Sebelius said the numbers present Americans with "a
clearer picture of what kind of change health insurance reform
would bring in a very tangible fashion," the
Louisville Courier-Journal
(11/24, Carroll, Weidenbener) reports. The legislation "would
make affordable coverage available to 820,000 Hoosiers now
without insurance," according to the HHS data.
But in Tennessee, Gov. Phil Bredesen (D) "has raised
concerns that the US Senate bill as drafted would impose some
$750 million in additional costs to the state over a five-year
period, while the US House bill would cost the state nearly
double that," the Chattanooga Times
Free Press (11/24) notes. "The White House report says
that if no actions are taken, the number of insured people will
grow by more than 30 percent in 29 states and by at least 10
percent in every state. It also warns the amount of
uncompensated care will more than double in 45 states."
In Virginia, for instance, "the number of uninsured
Virginians could grow by more than 41 percent" without
healthcare reform, the website of
WHSV-TVKansas City Business
Journal
(11/24) and the 
