WellPoint’s hikes created a political opportunity for reform, but California policy holders aren’t the only ones experiencing drastic rate increases. A new survey from the Center for American Progress Action Fund has found that “double-digit hikes have been implemented or are pending in at least 11 other states among the 14 where WellPoint’s Blue Cross Blue Shield companies are active: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Indiana, Maine, Nevada, New Hampshire, New York, Virginia, and Wisconsin.” Below is a sample:

– California: Average rates are expected to increase 25 percent in 2010, with increases as high as 39 percent for some policyholders.

– Colorado: Average rates are expected to increase 19.9 percent in 2010, with increases of up to 24.5 percent for some policyholders.

– Indiana: Rates are expected to increase 21 percent in 2010.

– Maine: Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield requested a 23 percent increase for 2010 after five straight years of double-digit increases for individual policyholders. Anthem is suing the Maine Insurance Commissioner for rejecting its request last year for an 18.5 percent rate hike and allowing a 10.9 percent increase.

– Ohio: Average individual rates are expected to decline 40 percent in 2010 due to a new state law that went into effect in 2010.

Hikes are the kind of thing that bring lofty political rhetoric about the need for reform into reality for millions of Americans. More importantly, they could convince those who already have coverage to pressure their lawmakers on reform. This morning, House members will have an opportunity to question WellPoint CEO Angela Braly about the rate hikes when she appears before the Energy and Commerce Committee. But let’s hope they use this report to do more than just talk.

Think Progress » REPORT: WellPoint Raising Premium Rates By Double Digits In At Least 11 States.

A Trap? What? Really?

First he called congressional Democrats’ yearlong march toward health care overhaul an ugly process. Now President Barack Obama wants to talk directly with Republicans, the very people his Capitol Hill allies call obstinate and uncooperative.

It’s no wonder Democratic lawmakers are less than enthusiastic about Obama’s overture to the GOP.

The president has blamed special deals cut on Capitol Hill for the public’s skepticism about health care legislation, distancing himself from what he’s called “this Congress,” even though his White House was closely involved in the process. For their part, some congressional Democrats clamored for stronger leadership from Obama after an upset loss in a special election last month denied Democrats their filibuster-proof Senate majority, plunging the health overhaul into disarray.

But with the legislation languishing, the bipartisan health care summit Obama has set for later this month almost has to break the logjam, even if neither Democrats nor Republicans are particularly excited about it. Either the two parties come together against all odds or the event demonstrates that no bipartisan outcome is possible, spurring Democrats to act alone. Or, the summit is a bust and the entire health care overhaul falls apart.

“I think this is sort of his last-ditch effort” at a bipartisan deal, said Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee.

“Unless there’s a dramatic change by the Republicans, I don’t think that we’ll see much change,” Miller said. But, he added, “the president believes this is important. I don’t disagree with what he’s trying to do.”

Democrats see a few scenarios that could emerge from the Feb. 25 event, planned as a half-day televised forum. Details on attendees and format remain scant.

via Obama Health Care Summit: Democrats Skeptical Of Meeting With GOP.

VIDEO AND FULL TEXT AVAILABLE HERE.

In one key exchange this morning, Obama rebuked pleas from Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.) (ASS Hat) that he moderate his agenda and work with Republicans to ease the current state of economic uncertainty.

Lincoln described a constituent who she said was “extremely frustrated because there was a lack of certainty and predictability from his government for him to be able to run his businesses.”

She asked: “Are we willing, as Democrats, not only to reach out to Republicans, but to push back in our own party for people who want extremes, and look for the common ground that’s going to get us the success that we need not only for our constituents, but for our country, in this global community, in this global economy?”

“Look,” said Obama, “there’s no doubt that this past year’s been an uncertain time for the American people, for businesses and for people employed by businesses. Some of that uncertainty just had to do with the objective reality of this economy entering into a free fall…

“Let’s remind ourselves that if you’ve got an economy suddenly contracting by 6 percent or a loss of trillions of dollars of wealth basically in the blink of an eye, where home values are descending by 20 percent, that that’s going to create a whole lot of uncertainty out there, in the business environment and among families. …

“And part of what we’ve done, over the course of this year, is to put a floor under people’s feet. That’s what the Recovery Act did.”

more…….

Obama Calls Out Conservative Democrats For Their Timidity.

Things look bad now, and the party will lose seats this fall. But the economy will bounce back, Democrats will be united—and faith in government can be restored.

Democrats win elections by convincing Americans that government can work. Republicans win elections by convincing them that it can’t. Right now, the GOP is winning that argument. To resurrect his presidency, Barack Obama must change that.

A year ago, most Americans were hopeful that Obama could invigorate government, and that an invigorated government could improve their lives. According to a January 2009 NBC/Wall Street Journal poll, Americans were 11 points more likely to say “government should do more to solve problems and help meet the needs of people” than they were to say that “government is doing too many things better left to business and individuals.” During the Bush administration, after all, people had seen what happens when business is left to handle financial regulation and individuals are left to handle hurricane relief. They wanted government to do more—and believed they would benefit if it did.

Even if he encounters further setbacks, Obama doesn’t have to worry about a primary challenge (that decision to get Hillary out of the Senate looks smarter every day).

more….

Democrats, Don’t Despair – Page 1 – The Daily Beast.