health reform

Presidential Heckling Quite Rare, Historian Says

South Carolina Rep. Joe Wilson's interruption of President Obama's address to Congress Wednesday night was a rare instance of presidential heckling, but it was not the first. Historian Richard Norton Smith discusses past instances and the context.

Full Text: GOP Response to Obama Reform Speech

Following is the text of Louisiana Rep. Charles Boustany's GOP response to President Obama's health reform address to a joint session of Congress Wednesday, as distributed to news organizations.

President Prepares for Pivotal Health Care Speech

By Talea Miller

President Barack Obama will call Congress to a "season for action" on health care Wednesday night, urging lawmakers to set aside partisan gamesmanship in favor of drafting reform legislation, according to excerpts released by the White House.

During August, Public Weighs in on Reform

The Senate remained in session this week, but as House members headed home to their districts the focus of health care reform efforts moved off Capitol Hill.

Reform Plans Face Uncertainty in August Recess

With lawmakers heading into a monthlong recess, Democrats advanced health reform legislation in a key congressional panel Friday, but the debate over the Obama administration's top policy goal looked ready to move outside Washington.

In Legislation, New National Health Insurance Exchange Emerges

By PBS News Hour

Until recently, Steve Silberberg, a self-employed software contractor and backpacking guide, was paying about $3,000 per year for his health insurance and getting in return a bare-bones plan with a $10,000 deductible.