Obama Chronicles Articles

Earlier today, Health Secretary Kathleen Sebelius stopped by a gathering of health insurance executives in Washington to speak directly to the CEOs who have been fighting tooth and nail to block reform.On Monday, insurance company executives came to D.C. to begin their week-long conference of America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), the lobbying arm of the nation’s health insurance industry. While they’ve been in Washington, we learned that health insurance rates in Illinois are going up by as much as 60 percent. We learned that Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield — the company we’ve been hearing about due to their exorbitant rate hikes in California — is raising rates for Virginians as well. And we learned that as insurers raise rates …

Some 65 years after their service, a group of former civilian women pilots whose unheralded work was key to helping the U.S. effort in World War II are honored with the Congressional Gold Medal.

The United States will hold both Israel and the Palestinians responsible for any steps that make peace between them more difficult, Vice President Joe Biden said Wednesday.

From David Plouffe:As the President has made clear, Americans deserve a final up-or-down vote on health reform. And the House is now expected to hold its final vote as soon as one week from today.As we speak, insurance-industry lobbyists are gathering at the D.C. Ritz-Carlton to stage a last-minute blitz to block reform — even as they jack up premiums by as much as 60% for small businesses and families across the country.So starting today, we’re launching an unprecedented week-long campaign sprint — our "Final March for Reform." Each day until the vote, we’ll feature a powerful new way for OFA supporters to speak out in our communities and weigh in directly with Congress.Today, we’ll start by spreading the …

President Obama is set to turn up the heat on private health insurers again Wednesday, taking his increasingly populist health care overhaul pitch on the road to the political battleground state of Missouri.

UPDATED: The even has now ended. Right now, President Obama is speaking on health reform in Missouri.

ST. CHARLES, Mo. (AP) — Democrats claimed momentum Wednesday in their drive to enact the sweeping health care legislation sought by President Barack Obama, citing near agreement on crucial issues despite persistent Republican efforts to knock them…

RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) — An open diplomatic row during the visit of Vice President Joe Biden has shined a spotlight on the U.S. failure to rein in Israeli settlement ambitions and deepened Palestinian suspicions that the United States is too…