The Staggers: Health Care

I'm one of the 39 per cent. I appealed against a decision by Jobcentre Plus that, despite being five months into recovery from a stroke, I was not entitled to sickness benefit. On Tuesday, I won. The overturned decision was based on the infamous work capability tests carried out by French IT company Atos. The accuracy of the tests has ... read more

It's that time of year again. In the past week I've been asked to flash my red pants for Aids awareness (I don't wear any); buy a fundraising red ribbon cupcake (I bake my own); and take part in a world-record-breaking HIV testing event in Soho (I had a test last month).

I'll put bets on who will have the glitziest red ribbon brooch on X Factor on Saturday (Gary); I'll ... read more

There will be one glaring issue in the upcoming 2012 presidential election: healthcare reform. According to the latest Real Clear Politics poll - and almost every other poll out there - Mitt Romney will be the one to take on Obama come November 2012, and there couldn't be a more fitting match for such a prevalent issue.

In 2006 Romney achieved the passage of his bill ... read more

A new year, a new Congress, and a whole new set of political leaders who are about to become very familiar indeed. Gone are the days of Speaker Pelosi: this afternoon John Boehner of Ohio will take up the gavel, becoming the 61st Speaker of the House of Representatives at the helm of a newly energised Republican majority.

On Boehner's shoulders now hangs the weight of expectation. The conservative activists who ... read more

The US Senate has voted in favour of the historic health-care reform bill today. The bill -- which some critics say has been heavily compromised and others say not enough -- must now be reconciled with a different version passed by the House of Representatives, a process that will begin in mid-January.

This landmark move follows months of political wrangling. It has been a process characterised by vicious partisan debate, ... read more

So the picture on Capitol Hill may now be one of grinning Democrat faces -- but for how much longer? Early today, health-care reforms backed by President Barack Obama finally scraped past the crucial Senate hurdle, with the Democrats getting the required 60 votes to move the bill to a final vote by Christmas Eve.

Yet this Democratic victory has bred deep resentment in the Republican caucus. Reports from Washington ... read more