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Is an individual mandate constitutional? Legal scholars are divided

Some legal scholars are questioning the constitutionality of a proposed mandate that would require most Americans to carry health insurance or pay a tax penalty, The Washington Times reports. This would be the first time that Congress has "required citizens to purchase any good or service." The argument against the constitutionality of such a provision "strikes at a pivotal part of the health care plan's finances."

28 Oct 2009

Obama seeks health reform support from small businesses

Roll Call: "The White House is aggressively courting the small-business community, believing that some on GOP-friendly Main Street can be enlisted in the fight for health care reform and that assistance to mom-and-pop shops is vital to chipping away at the unemployment rate. ... White House officials were on the phone to the [U.S. Chamber of Commerce] and the GOP-leaning National Federation of Independent Business on Friday asking them to provide a group of small-business owners for Obama to talk with at the White House on Thursday."

28 Oct 2009

AHIP, Chamber of Commerce ramp up opposition to health reform

Insurers and the Chamber of Commerce are stepping up lobbying against a health care overhaul with new television ads.

28 Oct 2009

Rove, Dean trade one-liners on health reform, Senators offer their take

Former Democratic Party head Howard Dean joined former Bush adviser Karl Rove for a debate on health care reform in Pennsylvania Tuesday night while other Senators are offering their take on the public option's role in a health care overhaul.

28 Oct 2009

Conference to caution Congress on the ill effects of pending Medicare cuts to be organized

A new national coalition of small long-term care businesses that provide vital services to the nation's skilled nursing facilities, will join with Maine nursing home providers and frontline caregivers for a Capitol Hill press conference to caution against deep Medicare cuts included in current healthcare reform legislation.

28 Oct 2009

North Dakota congressional delegation praised for recognizing seniors’ care needs as priority in final bill

With North Dakota seniors facing cuts of up to $75 million in their Medicare-funded nursing home care over the next ten years as a result of pending health reform legislation in Congress, North Dakota and national long term care leaders conducted a North Dakota media teleconference today to praise the North Dakota congressional delegation for recognizing the specific concerns of seniors and caregivers, and ensuring the leadership in their respective chambers clearly understand why seniors' care needs must be a priority in a final bill.

28 Oct 2009

First Edition: October 28, 2009

The news of the day again seems to focus on Senate Democrat's public option as well as the politics, strong-arming and vote-counting that it has caused.

28 Oct 2009

Congress urged to support President Obama's pledge not to raise taxes on middle-class Americans

Save Flexible Spending Plans in partnership with the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW) launched a new advertising campaign today encouraging Congress to honor President Obama's pledge not to raise taxes on middle-class Americans by preserving, rather than restricting, the use of flexible spending accounts (FSAs) in health care reform legislation.

28 Oct 2009

Experts release policy recommendations to promote better medication adherence and health outcomes

A diverse group of health care and consumer organizations released five policy recommendations this week that are designed to promote better medication adherence and improved health outcomes for patients.

28 Oct 2009

House Democrats continue courting, counting votes for 'robust' public option

The New York Times reports that Speaker Nancy Pelosi is scheduled to discuss the public option and health costs with other Democratic leaders. "Ms. Pelosi has been working hard to build support for the most liberal version of a government-run insurance plan, the so-called robust public option, which would generally tie payments to doctors, hospitals and other health care providers to Medicare rates. But so far Ms. Pelosi has been coming up short."

27 Oct 2009

Senators draw lines around a handful of swing voters

Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins, both Maine Republicans, have been in the spotlight this year because of their ability to cross party lines with political impunity, Politico reports. Collins took the lead in negotiating a stimulus bill in February that drew three GOP votes, including Snowe's. Snowe is now at the center of the health reform debate.

27 Oct 2009

AARP dual role in health reform: Advocate and insurance business

The Washington Post reports on questions raised about AARP's dual role in health reform. It profits from sales of health insurance policies to seniors and is strongly supporting reform legislation. "The nation's preeminent seniors group, AARP, has put the weight of its 40 million members behind health-care reform, saying many of the proposals will lower costs and increase the quality of care for older Americans," according to the Post.

27 Oct 2009

Today's opinions and editorials

Health Reform Will Increase Medicaid Costs The Philadelphia Inquirer The financial stakes are high for the states, nearly all of which are struggling just to discharge their current Medicaid commitments (Laura Katz Olson, 10/27).

27 Oct 2009

Lawmakers press Obama to 'speak out' for health bills

Liberal legislators feel that their leaders have done their job, and now it's time for President Obama to step up to the plate, Politico reports.

27 Oct 2009

AFL-CIO to push even harder for health reform, may bend on 'Cadillac tax'

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka is "willing to consider a tax on high-value health insurance plans — something labor has vehemently opposed — if middle-class workers aren't hurt, The Associated Press reports. The flexibility is notable because "[l]abor leaders worry that workers would be affected even though lawmakers aimed the proposed tax at insurance plans offering the richest benefits" (Werner, 10/26).

27 Oct 2009

Insurer contracting policies can jeopardize health care system, says NNCC study

A study conducted by National Nursing Centers Consortium (NNCC) has found that nearly half (48%) of all major managed-care organizations in the United States do not credential or contract with nurse practitioners as primary care providers.

27 Oct 2009

ACC's initiative for health care reform

As lawmakers debate health care reform, business innovator Lou Weisbach and Clinton White House health care advisor Dr. Richard Boxer are available for interviews to discuss a glaring, missing element of the forthcoming health care legislation: reducing health care costs -- and saving lives -- by preventing and curing disease.

27 Oct 2009

Workers face touch insurance choices amid rising premiums

It's open-enrollment season, meaning large companies are offering workers a chance to change their health plans, but the choices are grim: The cost of premiums is rising even as benefits packages shrink, the Associated Press reports

27 Oct 2009

Romer sees health care reform as critical to ease deficit

Top White House advisor Christina Romer said that health reform would help to ease the deficit at a speech today. Reuters reports: "While some critics say Democrats' efforts to regulate the insurance sector should wait until the deficit is under control, they should instead see it 'as the most significant act we could take to tackle the deficit,' Romer said in speech to the Center for American Progress, a Washington-based think-tank" (Heavey, 10/26).

27 Oct 2009

A selection of today's opinions and editorials

Aging in Place" is the popular rallying cry in the senior community. But living at home is not so easy, either for the frail elderly or younger people with disabilities. Interestingly enough, the reasons may have more to do with social issues than medical concerns (Howard Gleckman, 10/26).

26 Oct 2009