Health Reform News and Research

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Lobbying to 'tweak' health reform bills heats up

"In Washington, there are two ways to wage legislative war: fight to kill and fight to tweak," the Washington Post reports. "With a growing sense that Democrats may have the votes to pass health-care reform, many participants are now attempting to shape the components of landmark legislation rather than to defeat it.

26 Oct 2009

In the House, Democrats opposed to abortion threaten reform bill

Some House Democrats opposed to abortion are threatening to thwart health care reform legislation if it does not clearly steer away from funding abortions. Congress Daily reports: "With Republicans likely to try to use the emotional issue to draw support and money for 2010 contests, Democrats tried to make the bill 'abortion neutral' -- maintaining existing federal policy without further restricting abortion rights.

26 Oct 2009

First Edition: October 26, 2009

Several Democratic senators voiced optimism on Sunday that Congress would pass a health care bill containing at least the germ of a government-run insurance program. Their expectations were grudgingly seconded by Senator John McCain, the Republican presidential candidate in 2008 (The New York Times).

26 Oct 2009

CCA and key industry leaders to discuss role of retail-based healthcare in health reform

On Monday, October 26, the Convenient Care Association (CCA) and The College of Physicians of Philadelphia, along with the Deloitte Center for Health Solutions and The Drug Store News Group, will discuss the evolution and growth of the convenient care industry, expansion of the convenient care model, convenient care in the health system setting, and quality in convenient care.

26 Oct 2009

Democratic infighting on abortion and health reform will peak this week

Examiner: "House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) intends to bring the legislation to the floor early this week, but Pro-life Representative Bart Stupak (D-MI) and a posse of conservative Democrats might just throw a wrench in Pelosi's plans.

26 Oct 2009

Pelosi pressing, cajoling Democrats to include public option in final health bill

News outlets covering Capitol Hill report that, with pressure from Democratic leaders, the public option now appears more likely to be in final health care reform legislation.

26 Oct 2009

House Dems: Health reform bill would close Medicare "doughnut hole"

CQ Politics: "House Speaker Nancy Pelosi made another bid to solidify support for Democrats' ambitious health care plans Friday, pledging to move aggressively to close the "doughnut hole" in Medicare drug coverage.

26 Oct 2009

Report on health insurance reform to support women with breast cancer

As Americans mark breast cancer awareness month, Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius today released a new report, Health Insurance Reform and Breast Cancer: Making the Health Care System Work for Women.

24 Oct 2009

New report analyzes similarities, differences, potential impacts and costs of current health reform bills

A new Commonwealth Fund report analyzes the similarities, differences, potential impacts, and costs of current bills passed by the five committees of jurisdiction in the United States Congress: Finance Committee and Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committees in the Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives' Ways and Means, Education and Labor, and Energy and Commerce committees.

24 Oct 2009

Today's opinions and editorials

Increasing government oversight will not only hurt doctors in the pocketbook, as reimbursements are inevitably cut. It will also lead to greater bureaucratic inefficiencies (Marc Siegel, 10/22).

24 Oct 2009

NIH awards $1.4 million Small Business Technology Transfer grant to BloodCenter of Wisconsin

BloodCenter of Wisconsin (BCW) today announced that the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded a $1.4 million Small Business Technology Transfer grant to fund continued research into the deployment of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology to enhance safety and reduce hospital costs related to the collection, manufacture and transfusion of blood products. The NIH grant allows the first-ever research into the potential clinical and financial benefits of RFID technology for automatic identification, tracking, and status monitoring of blood and blood products across the entire transfusion medicine supply chain.

24 Oct 2009

Obama won't tout Massachusetts health coverage plan during trip today

President Obama will not talk about the Massachusetts health care program to cover the uninsured or even talk about health reform for the country on a trip to that state today, focusing instead on clean energy and fundraising, The Washington Post reports.

24 Oct 2009

State reports: Providers struggle to make do with limited resources

Funding cuts are hurting dentists and hospitals, and squeezing providers that continue to treat low-income patients. Meanwhile, Massachusetts loses a key health official.

24 Oct 2009

Illegal immigrants, though excluded from government insurance, remain part of health debate

Lawmakers are excluding undocumented immigrants from health care reform legislation and barring them from receiving any government benefits.

24 Oct 2009

Wellness and prevention mostly absent in health reform bills

"Despite Americans' poor lifestyle choices and the chronic problems they spawn, the health-care reform proposals being considered in Congress contain relatively little to promote wellness," The Tennessean reports.

24 Oct 2009

Dr. Anthony Falcon: We're facing a catastrophic situation on the border

Kaiser Health News staff writer Jessica Marcy talks with Dr. Antonio Falcon, a physician in the border town of Rio Grande City, Texas. He explained his concern "about several health threats facing border communities, including tuberculosis, diabetes, obesity and the H1N1 virus that causes swine flu."

24 Oct 2009

As House lawmakers near vote, controversies linger

"House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and her top lieutenants said Thursday that they are close to corralling the 218 votes they need to move forward with comprehensive legislation that would include a version of the public option prized by liberals as a fundamental pillar of reform," the Washington Post reports (Montgomery and Murray, 10/23).

24 Oct 2009

A look at the past and present costs and history of American health care

A couple stories Friday examine just how Americans ended up with a system where employers pick up the tab for health insurance and which groups will end up paying more for health reform.

24 Oct 2009

First Edition: October 23, 2009

The latest developments surrounding health reform's public option grab a lot of headlines today, including news regarding a version of the plan that allows states to opt not to participate in it.

23 Oct 2009

Key tracking measures of public support for health care reform held steady in October

After falling over the summer then ticking upward in September, key tracking measures of public support for health care reform held steady in October with more Americans backing an overhaul of the U.S. health system than opposing it, according to the latest Kaiser Health Tracking Poll.

23 Oct 2009