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Today's selection of opinions and editorials

There's enough wrong with the Baucus proposal as it stands to make it unworkable and unacceptable. But that said, Senator Baucus's mark is better than many of us expected. If it serves as a basis for negotiation, and the result of those negotiations is a plan that's stronger, not weaker, reformers are going to have to make some hard choices about the degree of disappointment they're willing to live with (Paul Krugman, 9/17).

21 Sep 2009

Parties plot strategies, next steps on Baucus bill

Sen. Max Baucus' health reform bill has both parties plotting their next move in advance of a markup scheduled to begin next week.

21 Sep 2009

Some senators fear new tax meant to control health costs could spiral

A tax on generous health benefits in the health reform plan unveiled this week by Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., has raised eyebrows around Congress, the New York Times reports. The tax would apply to any plan with annual premiums in excess of $8,000 for individuals and $21,000 for families, and would initially impact only a small number of health plans, according to the Senator's own estimate.

21 Sep 2009

Sound off: some lawmakers talking up Baucus Bill, Grassley 'resents' President's remarks

Some lawmakers are touting the Baucus bill's potential and bickering among themselves and the White House about how reform plans are taking shape.

21 Sep 2009

Obama blankets airwaves to push for health reform

President Barack Obama's blitz across the Sunday talk shows to advocate for health overhaul legislation dominates news coverage today.

21 Sep 2009

Health policy experts urge Congress to abandon ideological differences on overhaul

Kaiser Health News reports that a group of "leading economists, analysts and health care administrators" are urging lawmakers to set aside ideological differences and take "action to create broad based changes in the nation's health care system."

21 Sep 2009

White house offers $25 million for medical malpractice projects

The Obama administration announced $25 million in new grants for pilot programs to explore alternatives to the medical malpractice system.

21 Sep 2009

First edition: September 18, 2009

Today's coverage shows that all sides of the health overhaul debate are breaking down the specifics of the Baucus reform bill and developing their strategies and plans for next steps.

18 Sep 2009

NAHCA says Medicare cuts to providers will undermine seniors' care

At a news conference during its annual National Association of Health Care Assistants (NAHCA) convention, America's front-line nursing home caregivers gathered to urge Congress to significantly scale back attempts to cut seniors' Medicare benefits in any final health reform bill, and said arguments being made that funding reductions to providers will not harm the quality of care provided to seniors is flatly incorrect.

18 Sep 2009

TFAH supports ARRA Prevention and Wellness Fund

Trust for America's Health (TFAH) applauds today's announcement of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act's (ARRA) Prevention and Wellness Fund by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

18 Sep 2009

White House says Baucus' 'building block' is not the end of the debate

President Barack Obama's spokesman, Robert Gibbs, called the health care reform plan released Wednesday by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus "an important building block" that "gets us closer to comprehensive health care reform" Roll Call reports.

18 Sep 2009

With Baucus Bill no longer a mystery, party leaders contemplate strategy

Now that the long-awaited Baucus health overhaul is out, Democratic leaders are pondering how they will collect the votes and support necessary to move a bill through Congress.

18 Sep 2009

U.S. healthcare system fraught with racial inequalities

Racial inequalities in health care access and quality added more than $50 billion a year in direct U.S. health care costs over a four-year period according to a study released today by the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, a Washington-based think tank.

18 Sep 2009

Health care leaders urge Congress to act on meaningful health reforms

More than 400 of the nation's most respected health care leaders today issued a joint Open Letter to Congress declaring that the health care system is in crisis and is unsustainable and calling on Congress to act now on meaningful reforms. They state that Congress has a moral and ethical obligation to improve healthcare for all our citizens now.

18 Sep 2009

Republican wish list has stark differences and surprising similarities to Democratic proposals

The Republican leadership lacks a flagship health reform plan, but a variety of ideas and proposals have emerged from rank-and-file members that outline the party's reform principles, Kaiser Health News reports.

18 Sep 2009

Summa Health System responds to healthcare reform

As the health insurance reform debate continues in Washington, D.C. and around the country, Summa Health System provides the following response to the latest developments in the debate and the potential impact on Summa. As a system, Summa continues to inform the debate by sharing its perspective on various policy changes and urges adoption of policies that would impact its patients' health in a positive way, including efforts to expand affordable health insurance to those without coverage.

18 Sep 2009

Health reform yet to address the critical issue of how federal rules will impact health care delivery systems

According to a new report from State Coverage Initiatives, federal policymakers crafting health reform have yet to address the critical issue of how new or modified federal rules will impact health care delivery systems, insurance regulation, and safety net programs administered by the states.

18 Sep 2009

Government-run health care and increased taxes top list of concerns

On the heels of the new $856 billion health care bill proposed yesterday by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, doubt over health care reform passing this year still looms across the American public.

18 Sep 2009

Obama to student audience: Health reform is 'defining struggle of this generation'

"Calling health insurance reform a 'defining struggle of this generation,' President Barack Obama told thousands of college students Thursday that Congress must resist scare tactics and false accusations to do a makeover."

18 Sep 2009

Health policy research roundup

Implementation Choices for the Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009 - This report examines two key areas of the implementation process of the Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act (CHIPRA) of 2009 - outreach and enrollment, and quality of care - and issues a set of recommendations. "Recommendations include: giving funding priority to states that will adopt or maintain key simplifications… ensuring quality measures focus on priority health needs for children, and building quality measurement and improvement capabilities into electronic health information systems, among others," according to a Commonwealth Fund description of the report (Simpson, Fairbrother, Touschner and Guyer, 9/10).

18 Sep 2009