Health Reform News and Research

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Facing Congressional squabbling, President pushes for reform

The press for health care reform hit a snag this week as Congress sputtered to resolve its differences, but President Barack Obama continues his call, almost daily, to continue to try to change the system, The New York Times reports.

21 Jun 2009

NY Times interview with Sebelius: "I'm very encouraged"

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, spoke to The New York Times about the state of health care reform on Capitol Hill during a 15-minute interview.

21 Jun 2009

Doctors cautiously signal they'll work with Obama

The American Medical Association voted yesterday to support "health reform alternatives that are consistent with AMA principles," although the group fell short of specifically supporting a public plan, the Associated Press reports.

18 Jun 2009

Prosposed budget cuts worry hospitals

The Wall Street Journal/Dow Jones Newswires reports on reaction to the Obama administration's proposed cuts that may acutely affect hospitals. It notes: "President Obama last weekend called for $313 billion in savings over 10 years through adjustments in Medicare and Medicaid payments - a plan that a 'deeply disappointed' American Hospital Association said would mean $220 billion in payment cuts to hospitals, on top of billions in other proposed Medicare cuts."

18 Jun 2009

Bingaman, Wyden among key health reform lawmakers in the news

Newspapers highlight a few of the key congressional players in the health care debate. Politico: "There's a little bit of Gary Cooper in Jeff Bingaman, and that's not bad for President Barack Obama if health care becomes the political High Noon this year that so many expect."

18 Jun 2009

Former Senate majority leaders outline health care compromise

Three former Senate majority leaders unveiled a health care reform plan Wednesday that would tax health benefits with value over what members of Congress are given and would mandate that both employers and individuals carry insurance, Kaiser Health News reports.

18 Jun 2009

Next year's rising health costs may not be slowed by reform

"Employers who offer health insurance coverage could see a 9 percent cost increase next year, and their workers may face an even bigger hit, according to a report Thursday from consulting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers," the Associated Press reports.

18 Jun 2009

New polls find support for health reform, fear of costs

A series of new polls this week show support for major health care reform, but trepidation about certain policy proposals, and anxiety about quickly growing health care costs, the possibility of losing coverage, and the federal budget deficit in general.

18 Jun 2009

Republicans scold HELP Democrats over reform bill's price tag, government control

"It was particularly devastating on Wednesday when [Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah]" – a longtime friend of Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., – "warned Democrats on the panel that they have already made some grave errors in their effort to write legislation overhauling the health care system," reports the New York Times in The Caucus Blog.

18 Jun 2009

Timeline for health legislation slips as HELP, Finance Committees hit snags

Senators delayed work Wednesday on one health care reform bill and hit partisan roadblocks on another as key lawmakers insisted they are still on track to have a bill on the floor by the middle of summer, The Washington Post reports.

18 Jun 2009

Senate Health Committee begins amending reform bill

The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee began amending their version of sweeping health overhaul legislation Thursday, days after a Congressional Budget Office report found the bill would cost $1 trillion over ten years, leaving 37 million people uninsured and Senate Republicans skeptical, the Associated Press reports.

18 Jun 2009

Health reform: The reality show

The health care reform discussion is beginning-at last!-to get real. On June 9, the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee released a draft bill, and the Congressional Budget Office published an estimate that the bill would cost $1 trillion over 10 years and leave 35 million uninsured.

18 Jun 2009

The Federal Government should have limited, but crucial, role in comparative effectiveness

Federal officials are expected to offer recommendations this month on one of the first installments of health reform - a new initiative to compare the value and merits of competing medical treatments.

18 Jun 2009

Former Senators unveil bipartisan health proposal, would tax benefits, mandate coverage

Three former Senate majority leaders today unveiled a bipartisan health care reform package that would tax health benefits and includes individual and employer mandates.

18 Jun 2009

House GOP leadership outlines bill, responds to Senate Democrats struggle to keep costs down

Politico reports that "while Senate Democrats marked up a $1 trillion health care package Wednesday morning, House Republicans unveiled an outline of their own plan."

18 Jun 2009

Finance Committee 'slows down' its health legislation schedule

According to The Hill, "Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., said Wednesday the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) analysis of his healthcare bill has prompted him to rein in costs and admitted that could delay action on the legislation. His goal is to bring the cost of his panel's sprawling healthcare reform bill down from $1.6 trillion to $1 trillion, and to pay for it entirely with tax increases, spending cuts and other offsets."

18 Jun 2009

A rocky start for Senate panel's health reform debate

The Wall Street Journal reports that "the first meeting of a Senate panel to formally consider health-care legislation got off to a rocky start Wednesday as Republicans launched an attack on the bill's hefty costs and lack of detail on contentious provisions."

18 Jun 2009

Senate Health Committee to begin reform mark up today, finance to follow next week

Senate Democrats are scrambling to reduce the price tag of reform proposals, which initial estimates place at $1.6 trillion, The Wall Street Journal reports.

18 Jun 2009

Lobbyists strike at wellness programs

Wellness programs are not faring well as a campaign is mounting to strike a provision for them from reform legislation. Roll Call reports that "innocuous sounding 'wellness programs' that many employers would like to see included as part of health care reform legislation have sparked a lobbying campaign by disease groups, consumer organizations and unions.

18 Jun 2009