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GOP agrees to move up final Senate vote on health care bill to early Christmas Eve

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., announced Tuesday afternoon that the Senate has scheduled a vote on the final passage of its health care overhaul bill for around 8 a.m. EST on Thursday, Christmas Eve, after Republican leaders agreed to a deal to speed up the procedure.

22 Dec 2009

Baucus vows to have health overhaul bill to President's desk by State of the Union

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., vowed Tuesday to have a healthcare overhaul bill to President Barack Obama by his State of the Union address in January, The Hill reports.

22 Dec 2009

Obama denies that he compromised too much on health care bill

In an interview with The Washington Post, President Barack Obama rejected "criticism that he has compromised too much in order to secure health-care reform legislation, challenging his critics to identify any 'gap' between what he campaigned on last year and what Congress is on the verge of passing.

22 Dec 2009

Opinions: Community-based health care models; U.S. leadership in reproductive health care

"We don't need to start fresh to create patient-centered medical homes. We just need to look to community-based models of care that are effective but often go unrecognized," according to a Boston Globe opinion piece by Heidi Behforouz, the director of the Prevention and Access to Care and Treatment project, which is based on "a model that Partners in Health pioneered to fight HIV in rural Haiti and drug-resistant tuberculosis in Peru."

22 Dec 2009

Ottawa Citizen examines water, sanitation in East Africa

An Ottawa Citizen article examines Canada-based charity WaterCan's projects in East Africa. "This year, WaterCan has worked with local African partners to retro-fit more than 50 schools [in] Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia and Tanzania - and has just launched a major Christmas funding drive to expand their work in schools next year. In the past two years, the charity has spent more than $2 million on school and community water and sanitation projects," according to the article.

22 Dec 2009

Sausage-making greases overhaul votes and fuels criticisms

Last-minute, multimillion-dollar deals with wavering Democrats helped secure the support of all 58 Democrats and 2 independents needed to pass the overhaul bill, but they may also set a new bar for future horse trading, Politico reports. Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb., "won a provision exempting his state from paying the usual share of costs for new Medicaid patients. The deal critics have dubbed the Cornhusker Kickback is expected to cost the federal government $100 million over 10 years."

22 Dec 2009

Also in Global Health news: HIV prevention in China; Global Fund in Philippines; drug-resistant TB; U.S. stance on anti-gay legislation

"A gay bar partially funded by the government of a Chinese city heavily affected by AIDS has finally opened after a delay caused by intense media interest which the owners felt may scared off potential patrons," Reuters Life! reports. The bar in the southwestern city of Dali is a collaborative effort by the city's health department and two NGOs, according to the news service (12/21). "The venue aims to provide a place where homosexuals can meet in a relaxed atmosphere and get information about HIV/AIDS prevention," Agence France-Presse reports (12/20).

22 Dec 2009

MSF report names malnutrition, inadequate funds for HIV/AIDS, neglected diseases among top humanitarian crises of 2009

Inadequate international funding for HIV/AIDS and neglected diseases as well as global malnutrition were among the top 10 humanitarian crises outlined in an annual report issued Monday by Medecins Sans Frontieres, the Associated Press reports (Astor, 12/21).

22 Dec 2009

Local leaders react to Senate health overhaul bill

Local leaders are reacting to the health care overhaul as the Senate passage of the bill creeps closer.

22 Dec 2009

Disability-related problems continue to rise among older adults

Disability rates among non-institutionalized older Americans increased between 2000 and 2005, a trend that could seriously impact the quality of life of seniors in the coming decades if it continues, according to a study led by researchers at the University of Toronto and the University of California, Berkeley.

22 Dec 2009

Lawmakers hope to combine Senate, House health reform bills quickly

The Wall Street Journal reports that Democrats are hoping — and planning — on fast negotiations between the Senate and the House in January to come up with a merged health care reform bill.

22 Dec 2009

Senators keep health bill's Christmas Eve timeline on track

Senators cast the second of three procedural votes Tuesday morning to end debate on the Senate's health care reform bill, keeping alive their timeline of passing the reform on Christmas Eve Thursday. Senators voted 60-39 to accept the manager's amendment around 8 a.m. Tuesday, clearing the way for one remaining procedural vote Wednesday and a final vote on the legislation Thursday.

22 Dec 2009

How health reform might affect 'Young Invincibles'

ProPublica profiles a "young invincible" and reports on what a health care overhaul might mean for him.

22 Dec 2009

Today's opinions and editorials

'Twill be the night before Christmas when the Senate delivers the top item on White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel's wish list: a health-care bill (William McGurn, 12/21).

22 Dec 2009

Difficult issues will remain even if Senate Democrats pass health bill

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., made two major changes to the Senate's version of the health overhaul legislation - removing the proposed "public option" and restricting abortion coverage - that have helped ease tension enough to secure more votes for the bill, but left advocates with much to complain about.

22 Dec 2009

Obama signs COBRA subsidy extension for laid-off workers

"President Barack Obama on Monday signed a measure to extend a federal subsidy for continued health-insurance coverage for involuntarily terminated workers under employer group plans," The Wall Street Journal reports.

22 Dec 2009

Obama praises Senate for clearing key health care hurdle

"President Barack Obama on Monday praised the Senate for clearing a key hurdle after midnight Sunday on the health care reform package, calling it a victory against 'special interests' that will reduce costs and the deficit," Roll Call reports.

22 Dec 2009

Lobbying set for a record year fueled in part by health care debate

USA Today: "As the health care bill moves toward a critical vote in the Senate, the five senators charged with overseeing the floor debate count health interests among their biggest campaign contributors, records show. The political action committees and employees of drugmakers Schering-Plough and Amgen have been the top two contributors in the past five years to Montana Sen. Max Baucus, who chairs the Senate Finance Committee and is one of three senators managing the bill for Democrats, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

22 Dec 2009

Political parties try to shape public opinion on health care

Politico: "Senate Democrats may not give final approval to their health care bill until Christmas Eve, but the parties have already moved on to the next fight: defining the measure in the minds of the public."

22 Dec 2009