Healthcare News and Research

Latest Healthcare News and Research

No Senate finance markup of health overhaul before recess

CongressDaily: "After a day of high emotions and partisan bickering, Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus announced Thursday the panel will not mark up a bipartisan healthcare overhaul bill before August recess.

31 Jul 2009

House Democrats set to move bill after accord with Blue Dogs, Liberals objecting

House Democrats on Wednesday made a deal with fiscally conservative Blue Dog Democrats on a health reform bill that "would reduce the overall cost of the package and ensure more funding for rural hospitals, concessions that could allow the Energy and Commerce Committee to finish its consideration of the legislation," The Washington Post reports.

30 Jul 2009

GOP version of reform bill offers tax credits, doesn't require coverage

House Republicans Wednesday unveiled their version of health reform legislation. It offers tax credits to help people buy insurance and doesn't require individuals or businesses to carry coverage, The Associated Press reports. The plan costs $700 billion, less than current Democratic proposals in Congress.

30 Jul 2009

Lobbyists continue pressing their cases on health reform

Pharmaceutical companies, hospitals, advocacy groups and others with a stake in health reform continue to lobby in hopes of winning concessions in the overhaul, or at least surviving the changes unscathed.

30 Jul 2009

Insurers struggle in downturn as Senators consider adding new tax

"Earnings from the nation's big health insurers show signs of a new uptick in medical costs related to the recession: As unemployment rises, people who have lost their jobs or are fearful of losing them are rushing to see doctors to get medical tests before their benefits expire," the Wall Street Journal reports.

30 Jul 2009

Recession-battered states cut funding for health services

Under economic pressure, states are slashing funding for health services from Connecticut to California. The cuts frustrate providers and lawmakers are looking for ways to limit harm.

30 Jul 2009

Health overhaul ads intensify emotional messages

"The healthcare overhaul fight in Washington is bursting into America's living rooms, and interests from many bands on the political spectrum are trying to transform an often wonky debate over 1,000-page bills into an emotional pitch that can be captured in 30 seconds," The Boston Globe reports.

30 Jul 2009

Colchicine approved for acute gout, Mediterranean fever

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved Colcrys to treat acute flairs in patients with gout, a recurrent and painful form of arthritis, and patients with familial Mediterranean fever (FMF), an inherited inflammatory disorder. The medication's active ingredient is colchicine, a complex compound derived from the dried seeds of a plant known as the autumn crocus or meadow saffron (Colchicum autumnale).

30 Jul 2009

Energy and commerce Blue Dogs make deal with House leaders, Liberal members rebel

Roll Call: "House leaders who have struggled for weeks to bring fiscally conservative Blue Dog Democrats on board announced a deal paving the way to get the bill through the Energy and Commerce Committee, but not to the floor, before the August break. But the agreement ran into a firestorm of resistance from liberal Members, forcing Chairman Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) to postpone plans for a markup Wednesday afternoon.

30 Jul 2009

Democrats: During August recess, Obama has 'major responsibility' to promote health overhaul

As Congress prepares to leave Washington for the August recess, Democrats are worried the vacation will "kill momentum on health care reform," Politico reports.

30 Jul 2009

Finance Committee negotiators near accord on bill

The Washington Post: "Three Democrats and three Republicans on the Senate Finance Committee are expected to wrap up their arduous multi-week talks in the coming days, and Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) said he expects a panel vote before the Senate recess, which will begin Aug. 7.

30 Jul 2009

No Blue Dog deal in House as compromise proves elusive

House leaders and the fiscally conservative Blue Dog Democrats group could not agree on a compromise late Tuesday after more than six hours of discussion, complicating efforts to have legislation on the House floor before the August recess.

30 Jul 2009

Centrists steer talks away from public plan

"Senate Democrats debating how to overhaul America's healthcare system are moving toward a showdown over whether to create a government-run insurance program or set up a system of cooperatives instead," the Los Angeles Times reports.

30 Jul 2009

Massachusetts to restore immigrant health care, Colorado Medicaid list grows, Obama in North Carolina

Massachusetts lawmakers will vote today to provide $40 million to restore health care coverage for legal immigrants. In Colorado, a 14 percent spike in Medicaid capped a record year for enrollment.

30 Jul 2009

Swine Flu - getting drugs to the market more rapidly

The pharmaceutical industry has been up in arms this year. Giants such as Pfizer, GSK and AstraZeneca are looking for deals in the downturn whilst competing against increasing generic competition as some of the best selling medicines are coming off patent. In addition to the sectors ever-changing landscape companies are under tremendous pressure from governments to combat the Swine flu pandemic that has gripped the world.

29 Jul 2009

Democrats to push unscored benefits to counter latest CBO analysis

Democrats are planning to push the point this week that health care reform, with a price tag of up to $1.6 trillion, has benefits and cost savings that aren't scored by the Congressional Budget Office, The Hill reports.

28 Jul 2009

Obama health reform proposals and alliances scrutinized

Roll Call reports that the Administration's alliances with major health organizations may not be as strong as previously thought. "An analysis of these groups' positions suggests few are completely on board and several may oppose the president in the end.

28 Jul 2009

House members continue bickering over reform

Hope is fading in the House on voting on reform before the August recess as Democrats bicker over details, Roll Call reports: "Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) told reporters Friday that Democratic leaders may push off the health care bill until September if they can't get it finished within the next two weeks."

28 Jul 2009

Senate Dems seek compromise on contentious health reform issues

A leading Democratic senator, Kent Conrad, D-N.D., said Sunday Democrats would need Republican support to make ambitious proposals to overhaul the health system a reality, the Associated Press reports.

28 Jul 2009

Health care legislation's hurdles and potential impacts

Politico reports on key issues that could derail a final bill: "Even if House and Senate leaders manage to get the health care bills through their chambers, they will still face a contentious conference committee. Those negotiations will aim to produce one final bill that must be passed anew in each chamber.

28 Jul 2009