THE DAILY DOSE: FRIDAY, JULY 17, 2009

Daily Dose
For Immediate Release:
2009-07-17T00:00:00
Contact Info:
Katie Grant
Stephanie Lundberg
(202) 225 - 3130
Health Reform in the House

Monday, July 20, 12:00 p.m.
Tuesday, July 21, 10 a.m.
Wednesday, July 22, 10 a.m.
Markup of H.R. 3200, “America’s Affordable Health Choices Act”
Committee on Energy and Commerce
2123 Rayburn House Office Building 

Fact of the Day

11.3 percent of drug spending in Medicare Part D is for administrative expenses. 14.1 percent of drug spending in private, Medicare Advantage plans is for administrative expenses.

Health Resources

Under the Microscope

REPORTS: Paying for Health Reform
Policymakers have been considering two major proposals to help finance health care reform that represent sound tax policy: (1) limiting the tax exclusion for employer-provided health benefits, and (2) capping the value of itemized deductions at 28 percent or a somewhat higher level. Capping the exclusion has the added benefit of helping slow the growth of health care costs. House Democrats have now advanced a third major proposal that also represents sound tax policy: imposing a graduated surcharge on high-income taxpayers. Below are reports that look at all three options.
[Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, 7/17/2009]

House Health Bill’s High-Income Surcharge: A Reasonable Approach

Maintaining Current Value of Itemized Deductions for High-Income Taxpayers

Limiting the Tax Exclusion for Employer-Sponsored Insurance 

Health Care Headlines

  • Poll: Most Voters Want Health Overhaul That Improves Care, Lowers Costs
    Although much attention in health overhaul legislation has been given to a public plan option, employer mandates and other hotly contested proposals, most voters favor a health system overhaul focused on disease prevention, health information technology and care coordination, according to a survey released Thursday by pollsters from both parties. [CQ HealthBeat, 7/16/2009]
  • AMA Backs House Overhaul, Providing Some Momentum
    The nation's largest physicians' group will back House Democrats' healthcare overhaul, a move that could lend momentum to the public insurance option included in the bill. [Congress Daily, 7/16/2009]
    Read the AMA statement of support.
  • Drug Makers Score Early as Plan Takes Shape
    The pharmaceuticals industry, which President Barack Obama promised to "take on" during his campaign, is winning most of what it wants in the health-care overhaul. [Wall Street Journal, 7/17/2009]
  • Rank-and-File House Dems Don't Like It
    Democrats’ triumphant rollout of a sweeping health care reform bill earlier this week already feels like a distant memory. [Politico, 7/17/2009]
  • Blue Dogs Bare Teeth at Health Bill Markup
    Moderate “Blue Dog” Democrats showed their potential influence on a health care overhaul before the House Energy and Commerce Committee, joining Republicans Friday to adopt an amendment aimed at preventing the creation of duplicative government health programs. [CQ Today, 7/17/2009]
  • Freshmen Dems Oppose Pelosi’s Tax Increase
    Twenty-one freshman Democratic House members have signed a letter opposing their leadership's plan to raise taxes to finance a healthcare overhaul. [The Hill, 7/17/2009]
  • House Leaders Defend Health Bill
    House Democratic leaders insisted Friday that they are on track to get a health care overhaul to President Obama’s desk later this year, despite seeming unified Republican opposition and uneasiness among many Democrats. [CQ Today, 71/17/2009]
  • Bipartisan Senate Group Asks Leaders to Put Brakes on Health Bill
    A bipartisan group of Senators led by Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) is pushing back against the rush to complete a health care bill by mid-August. [Roll Call, 7/17/2009]
  • Finance Panel Won’t Produce An Overhaul Bill This Week
    The Senate Finance Committee will not produce a healthcare overhaul bill this week, Finance Chairman Max Baucus said Thursday evening, further jeopardizing the ambitious timeline President Obama has laid out to achieve passage of bills in both chambers by the August recess. [CongressDaily, 7/16/2009]
    Read a related article.
  • Reconciliation is Second Choice for Health Care Bill
    Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said today that he’s reviewing how to move the contentious health care overhaul measure through the fast-track budget reconciliation process. [CQ Today, 7/16/2009]
  • Time for Obama to Step In?
    From the outset, President Barack Obama's strategy on health-care reform has been to study everything the Clinton Administration did in 1993 and '94 — and do the opposite. [Time, 7/16/2009]