THE DAILY DOSE: FRIDAY, JUNE 19, 2009

Under the Microscope

House Committees Release Health Care Reform Discussion Draft
Today, the House Energy and Commerce, Ways and Means, and Education and Labor Committees released the discussion draft of the House health care reform bill. They are inviting instructive input to be submitted via email. Committees will be holding bi-partisan hearings next week on the discussion draft. [House Energy & Commerce, Ways & Means, and Education & Labor Committees, 6/19/2009]

Health Care Headlines

• On Health Care, Obama Tries to Seize the Moment
  In their heart of hearts, few in the Obama administration would have predicted late last year that they would be this well positioned by June to achieve a major victory on health care. [New York Times, 6/18/2009]
• Dodd Reiterates Support for Public Plan in Health Care Bill
  Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.), who is managing the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee’s markup of health care reform legislation, reiterated Thursday his support for a “strong” public plan. [Roll Call, 6/18/2009]
• Bipartisanship Isn’t the Main Goal of Health Care, Dodd Says
  One of the big concerns liberals have about the health care overhaul effort is that President Obama and congressional Democrats will make bipartisanship a goal in itself, compromising the bill into mush to pick up a handful of Republican votes. [CQ Today, 6/18/2009]
• Baucus Reaches Out on Health Care
  Max Baucus is courting a handful of Republicans in hopes of building what he calls a “coalition of the willing” to help him put together and pass a bipartisan health care overhaul. [CQ Today, 6/18/2009]
• Democrats Scramble to Cut Costs From Health Plan
  The high cost of securing health insurance for all Americans, the top domestic priority of President Obama, has Congressional Democrats scrambling to scale back their proposals or find ways to trim tens of billions of dollars a year from existing health programs.
  [New York Times, 6/18/2009]
• Senate Finance Panel Mulls Revised Subsidies
  Faced with the challenge of bringing down the cost of its overhaul proposal, the Senate Finance Committee is considering a revised package that would make it somewhat harder to qualify for subsidies to buy coverage under a new system in which everyone would be required to have health insurance benefits. [CQ Today, 6/18/2009]
• Private Insurers Step Into Spotlight on Health-Care Reform
  Don't expect the private insurance industry to go away under any kind of health-care reform initiative.
  [Chicago Tribune, 6/19/2009]
• Starting Health-Care Reform in the ER
  To get a sense of just how dysfunctional American health care is, members of Congress don't need to look further than their local emergency department (ED).
  [Time, 6/19/2009]
• New Bill Would Encourage Docs, Hospitals to Form Provider Networks
  A group of Democratic lawmakers said legislation they introduced Thursday would help reduce regional variations in health care spending and yield savings that could go toward covering the uninsured.
  [CQ Today, 6/18/2009]
• Former CMS Administrator Weems Says CMS Is a “Resource-Starved Agency’
  Lawmakers often have criticized the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) for not adequately doing its job, but a former CMS administrator says the agency is chronically underfunded and strains to perform its duties. [CQ Today, 6/18/2009]
• More Data + Less Care = Lower Cost + Better Health
  Ezekiel Emanuel got a memorable introduction to our haphazard health-care system on his first visit to a cancer ward as a medical student. [Time, 6/18/2009]
• OPINION: Bipartisan Health Reform is Possible
  By Tom Daschle
  To understand the profound political difficulties inherent in reforming our health care system, one need only turn to recent headlines in Politico: “Dems vs. Dems on Health Bill”; “A Moderate Bloc on Health Care?”; “Health Plans Abound for GOP.” Clearly, reaching consensus on health care reform is a significant challenge, but we can no longer afford to wait. [Politico, 6/19/2009]
• OPINION: Health Care Reform Can’t Wait
  By Congressman Phil Hare (D-IL)
  Last year, I spent a day traveling in my district with Bill and Donna Fair, of Moline. Bill and his son, Eric, lost their health insurance after Butler Manufacturing closed its Galesburg plant in 2005. Eric then had to work for temp agencies and did not qualify for health care. [Sauk Valley Newspapers, 6/12/2009]