Health Reform in the House | Fact of the Day H.R. 3962 begins a nationwide program for national and state background checks of direct patient access employees and providers in long term care facilities. | | Follow Health Insurance Reform
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At The Time This Daily Dose Was Sent, Insured Americans Had Paid a “Hidden Tax” of $41,566,908,923 This Year In Additional Premium Costs To Cover Care For The Uninsured. Under the Microscope REPUBLICAN ROADBLOCKS Republicans have launched procedural warfare on Senate Democrats, hoping to prevent them from passing a health insurance reform bill before Christmas.
Yesterday Republicans objected to a routine request to waive reading of an amendment offered by Senator Bernie Sanders. After several hours of the clerk reading, Mr. Sanders withdrew his amendment, which the Republicans then objected to. This is just one in a daily series of Republican tactics used to prevent the Senate from legislating. While Republicans claim they’ve been shut out of the process, this ignores months of bipartisan negotiations held by Chairman Max Baucus, and the overtures by both President Obama and Congressional Democratic Leaders. In truth, Republican Leaders made clear from the start that they were not interested in working in a real bipartisan fashion, and saw political victory in the failure of health care reform. Senate Republicans Vow To Delay Health-Care Vote
Senate Republicans vowed Wednesday to use every available tactic to delay voting on the health-care bill as Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) scrambled to unify Democrats in support of the legislation. [Washington Post, 12/17/2009] HEALTH INSURANCE REFORM & SMALL BUSINESS Benefits to Small Business included in the House’s Affordable Health Care for America Act: Benefits to Small Business in the Senate’s Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act: Health insurance reform and Small Business:
Health Care Headlines Democrats Hope to Start Clock on Health Bill by Saturday
Assuming they can rally all 60 members of the Democratic Conference, Democratic leaders could start the clock Saturday on the time-consuming cloture motions needed to kill a filibuster of the health care reform bill. [Roll Call, 12/6/2009] Democrats Vow To Close Medicare 'Doughnut Hole'
It's an annual ordeal for many seniors living on a budget. Medicare's coverage gap for prescription drugs - $3,610 next year - has steadily gotten bigger since the benefit's inception. But if Democrats have their way on health care overhaul, the dreaded "doughnut hole" will shrink by $500 right away and go away altogether by 2019. [Associated Press, 12/17/2009] Senate Plan Is Called Too Empowering To Health Insurers
The Senate health-care bill could enable insurers to avoid some of the strongest consumer protections and benefit requirements adopted by state governments, Democratic lawmakers from Maine and California say. [Washington Post, 12/17/2009] Sebelius Pushes For Health Bill
Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius told a crowd of health care providers and others Wednesday at Baltimore's Sheppard Pratt Health Systems that health care reform would save money and improve care for millions of Americans who do not get all the mental health services they need.
[Baltimore Sun, 12/17/2009] Sen. Kirk Urges Passage of Health Care Bill
Recalling the late Edward M. Kennedy's dream of changing the health care system in the United States, Massachusetts Senator Paul Kirk called today for his colleagues to approve the health care reform bill.
[Boston Globe, 12/16/2009] Massachusetts Antismoking Plan Gets Attention
When Massachusetts began offering virtually free treatments to help poor residents of the state stop smoking in 2006, proponents hoped the new Medicaid program would someday reap benefits. But state officials never expected it would happen so soon. [New York Times, 12/16/2009] EDITORIAL: Core Values
As they try to round up enough votes to pass a healthcare reform bill, congressional leaders have been forced to make concession after concession on provisions sought by liberal Democrats -- the lawmakers who've been the driving force behind the effort to remake the U.S. healthcare system. [L.A. Times, 12/17/2009] | 