Health Reform in the House | Fact of the Day Under this bill, for the first time, Medicare will reimburse doctors for the time they spend with patients, their professional judgment, and other cognitive skills, as well as their technical skills. | | Follow Health Insurance Reform
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At The Time This Daily Dose Was Sent the Hidden Health Tax On Insured Americans Was $30,792,839,544 Under the Microscope Democrats Continue The Hard Work Of Health Insurance Reform For Americans Of All Ages Today President Obama was at the University of Maryland at College Park for a rally for reform with college students. Leader Hoyer also attended the rally at his alma mater, along with the rest of the Maryland House and Senate delegation. In addition, AARP President Barry Rand joined a House Democratic caucus meeting on health care and seniors, and John Rother, Executive Vice President of Policy and Strategy, served on a panel for a Senate Special Committee on Aging briefing on how health insurance reform will impact seniors. If you haven’t seen it yet, read Health Insurance Reform: A Guide for Seniors, put out by the Speaker’s office and also available as a brochure. Other Fact Sheets Available Relating to Seniors: HR 3200 Restores Equity Between Traditional Medicare & Medicare Advantage HR 3200 Lowers the Cost of Prescription Drugs Under Medicare CBO Analysis of Medicare Part D Premiums, August 28, 2009 Improving the Medicare Part D Drug Program Strengthening Medicare Senior Citizens and People with Disabilities Maintaining and Improving Medicaid Medical Liability Reform The White House today released a memo and a fact sheet on the President’s call for Secretary Sebelius to help states invest in new ways to address patient safety and medical liability. In addition, the House Energy and Commerce Committee accepted an amendment offered by Rep. Bart Gordon (D-TN) and Rep. Jim Matheson (D-UT) on July 31st that gave grants to states to pursue medical liability reform including early offer or certificate of merit programs. Other Helpful Information The Wall Street Journal has created a chart comparing the various health insurance reform measures. The Democratic Steering and Policy Committee Forum on Health Insurance Reform that happened earlier in the week for House Members is online for those that missed it. The Center for American Progress released last month an interactive calculator for small businesses as it relates to H.R. 3200 as the bill was reported out of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
Health Care Headlines Medicare To Fund "Medical Home" Model
The Obama administration said Medicare will help fund state pilot projects that use primary-care doctors and teams of coordinators to manage patient care and reduce costs. [Wall Street Journal, 9/16/2009] Michelle Obama Turns To Health Care
Pushing for health care reform didn’t turn out so well for the last first lady in a Democratic White House. [Politico, 9/17/2009] Baucus Health Plan Would Cut Budget Deficit, CBO Says
A health-care overhaul plan released by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus would cut the budget deficit by $49 billion over the next 10 years, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
[Bloomberg News, 9/16/2009] Read a related article. Senate Bill Would Get Funding from Tax On Providers Of High-Cost Policies
The largest revenue-raising provision in a Senate health care overhaul bill — a tax on high-cost insurance policies — is likely to be the focus of intense debate in the weeks and months ahead.
[CQ HealthBeat, 9/16/2009] Read a related article. CBO Score Of Baucus' Proposal Clocks In At $774 Billion
CBO gave Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus' healthcare legislation a boost Wednesday, providing a preliminary estimate that lowers the cost of the measure $82 billion from committee estimates to $774 billion over 10 years. [CongressDaily, 9/17/2009] Read a roundup of reactions to the Chairman’s mark. Baucus' Health Care Overhaul Would Change Rules Governing Insurers
The health care overhaul draft bill released Wednesday by Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus would make significant changes to the rules governing private insurance companies and the plans they sell, a major focus of Democrats’ health care plans. [CQ Today, 9/16/2009] Insurance Company Must Pay $10 Million For Revoking Policy Of Teen With HIV
The South Carolina Supreme Court has ordered an insurance company to pay $10 million for wrongly revoking the insurance policy of a 17-year-old college student after he tested positive for HIV.
[Huffington Post, 9/17/2009] Reform Bill Would Reveal Fees Firm Pay To Doctors
A highly anticipated proposal requiring drug and medical-device companies to disclose their often-controversial consulting agreements with doctors is now part of health care legislation unveiled before the Senate Finance Committee on Wednesday. [St. Paul Star Tribune, 9/16/2009] Revealed: Secrets Of Leading Health Care Providers
At the same moment that Senator Max Baucus, Democrat of Montana, was introducing his long-awaited blueprint for a health care overhaul Wednesday, executives from medical groups widely hailed as models were meeting nearby in Washington, D.C., to plot how to make more of the country look like them.
[New York Times, 9/16/2009] EDITORIAL: Our View On Medical Overhaul: GOP Opposition Leaves Dems Little Choice On Health Care
Given how polarized Congress is over health care reform, it was always a long shot that the "Gang of Six" senators — three Democrats and three Republicans on the Finance Committee — would agree on a bipartisan plan. [USA Today, 9/17/2009] OPINION: Health Insurance Exchanges- Making The Markets Work
Given that plan choices are difficult to make and that large purchasers can whittle down prices, a reformed health care system is likely to employ health insurance exchanges to stand between consumers and insurers. [New England Journal of Medicine, 9/17/2009] OPINION: Five Ways To Improve Max Baucus' Bill
By Ezra Klein
There's a lot more to say about the provisions in Baucus' bill, and perhaps I'll continue picking through the legislation tomorrow. But we basically covered the big-ticket items today. [Washington Post, 9/16/2009] OPINION: Quieting The Health Circus
By Ben Goddard, founding partner of political consulting firm Goddard Claussen
“Stuck in the Middle with You” could be the White House theme song as the battle over healthcare reform devolves into rigid partisan posturing on both ends of the political spectrum.
[The Hill, 9/16/2009] | 