Health Reform in the House | Fact of the Day H.R. 3962 ensures that Medicare Advantage beneficiaries are not subjected to higher cost-sharing than they would face in traditional fee-for-service Medicare. Currently some MA beneficiaries have higher out-of-pocket costs than traditional Medicare beneficiaries, despite the Federal government paying higher subsidies to MA private plans. | | Follow Health Insurance Reform
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At The Time This Daily Dose Was Sent, Insured Americans Had Paid a “Hidden Tax” of $39,792,494,603 This Year In Additional Premium Costs To Cover Care For The Uninsured. Under the Microscope THE REPUBLICAN BLOCK While Senate Republicans insist on slowing down consideration of health insurance reform bill in order to cast doubt on proposals they have fully supported in the past, Senate Democrats continue to focus on bringing quality affordable health care to Americans. Senate Minority Leader McConnell is currently blocking a vote on an amendment by Senator McCain to allow Republicans more time to criticize reform (3 days and counting), while failing to offer their own comprehensive solution. The amendment? Blocking any reduction in funding for Medicare, even if those reductions come from overpayments, and fraud, and abuse in the program. This is a clear contradiction from what McCain campaigned on.
Read the Republican record on Medicare cuts.
Read how Medicare advocacy groups and AARP oppose McCain’s amendment. Furthermore, having objected to Senator Lincoln’s proposal to publish online all amendments offered to the reform bill, Senate Republicans are now nervous that Senator Lincoln has taken matters of transparency into her own hands by promising to publish all amendments on her official web site, as they are offered. INCREASING ACCESS FOR WOMEN The Democratic amendment to the Senate health bill offered by Senator Mikulski would require insurance plans to cover more screenings and preventive care for women, including mammograms, with no co-payments. The amendment has support from the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Advocacy Alliance. Read again the HHS reports: Health Insurance Reform & Breast Cancer and Health Insurance Reform & Cancer in America. REGIONAL VARIATION MEDPAC REPORT The independent Medicare Payment Advisory Commission released a new report on regional differences in Medicare spending and Medicare-covered service use, as well as the rate of growth of service use. The report urged distinguishing between Medicare spending and service use.
Health Care Headlines Senators Express Hope for a Health Reform Bill
Senators prepared to cast their first votes Wednesday on health-care reform, but even as partisan divisions hardened and contentious amendments stacked up, Democrats increasingly expressed optimism that they would succeed in passing a bill before Christmas. [Washington Post, 12/2/2009] Senators Pitch to Women and Elderly on Health Bill
In a day of desultory debate on sweeping health care legislation, senators appealed to two potent political constituencies on Tuesday, with Democrats seeking additional medical benefits for women and Republicans vowing to preserve and protect Medicare for older Americans. [New York Times, 12/2/2009] American Indians Stand to Gain in Health Overhaul
The meeting last month was a watershed: the leaders of 564 American Indian tribes were invited to Washington to talk with cabinet members and President Obama, who called it “the largest and most widely attended gathering of tribal leaders in our history.” [New York Times, 12/2/2009] MedPAC Looks Afresh At Regional Variation in Levels of Care
One of the more intriguing aspects of U.S. health care is how much it varies by region of the country. Because of evidence that regions with lower levels of treatment in the Medicare program do not have lower quality care, policy analysts see great hope for lowering national spending growth by bringing levels of service down in some parts of the country. [CQ HealthBeat, 12/1/2009] White House Budget Chief Hits Back At Health Reform Skeptics
President Barack Obama's budget chief issued a strong defense of the cost-containment measures in the Senate healthcare reform bill Wednesday, arguing that the legislation does more than any in history to tackle inflating spending. [The Hill, 12/2/2009] Read an article about Budget Director Orszag. Centrists Pleased With Health Cost Projection
Senate centrists concerned that healthcare reform would do too little to lower insurance costs said Tuesday their worries have eased. [The Hill, 12/1/2009] GOP Quickly Goes to War
Senate Republicans may not have the physical numbers to filibuster the Democrats’ health care reform bill, but they have wasted little time in using the Senate’s rules to their utmost advantage in their quest to trip up consideration of the measure. [Roll Call, 12/2/2009] | 