Health Insurance
Today’s OpEds: Congressional Dealmaking, Cutting ‘Honchos Pay,’ Controlling Costs
Congressional Deals: Watching The Sausage Making Politico Legislators need pork to make things happen, especially in an age when chronic obstruction has so weakened the legislative process that policy breakthroughs are almost impossible. This does not excuse all kinds of deal making, nor should we ignore that deals sometimes go too far (Julian E. Zelizer, […]
States’ Legislative Health Initiatives Stall
The Boston Globe: “A group of Massachusetts mayors, fed up with what they say is legislative inaction on skyrocketing municipal health care costs, has launched a ballot initiative for 2012 aimed at giving cities and towns more flexibility in reducing expensive benefits for employees, retirees, and elected officials” (Murphy, 3/10)…
Non-Profit Operations Plugging Health Care Gap In Chicago
Medill Reports presents a story on community health centers in Chicago that try to fill access-to-care gaps for people too sick to get health care coverage or too poor to afford other care. “Community health centers … are private, non-profit operations that fill a gap between for-profit health systems and free public health clinics…
Senate Poised To Pass COBRA Subsidy Extension, Medicare ‘Doc Fix’
The Senate is set to vote Wednesday on a jobs bill that would extend the COBRA subsidy program and Medicaid funding for states and prevent a Medicare reimbursement cut for doctors. The Associated Press: The bill “extends health insurance subsidies for the unemployed through December. It would add $132 billion to the budget deficit over […]
Obama Makes Final Public Push For Health Reform As Democrats Consider Timeline
President Obama is delivering his “closing argument” for health care reform in St. Louis today as Democratic leaders strategize on moving the bill through the House and Senate.The Associated Press: “Obama is to speak Wednesday at St. Charles High School, his second health care address in three days…
GOP Putting Strategies In Place To Thwart Dems On Reform
Politico: “When Mitch McConnell speaks these days, he expects House Blue Dogs to be listening…
Hoyer Pledges To Work With Stupak To Address Abortion Coverage In Health Reform
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) on Tuesday pledged to work with Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.) to resolve the dispute over abortion-coverage language in the Senate health reform bill (HR 3590), CQ Today reports. Hoyer said the issue “has to be resolved,” adding, “I think it will be resolved one way or the other, and […]
Lincoln, Kucinich Weigh In On Health Bill Votes
Lawmakers weigh in on the health care overhaul debate. The Associated Press/The Washington Times: Sen. Blanche Lincoln, D-Ark., “insisted Tuesday she remained opposed to pushing a health care bill through the Senate with a simple majority vote, despite saying she wanted to see what was in the legislation…
Abortion Holding Up Democrats’ Endgame On Health Overhaul
Politico: House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer “said Tuesday that the abortion fight ‘has to be resolved.’ The majority leader expressed confidence that the issue would be wrapped up, but he also cautioned reporters that he had not had any formal negotiations with Rep. Bart Stupak, the Michigan Democrat who authored the House abortion restrictions. …
California Rescission Settlement Benefits Few Consumers
The Associated Press reports on a new California state assembly report that found fewer than 200 people out of the more than 6,000 affected have taken advantage of benefits won by a settlement between state regulators and health insurers that dropped sick policyholders…