October 1: Health Care Reform Coverage
Top stories
Health Bill Survives Attacks - Vote by Week's End?
AP/The Washington Post
Oct. 1, 2009
A White House-backed overhaul of the nation's health care system weathered repeated challenges from Republican critics over taxes, abortion and more on Wednesday, and the bill's architect claimed enough votes to push it through the Senate Finance Committee as early as week's end.
Health Care May Hit House, Senate Floor Mid-Month
AP/The Washington Post
Oct. 1, 2009
Historic health care legislation could be on the floor of both houses of Congress as early as mid-October.
Carper Quietly Devises Third Option
Politico
Oct. 1, 2009
Tom Carper is emerging as a backroom mediator on the most divisive element of the health care overhaul, proposing a so-called third way that several key senators said Wednesday could provide the blueprint for compromise in the Senate bill.
Transparency/Safety
A Study Looks at Deaths After Surgery
The New York Times
Sept. 30, 2009
Researchers found that death rates varied widely from hospital to hospital, but complication rates did not vary significantly.
State news
Mass: Compliance Uneven on Health Care Law
The Boston Globe
Oct. 1, 2009
Audits of select Massachusetts businesses suggest that a substantial number may not be providing workers the health coverage required by the state’s landmark 2006 insurance law.
Medicare/Medicaid
Rate of Enrollment in Medicaid Rose Rapidly, Report Says
The New York Times
Sept. 30, 2009
Agency directors fear that lawmakers will need to find more money or cut benefits or payments to doctors and hospitals.
Reform efforts
House Leaders Trying to Give All Democrats a Say
The New York Times
Sept. 30, 2009
Despite their majority in the House, Democratic leaders trying to pass health care legislation must bridge big cracks in their ranks, especially over taxes and abortion.
Reid Cancels October Recess to Focus Lawmakers on Healthcare
The Hill
Sept. 30, 2009
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has cancelled the Senate’s Columbus Day recess so that lawmakers can focus on passing healthcare reform legislation during the week of Oct. 12. Reid said the Senate would likely take up healthcare legislation on the chamber floor that week.
Obama And Big Health: Who's Co-Opting Whom?
NPR
Sept. 30, 2009
In the still-evolving health care overhaul effort, are the doctors, pharmaceutical industry and insurers winning, by negotiating good deals for themselves? Or is this a success for the administration, because these groups are still in the game?
Prescription drugs
Prescriptions Now Biggest Cause of Fatal Drug Overdoses
USA Today
Sept. 30, 2009
Addiction to prescription painkillers — which kill thousands of Americans a year — has become a largely unrecognized epidemic, experts say.
Miscellaneous
Swiss Health Care Thrives Without Public Option
The New York Times
Sept. 30, 2009
Experts on the Swiss system suggest it would deliver much of what Washington is aiming to accomplish.
Like
Helpful
Hug