November 25, 2009

November 25: Health Care Reform News

By Kelley Luckstein

Top stories

 

Budget Hawks Have a Buffet of Options With Health Bill

The New York Times

Nov. 25, 2009

 

Senators who say they’re serious about reducing health care costs have plenty of opportunities in the current bills to fulfill their goals.

 

For Public, Affordability A Key Issue In Health Bill

Kaiser Health News/NPR
Nov. 24, 2009

 

Lawmakers debating health care on Capitol Hill have spent months worrying about the potential cost. But mostly it's been the total cost of the bill, not how much individual families who could soon be required to buy insurance for the first time might have to pay.

That could be a costly miscalculation, says health economist Jonathan Gruber of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. "Let's put it this way: It is 10 times as important as the public option and has received one one-hundredth of the coverage," he says.

 

A Milestone in the Health Care Journey

The Atlantic
Nov. 21, 2009

 

Ronald Brownstein writes that the Senate blueprint for health care reform is winning praise for its potential to “bend the curve" in the long-term growth of health care costs. Brownstein says those praising the proposal’s potential include leading health reformers like Jonathan Gruber (a leading health economist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology), Mark McClellan (former director of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services under George W. Bush) and Len Nichols (health policy director at the centrist New America Foundation).

 

Insurance

 

Health Reform's Impact on Premiums: Winners, Losers And, For Many, A Question Mark

Kaiser Health News

Nov. 25, 2009

 

As the health care battle rages on, one central question keeps popping up: How would legislation affect premiums paid by individuals and small businesses, two groups that currently face wildly unpredictable rate increases year to year?

 

State news

 

Minnesota: Hennepin County Medical Center Bleeding With Deep Cuts

Minneapolis Star-Tribune

Nov. 25, 2009

Of all hospitals in Minnesota facing economic woes, Hennepin County Medical Center is the hardest hit.

Medicare/Medicaid

 

Oxygen Rules Pinching Patients

The Wall Street Journal

Nov. 25, 2009

New Medicare rules designed to reduce waste and fraud in medical-equipment reimbursements are driving some home-oxygen suppliers out of business and leaving patients scrambling to find new providers.

Reform efforts

 

Triggering a Victory on Health Bill

The Wall Street Journal – op ed

Nov. 25, 2009

Two bits of conventional wisdom are circulating about the health bill pending in Congress. One is that no health bill will pass unless it provides for a public option, a government-sponsored competitor to private insurers; the Democratic left demands it. The other is that no health bill will pass if it provides for a public option; the centrists needed to get to 60 votes in the Senate won't allow it.

Can a Pro-Life Dem Bridge the Health Care Divide?

Time Magazine

Nov. 24, 2009

 

Sen. Bob Casey of Pennsylvania is seen as key to advancing pro-life components in the health care bill.

 

Prescription drugs

 

Taxpayers May Pick Up Tab For Drug Ads

NPR
Nov. 24, 2009

 

Researchers suggest that drug companies passed advertising costs on to taxpayers by hiking the price they charge Medicaid programs for the drug.

 

Miscellaneous

 

From the Hospital to Bankruptcy Court

The New York Times

Nov. 24, 2009

 

Lawyers and court officials say that medical debt is leading to more bankruptcies.

Tags: health care reform, Health Policy, Health Policy

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