TOP STORIES
In Senate Health Showdown, Round Goes to G.O.P.
The New York Times
December 17, 2009
As Senate Democrats struggle to line up 60 votes to pass their health care bill before Christmas. Democrats said Republicans were stalling and obstructing the most important social legislation in decades.
Additional Coverage:
Reid Fights for 60th Vote on Health Bill - The Wall Street Journal
Senate Republicans Vow to Delay Health Care Vote - The Washington Post
Vote by Christmas in Peril - Politico
Howard Dean “Health Care Bill Wouldn’t Bring Real Reform”
The Washington Post
December 17, 2009
“I know health reform when I see it, and there isn't much left in the Senate bill. I reluctantly conclude that, as it stands, this bill would do more harm than good to the future of America.”
The Wall Street Journal
December 17, 2009
Tom Coburn recently suggested that seniors will die sooner if Congress actually implements the Medicare cuts in the health care bill put forward by Senator Harry Reid. My colleagues dismissed my concern as a scare tactic. They are wrong. Every American should know that the rationing provisions in the Reid bill will not only reduce their quality of life, but their life spans as well.
INSURANCE
Senate Plan is Called Too Empowering to Health Insurers
The Washington Post
December 17, 2009
The Senate health care bill could enable insurers to avoid some of the strongest consumer protections and benefit requirements adopted by state governments, Democratic lawmakers from Maine and California say.
Strains Felt in Health Coverage for Jobless
The New York Times
December 17, 2009
While lawmakers in Washington continue to debate how to make health care affordable for more Americans, thousands of unemployed are suddenly struggling to hang onto their health coverage.
Number of Uninsured Americans Rose in First Six Month of 2009
Healthleaders Media
December 17, 2009
Nearly 60 million people in the U.S. had no health coverage for at least part of an 18-month period between January 2008 and June 2009 - an increase of about 4 million people from previous estimates released in August 2007.
TRANSPARENCY/SAFETY
GOP Lawmaker Seeks Documents on Obama Health Care Deal
The Hill
December 16, 2009
Rep. Michael Burgess wants the House to require the White House to hand over documents related to compromises reached earlier this year with the pharmaceutical industry, doctors and other stakeholders.
WELLNESS/CHRONIC CARE
Size Matters: Physician Adoption of Care Management Tools
Healthpopuli
December 17, 2009
The size of a primary care physician practice is a major factor in whether those physicians use care management tools for managing chronic conditions in patients.
MEDICARE/MEDICAID
Medicare Payments to Docs: Here Comes the Two Month Patch
The Wall Street Journal
December 17, 2009
All year, Congress has been trying to figure out what to do about the 21% cut in Medicare payments to doctors set to take effect on Jan. 1, 2010. A legislative maneuver would block the cut for two months - a short-term patch tucked inside a big defense spending bill the House passed yesterday.
REFORM EFFORTS
Galen Institute
December 17, 2009
Fully report of Galen Institute’s “Do No Harm!” petitions delivered yesterday to Senators in a show of opposition to government control over health care.
How Joe Lieberman’s ‘No’ Helps President Obama
Politico
December 17, 2009
Sen. Joe Lieberman is taking a thrashing from his former Democratic colleagues and liberal activists for forcing a Medicare expansion out of the health bill. But in the end, Lieberman may have done President Barack Obama one of the biggest favors in the health care debate.
The New York Times - Op-Ed
December 16, 2009
Politicians switch direction all the time, but the Lieberman experience has been weird because he doesn't seem to feel as though he's changed.
Doctor-Owned Hospitals Worried Reform Will Cripple Them
Healthleaders Media
December 17, 2009
There's not much love between physician-owned surgical facilities and mainstream hospitals and now provisions in both House and Senate versions of health reform bills would restrict doctor-owned hospitals' ability to expand, prompting the two groups to go at each other again.
MISCELLANEOUS
Democrats’ Blues Grow Deeper in New Poll
The Wall Street Journal
December 17, 2009
December's Wall Street Journal/NBC survey showed for the first time, less than half of Americans approved of the job President Barack Obama was doing, marking a steeper first-year fall for this president than his recent predecessors.