Posts Tagged ‘Democrats’
Wednesday, August 11th, 2010
Senate Republicans want to fast-track an amendment that repeals a portion of the new healthcare reform law. Whether or not they will be able to accomplish this is another question.
Senator Mike Johanns (R-NE) has proposed legislation to rescind a provision in the new law that requires businesses to report purchases of $600 or more to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Business lobbyists such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) both support the legislation. Republicans want to attach the repeal provision to a broader bill intended to help small businesses. According to the Chamber and the NFIB, the provision places a burdensome obligation on the nation’s 40 million small businesses. Under this provision of the healthcare reform bill, businesses are required to file an IRS 1099 form for non-credit card purchases totaling $600 or more. Johanns says that rule is “overly burdensome.”
To make up for the $17 billion that the provision would raise, Johanns has proposed reducing the individual mandate threshold and defer $16 billion in funding for wellness programs. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) and other Republicans have introduced legislation that would kill the Independent Payment Advisory Board that the healthcare reform law created. Democratic Senators who wrote the legislation counter that the board is needed to reduce consistently increasing healthcare costs.
Tags: Democrats, healthcare reform, IRS, John Cornyn, Lobbyists, Mike Johanns, Republicans, US Chamber of Commerce
Posted in Healthcare, Healthcare Village, Wellness Centers | No Comments »
Monday, June 28th, 2010
President Barack Obama has called on Congress to enact a patch on Medicare payments to physicians and declared his commitment to achieving a long-term solution. “For years, I have said that a system where doctors are left to wonder if they’ll get fairly reimbursed makes absolutely no sense,” the President said. “And I’m committed to permanently reforming this Medicare formula in a way that balances fiscal responsibility with the responsibility we have to doctors and seniors.” The President’s statement came after legislation that would give physicians 18 months of pay raises stalled in the Senate. Instead, a 21 percent pay cut will go into effect unless the Senate acts to prevent that.
According to an American Medical Association survey, approximately 20 percent of physicians have said they are limiting the number of Medicare patients they treat because of the reimbursement levels. In his speech, President Obama took to task Congressional Republicans who have stalled the legislation. A significant number of Republicans - and some Democrats - are unhappy with the price tag on the “physician fix”, which would cost approximately $22 billion over 18 months. A 10-year fix would cost in the neighborhood of $200 billion.
The American Osteopathic Association, American College of Physicians and the American Academy of Family Physicians are on record as supporting the amendment, even though it doesn’t completely restructure the way physicians are reimbursed by Medicare.
Tags: American Academy of Family Physicians, American College of Physicians, American Medical Association, American Osteopathic Association, Congress, Democrats, Medicare, Medicare patch, Physician fix, President Barack Obama, Republicans, Senate, senior citizens
Posted in Healthcare, Hospital Systems | No Comments »
Tuesday, May 25th, 2010
The Obama administration will work hand-in-hand with House Democrats to sell healthcare reform legislation to a wary public once members of Congress return to their home districts over the summer break. Nancy-Ann DeParle, the White House’s healthcare reform czar, assured the legislators that the Obama administration will help them explain the ins and outs of the new law. DeParle and other officials clarified precisely what the new law will change immediately, such as an expansion of health insurance and tax credits for small business.
Allyson Schwartz (D-PA), a member of the House Ways and Means Committee, said “They’re certainly focused on both implementation and doing that well, and in communicating with Americans about the benefits they will see.” Schwartz noted that many lawmakers are presently answering constituents’ questions; this is expected to increase during the Congressional break and in the lead-up to the 2010 mid-term elections.
Representative Dale Kildee (D-MI) wants to see a joint effort between Congress and President Barack Obama to sell the new law, saying “The No. 1 spokesman for this lives at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, and he can do a great job of it.”
Congress members who voted against healthcare reform are jumping on the bandwagon now that the law is starting to take effect. One of the former antis is Representative Dan Lipinski (D-IL), who said “I’ll make sure people are aware of things that are available. I’ve always said that there are some good things in the bill and I want to make sure that people are able to take advantage of those.”
Tags: 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, 2010 mid-term elections, Allyson Schwartz, Dale Kildee, Dan Lipinski, Democrats, healthcare reform legislation, House of Representatives, House Ways and Means Committee, Nancy-Ann DeParle, President Barack Obama
Posted in Healthcare | No Comments »
Monday, May 24th, 2010
Although healthcare reform legislation is now the law of the land, Representative John Boehner (R-OH), the House Minority Leader, is still not shy about communicating his distaste for the bill. Recently, Boehner sent a letter to Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of Health and Human Services, citing increased cost estimates, job-loss information and what he perceives as a lack of follow-through on an executive order regarding abortion coverage that the GOP finds troubling.
Boehner’s letter is a response to a recent statement by Secretary Sebelius, which stressed the law’s initial deliverables, including health insurance reform and tax credits available to small businesses. “Now I’ve seen my fair share of propaganda, but this letter must have been written in an alternate universe,” Boehner said. Republicans have uniformly opposed the healthcare bill throughout the process; the majority claim that it will increase costs. Additionally, the GOP hopes that the healthcare law will guarantee them a majority victory over Democrats in November’s mid-term elections. The GOP is expected to win more mid-term elections in the House versus the Senate.
Sebelius said that “Now, I want to be clear: the Affordable Care Act is not a magic pill that will cure all the problems in our health care system. It will take time for all the benefits to kick in. And if you look at the history of major social legislation, you see that there are always revisions and adjustments along the way.”
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi sides with Sebelius, saying “We’re very pleased with the unfolding of the healthcare bill, In a bigger sense, it is about a healthier America.”
Tags: Democrats, Department of Health and Human Services, executive orders, GOP, healthcare reform, House Minority Leader, John Boehner, Kathleen Sebelius, mid-term elections, Nancy Pelosi, Ohio, propaganda, Republicans, tax credits
Posted in Economics, Healthcare | 2 Comments »
Monday, April 19th, 2010
The death of Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA) last August - who had made healthcare reform the focus of his legislative agenda — provided much of the impetus that gave President Barack Obama the determination to pass legislation despite resistance from both the right and left. The lack of Kennedy’s legendary legislative skills at a crucial time made the quest for healthcare reform a fight every step of the way.
“I had a whole bunch of political advisers telling me, this may not be the smartest thing to do,” President Obama told a crowd in Elyria, OH, in January. “I had no illusions when I took this on that this was going to be hard. Seven presidents had tried it, seven Congresses had tried it - and all of them failed. I didn’t take this on to score political points.”
The White House team pored over the failed healthcare reform effort of former President Bill Clinton and his wife, Hillary, in 1993 and 1994. One lesson from the Clinton healthcare failure was to work to win support from healthcare companies, many of whom had put an end to the earlier attempt. As a result, President Obama brought pharmaceutical companies and hospitals into the discussion to assure a limited impact on their profits in return for financial contributions to the overhaul and a promise of support. The administration also preferred that Congress write the legislation, rather than having it dictated from the White House.
Without doubt, the president’s most effective ally was Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, who rode herd on her caucus and delivered a majority vote on the legislation three times. According to Pelosi, “When I spoke with him (President Obama) after the vote, he said that he was happier after the vote than he was the night he won the presidency. “And I said, well, I’m pretty happy, but I’m not happier than the night he won the presidency because if you hadn’t won the presidency, we wouldn’t be here.”
Tags: Bill Clinton, Congress, Democrats, healthcare reform, Hillary Clinton, Medicare, Nancy Pelosi, President Barack Obama, Republicans, Tea Party movement, Ted Kennedy, Waterloo
Posted in Healthcare | No Comments »
Thursday, April 15th, 2010
After a bruising 14-month battle, Congressional Democrats finally passed healthcare reform legislation without a single Republican “yes” in the final vote tally. According to The Hill, the speed with which Democrats passed the bill and sent it to President Barack Obama for his signature may have some Republicans feeling “whiplash”. As the Congressional Easter/Passover recess begins and Senators and Congressmen head to their home districts, some Republicans are threatening a “repeal and replace” effort to which President Obama reacted by saying “They’re actually going to run on a platform of repeal in November. Well, I say go for it.”
The Hill argues that some Republicans have doubts about the success of “repeal and replace”, realizing that not only did they lose, but they also have lost any claim to the advantages that will emerge from the largest expansion of the nation’s social safety net in a generation. According to Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) “Our constituents expect us to stand up and fight the good fight, but there’s always a reasonableness factor that needs to come into place. Sometimes there’s a fine line between what is being an advocate for your cause and when you become obstreperous.”
Senator Jim DeMint (R-SC) “had initially planned to offer scores of amendments to stall the healthcare reform fixes and stop Democrats from putting the finishing touches on the legislation,” according to The Hill. DeMint notes that “The leadership has asked us to focus on substantive amendments. I had 50 amendments. I still have them in my back pocket, but I’ll probably only offer two or three.” DeMint introduced just a single amendment, which was defeated.
David Frum, a speechwriter for former President George W. Bush, put it this way: “Barack Obama badly wanted Republican votes for his plan. Could we have leveraged his desire to align the plan more closely with conservative views? Too late now. They are all law
Tags: backlash, David Frum, Democrats, healthcare reform, Jim DeMint, Lisa Murkowski, President Barack Obama, Republicans, whiplash
Posted in Healthcare | No Comments »
Monday, April 12th, 2010
Are Republicans advocating for repeal of the recently passed healthcare reform bill suffering from a bad case of sour grapes? Many Americans who are unhappy with the legislation are already saying they will vote Republican in the November mid-term elections in a demonstration of their displeasure with healthcare reform. Not 24 hours after the bill passed with a Democrats-only majority, repeal emails were flying through cyberspace from Republican Congressional hopefuls.
Senator Jim DeMint (R-SC) posted a call for repeal on his website, saying he would introduce legislation to repeal “President Obama’s government takeover of healthcare. Unless this trillion-dollar assault on our freedoms is repealed, it will force Americans to purchase Washington-approved health plans or face stiff penalties. It will fund abortions, raise taxes and insurance premiums, while reducing healthcare choices and quality.”
Representative Michelle Bachmann (R-MN) posted on the conservative Townhall.com website that she had “filed legislation to repeal Obamacare in hopes that we can start from scratch and give the American people true healthcare reform that won’t break the bank nor rob us of our individual liberty and freedom. There’s too much at stake to simply give up now.” Bachmann offered no specific proposals on how she would work to achieve healthcare reform.
With Democrats controlling both the House of Representatives and the Senate, repeal is unlikely.
Tags: Barack Obama, Congress, Democrats, Harry Reid, healthcare reform, John McCain, Michele Bachmann, Nancy Pelosi, Obamacare, Republicans, sour grapes
Posted in Healthcare | No Comments »
Thursday, April 8th, 2010
A little-known star in achieving healthcare reform is Alan Frumin, the Senate’s Parliamentarian, who wields as much power over the debate as President Barack Obama. A scholar of Senate procedure, Frumin is one of the few people who fully comprehend the arcane rules that govern a piece of legislation’s progress on the Senate floor. Though Frumin is technically an advisor to the Democratic majority - who gave him the job — Senators can rule on procedures as he recommends or ignore him and act as they please.
Frumin is in the spotlight because of the possible use of reconciliation, the parliamentary shortcut that lets the Senate pass legislation with a 51-vote majority instead of the usual 60. According to the Byrd rule of 1985 - named for its author, Senator Robert Byrd (D-WV) - reconciliation is intended to be used only with budget-related items. In keeping with that, Frumin has said that reconciliation must be related to existing law. Frumin’s ruling is that the House of Representatives must pass the Senate healthcare plan, send it to President Obama for his signature, and then vote to pass the “fixes” proposed by the president.
Once the vote reached the Senate, Frumin found two errors in the legislation, which meant that the bill had to go back to the House after Senators voted to approve by a 56-43 margin. The House voted its final approval in a 220 - 207 vote and was sent back to President Obama’s desk for his final signature.
The parliamentarian’s advice is not set in stone. Vice President Joseph Biden, in his role as Senate president, can overturn the parliamentarian’s ruling. “This is probably the most difficult situation for any Senate parliamentarian in my memory,” said Robert Dove, who previously held the position. “I was never under the pressure that Alan Frumin is under right now.”
Tags: Alan Frumin, Congress, Democrats, healthcare reform debate, President Barack Obama, reconciliation, Republicans, Robert Dove, Senate Parliamentarian, Senator Robert Byrd, Vice President Joseph Biden
Posted in Healthcare | No Comments »
Tuesday, April 6th, 2010
Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of Health and Human Services, has warned insurance companies to stop hunting for loopholes as a way to get around complying with healthcare reform. Additionally, Sebelius intends to write regulations to assure that all insurers cover children with pre-existing conditions, even though some companies are adamant that this is not one of the new law’s requirements.
“The American people debated and discussed health insurance reform for more than a year. Congress and the President have acted. Now is not the time to search for non-existent loopholes that preserve a broken system,” Sebelius wrote in a letter to insurance industry lobbyist Karen Ignagni.
President Obama stressed the ban on denying children with pre-existing conditions as a focus of his argument during the reform fight. His position is that children should be protected almost immediately after the bill becomes law - in this case, next September. The insurance companies claim they don’t have to cover children with pre-existing conditions until 2014.
The insurers’ revolt over this presumed loophole could mean that progressive Democrats will reconsider adding a robust public option to the law. The insurance companies’ threat to turn down sick kids makes the case to include a public option significantly more credible.
Tags: Congress, Democrats, healthcare reform legislation, insurance companies, Karen Ignagni, Kathleen Seblius, President Barack Obama, Progressive Party, public option
Posted in Healthcare | No Comments »
Thursday, March 25th, 2010
Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Speaker of the House, presided over the often fractious but historic healthcare reform overhaul vote with the help of an oversized gavel borrowed from Representative John Dingell (D-MI), who chaired the passage of the Medicare bill 45 years ago. “A treasure in the Dingell family that was used in the enactment of the Medicare law,” Pelosi said. “I will use it this evening when we cast a very successful vote for this important legislation. This has been a complete team effort, not only a team effort, a partnership with our leadership and every member of our caucus and we look forward to making this historic day known to the American people.”
The late Sunday evening passage of the healthcare reform bill by a thin 219 - 212 margin was described by President Barack Obama as “This is what change looks like.” All 178 House Republicans and 34 Democrats voted against the legislation, which ultimately will cover 32,000,000 Americans who currently lack healthcare coverage. Also on Sunday, the House passed a package of “fixes” that will resolve some of the conflicts between the House and Senate versions of the healthcare bill. Senate Democrats plan to pass the fixes under budget reconciliation, which requires a simple majority vote.
The president, who plans to sign the bill, said “Tonight, after nearly 100 years of talk and frustration, after decades of trying, and a year of sustained effort and debate, the United States Congress finally declared that America’s workers and America’s families and America’s small businesses deserve the security of knowing that here, in this country, neither illness nor accident should endanger the dreams they’ve worked a lifetime to achieve.”
“This is the Civil Rights Act of the 21st century,” said Representative James E. Clyburn (D-SC), the third highest ranking Democrat in the House.
Tags: Budget reconciliation, David Axelrod, Democrats, healthcare reform, House of Representatives, James E Clyburn, John Dingell, John McCain, Medicare, Nancy Pelosi, President Barack Obama, Rahm Emanuel, Republicans, Robert Gibbs, Senate, Speaker of the House
Posted in Healthcare | No Comments »
