Posts Tagged ‘Senate’
Wednesday, July 14th, 2010
Facing a hostile approval process from Republicans in the Senate, President Barack Obama is making a recess appointment of Dr. Donald Berwick to head the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), the agency that oversees Medicare and Medicaid.
A sharp critic of the way healthcare is delivered in the United States, Berwick believes the system is inefficient and lacks an efficient information-sharing apparatus. In addition to his practice and academic work, Berwick is the founder of the Institute for Health Care Improvement, a think tank that focuses on “cultivating promising concepts for improving patient care and turning those ideas into action.”
Berwick, a Harvard-educated pediatrician and Harvard Medical School professor, believes in improving the quality of healthcare so physicians are rewarded for better outcomes rather than on a per-procedure basis. Although it’s unlikely that this idea could be applied to the whole medical profession, Medicare and Medicaid are large enough that changing the traditional way healthcare is delivered would echo throughout medicine. Together, Medicare and Medicaid cover 100 million Americans - approximately one-third - and accounted for $750 billion of federal spending in 2009. According to the Congressional Budget Office, that totals 20 percent of the federal budget.
“Many Republicans in Congress have made it clear in recent weeks that they were going to stall the nomination as long as they could, solely to score political points,” according to Dan Pfeiffer, White House Communications Director. “But with the agency facing new responsibilities to protect seniors’ care under the Affordable Care Act, there’s no time to waste with Washington game-playing.”
Tags: Affordable Care Act, Congressional Budget Office, Donald Berwick, Harvard Medical School, Healthcare delivery system, Medicaid, Medicare, President Barack Obama, recess appointement, Senate
Posted in Healthcare | 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 »
Thursday, April 29th, 2010
Dr. Donald Berwick, a Harvard-educated pediatrician and Harvard Medical School professor, is President Barack Obama’s choice to head the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), the parent agency of Medicare and Medicaid. A sharp critic of the way healthcare is delivered in the United States, Berwick believes the system is inefficient and lacks an efficient information-sharing apparatus. In addition to his practice and academic work, Berwick is the founder of the Institute for Health Care Improvement, a think tank that focuses on “cultivating promising concepts for improving patient care and turning those ideas into action.”
Berwick believes in improving the quality of healthcare so physicians are rewarded for better outcomes rather than on a per-procedure basis. Although it’s unlikely that this idea could be applied to the medical profession, Medicare and Medicaid are large enough that changing the traditional way healthcare is delivered would echo throughout medicine. Together, Medicare and Medicaid cover 100 million Americans - approximately one-third - and accounted for $750 billion of federal spending in 2009. According to the Congressional Budget Office, that totals 20 percent of the federal budget.
Berwick’s nomination, which requires Senate confirmation, has some opposition, primarily from Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK) who is a practicing obstetrician. “One concern I have is that he’s an advocate of comparative effectiveness,” Coburn said. “There may be one or two or three ways of doing something. I want to do what’s best for the patient, not necessarily what’s cheapest.”
David Helms, CEO of AcademyHealth, is a Berwick supporter. According to Helms, “I think Don Berwick as a practicing physician will be able to communicate with other practicing physicians in a way that’s persuasive.”
Tags: AcademyHealth, David Helms, Donald Berwick, Harvard Medical School, Healthcare delivery system, Institute for Healthcare Improvement, Medicaid, Medicare, pediatrics, President Barcak Obama, Senate, Tom Coburn
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 »
Monday, March 22nd, 2010
Senate Democrats may tack an overhaul of the student loan program onto the healthcare reform bill, potentially handing President Barack Obama with a double victory on two of his top domestic priorities. According to Senator Dick Durbin, Majority Whip (D-IL), “There was a stronger feeling for including” the education proposal, although he admitted that a final decision has not yet been made. The proposal would shift subsidies that currently support private lenders to other student assistance programs, including Pell Grants for families who struggle to pay college tuition. “Some of the things accomplished here are really going to help a lot of people across American” Durbin said.
The leadership in both the House of Representatives and the Senate seemed to be on the verge of attaching the student loan bill to a package of fixes to the healthcare legislation. House Education and Labor Committee Chairman George Miller (D-CA), who is a proponent of combining the two measures, said “Senators have a simple choice here. They can either choose to continue sending tens of billions of wasteful subsidies to lenders, or they can invest that money directly in students and families. It’s critical. People have made it very clear that they want to take this home.”
The Congressional Budget Office said the Senate healthcare bill will cost $875 billion over 10 years and cut the deficit by $118 billion. President Obama’s proposal, which contains negotiated provisions from the House bill, could add an additional $100 billion to the ultimate cost. The Senate’s parliamentarian has ruled that combining the bills will work, assuming legislators reach the right balance on the final price tag.
Tags: Congressional Budget Office, Democrats, Dick Durbin, filibuster, Harry Reid, healthcare reform legislation, House of Representatives, Kent Conrad, Majority Whip, Medicaid, Medicare, Nancy Pelosi, Pell Grants, President Barack Obama, Senate, Senate Budget Committee, Speaker of the House, student loan program
Posted in Healthcare | No Comments »
Monday, March 15th, 2010
Two Democratic Congressmen - Representatives Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) and Bart Stupak (D-MI) - may torpedo President Barack Obama’s efforts to reform the way healthcare is delivered in the United States. Both Congressmen are threatening to cross party lines and vote with House Republicans, who are united in their solid opposition to healthcare reform.
Kucinich justifies his “no” vote on the fact the legislation lacks a robust public option - a provision that the Republicans staunchly oppose - and describes the bill as a “giveaway” to the insurance companies. Republicans have called on the president to dump the bill, saying it is too expensive, complicated and burdensome on businesses and individuals who will be required to buy healthcare insurance, often with government subsidies.
Stupak is threatening to vote to defeat healthcare reform for an entirely different reason. His objection is that the legislation might allow federal funds to be used to reimburse patients for abortions. “Yes. We’re prepared to take responsibility,” Stupak said on “Good Morning America” when asked if he and 11 other Democrat were willing to accept the consequences for bringing down healthcare reform over abortion. “Let’s face it. I want to see healthcare. But we’re not going to bypass the principles of belief that we feel strongly about,” he said.
White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs reiterated that when it comes to this issue, the administration merely wants to maintain the status quo and believes that Stupak ultimately will be persuaded to vote with his fellow Democrats. “This is not a bill about abortion. This is about healthcare reform,” Gibbs said.
Tags: abortion, acceptable healthcare coverage, Bart Stupak, Congress, Dennis Kucinich, healthcare reform, House of Representatives, President Barack Obama, public option, Republicans, Robert Gibbs, Senate, Stupak Amendment
Posted in Healthcare | 1 Comment »
Wednesday, February 17th, 2010
The rationale for healthcare reform is simple - cover most of the population and rein in rising costs. But what happens if healthcare reform isn’t enacted? The answer is not good.
“Failure to enact health reform will result in increasing numbers of people without health insurance because fewer employers will offer it and many employees will not be able to pay the cost of plans that are available,” says Stephen Zuckerman, a health economist at the Urban Institute think tank in Washington, D.C. “For people not offered employer coverage, many will not be able to get coverage due to pre-existing conditions that insurers won’t cover or because premiums won’t be affordable. Even people with coverage will find costs becoming a greater financial burden.”
The numbers are startling. Americans paid $2.5 trillion for healthcare in 2009, equal to 17.3 percent of the nation’s GDP. As the economy starts to grow again, so will healthcare costs. The federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) estimates that without reform, healthcare will rise to 19.3 percent of the GDP by 2019. According to Urban Institute statistics, if healthcare reform is not enacted, the number of Americans without insurance will climb to 57 million or 20.1 percent of the population - and that is the best-case scenario.
The 16.5 percent of Americans now covered by Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program will rise to 18.3 percent. Medicare and Medicaid spending will cost approximately $725 billion in 2010, 50 percent more than Congress appropriates for all other domestic agencies. By 2014, the cost is projected to be $950 billion.
Inaction will only increase the budget deficit. Peter Orszag, the White House budget director, warns that “The fiscal course that we’re on, out in 2020 and 2030 and 2040, is unsustainable and needs to be addressed. If we don’t address rising healthcare costs, there’s nothing else that we’re going to be able to do that will alter that basic fact.”
Tags: Centers for Medicaid Services, Centers for Medicare, compromise, Congress, health economist, healthcare reform, House of Representatives, insurance premiums, Medicaid, Peter Orszag, pre-existing conditions, President Barack Obama, Senate, Stephen Zuckerman, think tank, Urban Institute
Posted in Healthcare | No Comments »
Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010
President Barack Obama used his first State of the Union Address to tell members of the House and Senate to continue their efforts to enact healthcare reform. “As temperatures cool, I want everyone to take another look at the plan we’ve proposed,” the president said. “Not now. Not when we are so close. By the time I’m finished speaking tonight, more Americans will have lost their health insurance. I will not walk away from these Americans and neither should the people in this chamber.” The president’s comments won applause and ovations from both sides of the aisle.
Richard Umbdenstock, president and CEO of the American Hospital Association said “I think it’s the right approach.” Umbdenstock, who worked closely with the Obama administration to shape elements of healthcare reform legislation, said it was “important work” and “there is a real need to continue.” He also linked healthcare reform to the crucial issue of job creation, noting that “Hospitals are the second largest source of private sector jobs.”
Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL) said “I think the House should just pass the Senate bill,” although he agreed that there likely will be efforts to amend the legislation through a procedure that allows passage on a simple majority vote. “But clearly the House can pass the Senate bill and the Senate’s bill is a good bill.”
“We all know we’ve been trying to get healthcare done since Teddy Roosevelt,” Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) commented on Wednesday. “So a few more weeks isn’t a long period of time in the context of how tough a fight this is when you go up against the special interest. We’ll do it and we’ll do it the right way.”
Tags: American Hospital Association, Chris Van Hollen, Democrats, healthcare reform, House of Representatives, President Barack Obama, Republicans, Richard Umbdenstock, Senate, Senator Barbara Boxer, Senator Bill Nelson, Senator Max Baucus, State of the Union Address, Teddy Roosevelt
Posted in Healthcare | No Comments »
Thursday, January 14th, 2010
There’s one element of healthcare reform legislation on which many liberals and conservatives agree - the mandate. Both the Senate and House versions of the healthcare reform bill contain a mandate requiring that all Americans be insured - whether it is through their job, the government or the private market.
From the right, there’s criticism from Michael Cannon, a health policy analyst at the libertarian Cato Institute, who says “The federal government does not have the power to force you to purchase a private product.” From the left, Jim Dean, chairman of Democracy for America, notes that “We’d like to see the individual mandate stripped. It was fair given the presence of a government entity that could provide competition and control the cost. It’s not fair if people are required to buy insurance from the same insurance industry that caused this problem.”
The reasoning behind the mandate reflects the basic concept that underlies all insurance. A large pool of people pays fairly small premiums to create a fund large enough to take care of people who need help. The idea that people of all ages participate is of particular importance in healthcare, because costly medical conditions are found primarily in Americans who are middle-aged or older. When younger and healthier people don’t have insurance, the others pay higher premiums.
The insurance industry has a totally different reason for disliking the mandate - they think it’s too mild. Robert Zirkelbach, spokesman for America’s Health Insurance Plans, believes that “We think there’s more that (the bill) needs to do. There’s still a strong incentive for people to wait until they are sick to purchase insurance.” Zirkelbach is referring to one of the legislation’s hallmark features - the requirement that insurers treat those with pre-existing conditions the same as all other patients and bans denying coverage.
Tags: Cato Institute, government, health insurance, healthcare reform, medical costs, Michael Cannon, Senate
Posted in Healthcare, Healthcare Village | No Comments »
Thursday, January 7th, 2010
Why did Senator Joseph Lieberman (I-CT) threaten to filibuster and insist on dropping the public option and a Medicare buy-in for people aged 55 - 64 in the healthcare reform bill? Even more puzzling is the fact that Lieberman had supported a public option as recently as this past September. Lieberman, who may classify as a liberal, is pro-choice and supports some gay rights, angered Democrats in his home state of Connecticut when he openly campaigned for Republicans John McCain and Sarah Palin in the 2008 presidential election.
In The Guardian, Chris McGreal writes that “Now, in the view of some, he is plumbing new depths of betrayal by using his deciding vote as an independent member of the Senate to hold hostage Barack Obama’s reform of America’s dysfunctional healthcare system. Lieberman’s tactics have upset Democratic party members of Congress who are asking why a popular president’s agenda is being stalled by a senator who has repeatedly turned his back on his old party.”
Critics see Lieberman’s opposition to the public option as a result of his acceptance of approximately $1 million in campaign donations from the medical insurance industry - many of which are headquartered in his home state — over his 21-year Senate career. Lieberman’s wife, Hadassah, works for a lobbying firm as its health and pharmaceutical specialist. Her previous employers include big pharma companies Pfizer and Hoffmann-LaRoche. Lieberman’s supporters thought he was “genuinely an independent” who agrees “more often than not with Democrats on domestic policy. I agree more often than not with Republicans on foreign and defense policy,” Lieberman once told Fox News.
According to McGreal, “Detractors paint a picture of a vain, bitter man still stung by his rejection by Democratic voters who came close to scuppering his Senate career three years ago and now reveling in the power he wields to block Obama’s first piece of major legislation.” Lieberman says he is not acting out of spite. “That’s just poppycock,” he said. “If I had any sense of vendetta against the Democratic party, I wouldn’t be in the Democratic caucus today.”
Tags: filibuster, Hadassah Lieberman, healthcare reform, insurance industry, John McCain, Joseph Lieberman, pfizer, President Barack Obama, public option, Sarah Palin, Senate
Posted in Healthcare, Hospital Systems | No Comments »
