hillary clinton

Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) has abandoned the grandiose ideas of healthcare system overhaul that galvanized her opponents in 1993 and made "HillaryCare" the biggest fiasco of the first Clinton administration. But she hasn't abandoned her concern, and is advocating smaller reforms to extend health insurance coverage to all--especially children. She applauds state and local efforts like those afoot in San Francisco and Massachusetts, but says a federal solution is needed eventually. …

Universal healthcare seems to be back in vogue, with two Congressmen proposing new healthcare bills designed to increase access to affordable care. Rep. Pete Stark (D-CA) is pitching a program which will be based on the Medicare model. Documents provided by the congressman's office say that the plan will be financed by "using the administrative efficiencies within Medicare and building on the existing coverage people receive through their jobs today." AmeriCare, as it is called, …

Columbia Memorial Hospital employees have postponed today's planned strike and will continue negotiations with the Hudson, NY hospital administrators after Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) sent a letter asking both sides to "redouble your efforts to negotiate a fair and reasonable contract for the benefit of the hospital, the workforce and the community."

Since December, union members--which include registered nurses, pharmacists, medical technicians, technologists, housekeeping and …

Democrats Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama describe their proposal to make patient safety a key to medical malpractice reform in an article in the New England Journal of Medicine. The proposal envisions the creation of an Office of Patient Safety and Health Care Quality within the Department of Health and Human Services. A National Medical Error Disclosure and Compensation (MEDiC) program would encourage providers to report errors promptly and push claimants to settle cases quickly. Article

Additional information continues to emerge about the health policy changes President Bush is expected to propose in his State of the Union address next week. It is becoming increasingly obvious that healthcare providers will want to pay close attention to the speech. The Los Angeles Times reports that in addition to expanding tax free HSAs, the proposals are likely to include an "expanded system of 'report cards' on doctors and hospitals, stricter enforcement of anti-monopoly laws …

The debate over electronic medical records promises to get interesting this week after the announcement from CMS that the government will provide small to midsized practices with free access to the VistA EMR system. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.), in an Op-Ed in the San Francisco Chronicle, writes that the move is necessary to overcome physician hesitation. "Quite simply, the entire country should have the highest quality care we can afford." Frist goes on to tout …

> NPR examines the potential reorganization of the National Institutes of Health. Story

> The New York Times examines the Justice Department's focus on pain management specialists and the "epidemic" of prescription drug abuse. Story

> Israeli generic drug maker Teva said it will buy competitor Ivax …

The US Senate will consider a bill which would increase funds for health IT projects and government support for interoperability standards. The Wired for Health Care Quality Act cleared the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee on Wednesday and is now on the fast track for a vote. The legislation combines language in bills proposed by Hillary Clinton (D-NY), Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.), Mike Enzi (R-Wy.) and Bill Frist (R-Tenn.). Now we get to see if they're really serious …

The Department of Health and Human Services said an internal agency review has found no evidence to support allegations that acting Food and Drug Administration chairman Lester Crawford had an affair with a personal assistant. That appears to clear the way for the confirmation process to proceed for the highest ranking official at the regulatory agency.

But at least three senators threatened to block a Senate vote on Crawford's confirmation. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) and Patty Murray …

This week Hillary Clinton met with Newt Gingrich, and together they declared unity and agreement on America's healthcare future -- at least as far as the role of information technology goes in it. The man who led the conservative charge against the Clinton healthcare plan in the early 1990s cozying up with the author of HillaryCare? That surprising sight led to an immediate media …