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Senate Finance Committee passes healthcare bill
Get ready for a healthcare smack down later this month. With the Senate Finance Committee's 14-9 approval of its healthcare reform bill yesterday, the measure will move to a full floor debate,... Read more...
Healthcare co-ops losing traction in Senate
The Senate Finance Committee's bill recently gained momentum from the Congressional Budget Office's (CBO) favorable cost analysis, but the health insurance co-ops proposed in the bill may be the... Read more...
CMS investigates Humana letter to beneficiaries on health reform
CMS has launched an investigation of Humana after questions were raised over letters it sent to its beneficiaries on the subject of health reform. Officials are looking into the issue of whether... Read more...
SPOTLIGHT: Aides working on reform have health industry connections
Here's a nice situation: According to political insider newspaper Politico, some of the most powerful aides participating in Senate Finance Committee negotiations on health reform have questionable... Read more...
Obama backs expanded powers for MedPAC
Do you think it's a good idea for the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission to go from an advice-only body to one that has significant power over reimbursement? President Obama does, and he's thrown... Read more...
Hospitals fight federal charity care rules
Not-for-profit hospitals are rightly fearful that Congress will meddle with their tax exemption. If nothing else, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) has given them plenty of warning that their tax status was... Read more...
Report: Uncompensated care costs passed to insured
When people can't pay their healthcare bill, the money comes out of the pockets of the insured. Such is the conclusion of a new report from consumer advocacy group Families USA, which says insured... Read more...
Senate may add 5 percent bonus to Medicare for primary care MDs
After years of talk about the growing shortage of primary care doctors, the Senate seems to be doing something--maybe not something huge, but something--to address the problem. As part of a package... Read more...
AHIP opposes creation of government health plan to rival private insurers
According to a new Wall Street Journal poll, 38.7 percent of respondents believe that Congress should create a government-run health plan to compete with private insurers, while 52.9 percent said "no... Read more...
Grassley: 'Public option' a 'deal-breaker'
Sen. Charles E. Grassley (R-IA) said yesterday that he hopes he and Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT) can introduce a health bill to congress by the summer that would allow congress to set minimum standards for... Read more...
