With Democrats looking for big bucks to expand coverage of children in the State Children's Health Insurance Program and to prevent cuts in doctor payments, the "Budget Options" document released by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) might quickly become necessary reading for lawmakers and lobbyists. Read more »
Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., said that Congress ought to be able to come up with the $50 billion he estimated is needed over five years to cover all children eligible for the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), but he hedged on whether it would do so this year or over the next several years. Read more »
As part of the Bush administration's ongoing efforts to promote greater transparency in health care, Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Michael O. Leavitt announced a new venture that would create local health care collaboratives to provide public reports on the cost and quality of health care providers. Read more »
A financial analysis of President Bush's fiscal 2008 budget gave new ammunition to opponents of the administration's plan to change the current tax treatment of employer-provided health care insurance. "Very preliminary" estimates found that Bush's plan would raise $526 billion in taxes over the next decade, rather than be budget neutral as administration officials said when Bush released his plan. Read more »
A long-awaited report by the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission offered lawmakers no quick way out of the chamber of policy horrors they find themselves in regarding Medicare physician payments, but the report's silver lining may be the added pressure it creates on top policymakers to get moving on rethinking the U.S. health care system from the ground up. Read more »
Patients are turning to credit cards to meet rising out-of-pocket medical expenses and are accruing heavy medical debt as a result, according to a new report by advocacy groups Demos and the Access Project. Read more »