Democratic leaders in both chambers were briefing their rank and file on a Senate proposal to replace a so-called public option in the health care overhaul with an alternative that includes expanding Medicare eligibility. Read more »
Democratic senators and staff members reassembled to take another crack at reaching an agreement on language pertaining the "public option," the controversial provision in the Senate health care overhaul bill (HR 3590) complicating efforts by Democrats to attract the 60 votes they need to pass the proposal. Read more »
Here's a rarity: A provision in the health care overhaul bills that is cheap, fairly easy to understand and universally popular. Both House and Senate bills would allow young adults to remain on their parents' health insurance policies until their mid-20s. It is being touted as a way to extend health insurance to the "young invincibles," who have the highest rate of uninsurance.
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A new report by Medicare's chief actuary says that the Senate health care overhaul bill would increase health spending through the next decade by 0.7 percent rather than curbing growth and might make it tough for some Medicare-dependent hospitals to stay in business. Read more »
On a day when they were derided for producing a 2,074-page bill in the Senate that in the words of Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., fails to do anything about rising costs, Democrats were clearly on the defensive. But at least they could take comfort in a defense of the Senate bill written by Atul Gawande, the surgeon and former Clinton administration official who made a big splash in the health care debate earlier this year with a New Yorker magazine article that detailed waste in Medicare spending associated with medical entrepreneurship. Read more »
The White House announced grants of $509 million for construction and renovation projects at 85 community health centers around the country. Allocated under the economic stimulus law, the awards will create jobs and help provide care "for more than half a million additional patients in underserved communities," a White House news release said. Read more »