Selected stories from the daily newsletter CQ HealthBeat from the week of December 21, 2009. Provided as a service under rights licensed by The Commonwealth Fund. The full-text version of this newsletter is available in the
Health Reform section of commonwealthfund.org.
Just as their counterparts did in the House in early November, Democrats in the Senate coalesced in the face of a unified Republican Party to win passage of legislation overhauling the nation’s health care system. This time the closing of the ranks behind President Obama’s top domestic priority was even more impressive; all 60 of the senators who caucus with the Democratic party voted to approve the measure (HR 3590). Read more »
Senate leaders struck a deal paving the way for passage of the Democrats' health care overhaul and a short-term increase in the national debt limit shortly thereafter on Dec. 24.
Read more »
Could California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger be ready to bail on the health care overhaul? Schwarzenegger, who's gained widespread attention as a Republican willing to support President Obama's efforts to overhaul the nation's health care system, has written congressional leaders saying the bill's Medicaid expansion would cost his state an additional $3 billion to $4 billion annually that it cannot afford. Read more »
Senate Democrats are poised to accomplish something this week that Congress seldom attempts: passing partisan legislation in the face of what appears to be substantial public opposition. That makes it incumbent on Democratic leaders to convince Americans that the health care overhaul bill (HR 3590) is good for them. With recent polls showing substantial public anxiety over the health plan, and with President Obama largely staying above the fray, rank-and-file lawmakers already are busily scripting narratives portraying the public as net winners in a reconfigured medical marketplace. Read more »
Tales of crankiness abound on Capitol Hill as Christmas Eve approaches and the Senate remains in session, but Senate staffer David Reynolds was practically giddy with good cheer when reached by telephone. That's because the Senate appears to be on the verge of voting to approve a dramatic expansion of community health centers—which could bring badly needed health services to thousands of medically underserved communities across the United States over the next several years. Read more »
The American Medical Association threw its weight behind the Senate health care overhaul bill after changes were made to appease physicians, bringing aboard a group whose support was viewed as influential to passage of the House health care measure. Read more »