Major Provisions of the Health Care Bill to be Offered on Senate Floor

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., unveiled a version of the health care overhaul bill (HR 3590) that will now be debated. The measure would expand Medicaid coverage, create state-run insurance exchanges, establish a public health care option to compete with private insurers, and cost an estimated $848 billion over 10 years. Read more »

Reid's Recruitment Must Start Over

The Senate will begin its long-awaited health care debate effectively at an impasse. The Democratic leadership barely mustered the 60 votes needed to keep Majority Leader Harry Reid's bill alive long enough to bring it to the floor. It was an important victory, but one that could quickly prove hollow. Read more »

Cost Arguments Loom as Senate Launches Health Care Debate

As the Senate prepares for its formal debate on health care overhaul legislation, the Obama administration is working to head off arguments that the package would lead to excessive government spending at a time of record federal deficits. Read more »

Grassley Requests More Information on Medicare Payroll Tax

The top Republican on the Senate Finance Committee said that he wants more information about an increase of the Medicare payroll tax included in the Senate version of the health care overhaul. Read more »

It's a Good Week for Geeks to Give Thanks

The federal Department of Health and Human Services announced that it's awarding $80 million in grants to develop community college programs to train technical people to help doctors and nurses use new information technology systems. Read more »

Consumers Feel Better About the Economy and Health Care, Survey Finds

A somewhat improved outlook for the economy in October also meant increased confidence in health insurance coverage and access to care, a new Robert Wood Johnson Foundation survey has found.
Read more »