Selected stories from the daily newsletter CQ HealthBeat from the week of November 2, 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.
The most ambitious overhaul of the U.S. health care system in 40 years squeaked through the House, allowing President Obama to win a preliminary round in what could still be a long battle for his top domestic priority. Read more »
The House voted to prohibit federal funding for abortion in new insurance programs created by a Democratic health overhaul, in one of the biggest showdown votes on the issue in a dozen years.
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Rep. Anthony Weiner has decided not to offer legislation to create a single-payer health system as a substitute for House Democrats' health care overhaul. Read more »
Senate Democrats' hopes of finishing a comprehensive health care overhaul by year's end are slipping due to Republican opposition, the crowded legislative calendar, and questions about the cost of the bill, says the Senate's No. 2 Democrat.
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House Democratic leaders intend to approve a rule that would govern debate on legislation to change the way doctors are paid under Medicare, but Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer, D-Md., said the bill would not be considered until the week of Nov. 16. Read more »
House Democrats hope to use the health care overhaul bill moving through Congress to address another issue on their agenda: helping states deal with their budget shortfalls. Read more »