Selected stories from the daily newsletter CQ HealthBeat from the week of March 8, 2010. 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.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi has outlined provisions of a health care "corrections" bill that she hopes the House will pass this week, setting the stage for final congressional action on Democrats' health overhaul.
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The health care overhaul could well be a bitter pill to swallow for members of Congress who support a popular remedy they've promised voters for years — giving Medicare the power to wheel and deal on prices for prescription drugs. Read more »
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, at a health insurance industry meeting, pressed insurers to "give up some short-term profits" for the good of the country and assist congressional Democrats struggling to move toward votes on a health care overhaul measure. Read more »
Democratic leaders are down to "five to 10 substantive issues" on health care overhaul legislation, and most of them involve the measure's price tag, House Ways and Means Chairman Sander M. Levin said. Read more »
It may not spark spinoffs of the popular reality TV show "Dog the Bounty Hunter," but the Obama administration announced an expanded effort to fight fraud by paying contractors a percentage of improper federal payments. Read more »
A New York health insurance company has been kicked out of the Medicare Part D prescription drug program after the government determined the insurer wasn't meeting Medicare requirements for beneficiaries. CMS officials said it is the first time a company has been terminated from the Part D program since its inception. Read more »