Selected stories from the daily newsletter CQ HealthBeat from the week of March 22, 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.
Weary but excited Democrats wrote the final chapter in their long effort to overhaul the nation's health care system, sending President Obama the final piece of their package. Read more »
The new overhaul law combined with the package of fixes finally cleared by Congress would essentially level the playing field payment-wise between private health plans in Medicare and the traditional fee-for-service side of the program, according to a George Washington University study. Read more »
Health and Human Services officials plan to issue a regulation that specifically states that health insurance companies must offer coverage to children with pre-existing conditions. But the insurance industry has a different view of the language about health status that was written into the health care overhaul measure, and the clash has produced tensions over a law that's barely 48 hours old. Read more »
America's Health Insurance Plans said that cuts under the House Democratic health care overhaul package would "pull the plug" on the Medicare Advantage program. As it turns out, the Congressional Budget Office doesn't agree. Read more »
Physicians reacted with anger after Congress left town without voting to block a 21 percent pay cut in Medicare reimbursement rates set to go into effect on April 1. Read more »
With the expected nomination of Donald M. Berwick to become the new administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), the Harvard professor and quality improvement expert begins the new phase of a career marked by ever more ambitious goals and a level of enthusiasm to match. Read more »