Under the Microscope

Health Care Headlines

• Health Bill Clears Hurdle and Hints at Consensus
  House members headed home on Friday, leaving behind the outlines of a nearly $1 trillion health care overhaul that is sure to draw fire from a variety of interests, but also shows the beginnings of a consensus that would provide insurance for more Americans and give them new rights in dealing with insurers. [New York Times, 7/31/2009]
• Two Sides Take Health Care Debate Outside Washington
  With Republicans mobilizing against the proposed health care overhaul, President Obama, Congressional Democrats and leading advocacy groups are laying the groundwork for an August offensive against the insurance industry as part of a coordinated campaign to sell the public on the need for reform. [New York Times, 8/2/2009]
• For Pelosi, Recess Means Selling Health Plan
  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi returned home to San Francisco this weekend carrying a red, white and blue pocket card that will help guide her through the August recess. The card lists talking points she hopes will convince everyday Americans of the benefits they could receive under the health-care reform plan she hatched with other House Democrats last week. [Washington Post, 8/2/2009] Read about grassroots efforts.
• Democrats Walk a Careful Line on Healthcare
  Rep. Rick Boucher (D-Va.) is in a tough spot when it comes to overhauling the nation's healthcare system. Major hospitals in his largely rural district have told him the bill pending in the House would cripple them financially. But Boucher also believes that the need for change is painfully obvious: When a free medical clinic was offered in a remote area of his district, some 2,700 people showed up. [L.A. Times, 8/3/2009]
• Negotiation of Medicare Drug Prices Back ‘For Now’
  Democrats are circulating an amendment to the health care overhaul that contains a surprise for the pharmaceutical industry. [Wall Street Journal, 7/31/2009]
• House Health Compromise Includes Biologics Drug Competition
  As the House Energy and Commerce Committee neared completion of its prolonged health bill markup Friday, the panel voted to allow generic competition to expensive biologic drugs for the first time.
  [CQ Today, 7/31/2009]
• With or Without G.O.P., Baucus Will Move Ahead on Sept. 15
  The chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, Max Baucus, has told colleagues he will press ahead with major health care legislation on Sept. 15 even if he does not have a bipartisan deal, Democrats said. [New York Times, 7/31/2009]
• Debating Prevention’s Place in Healthcare Bill
  As Congress struggles to decide how America should take care of its sick, another controversy is simmering over whether the healthcare legislation should include billions of dollars aimed at keeping people well. [L.A. Times, 8/3/2009]
• Talk Radio Campaign Frightening Seniors
  A campaign on conservative talk radio, fueled by President Obama's calls to control exorbitant medical bills, has sparked fear among senior citizens that the health-care bill moving through Congress will lead to end-of-life "rationing" and even "euthanasia." [Washington Post, 8/1/2009]
• Payments to Acute Care Hospitals to Rise $1.9 Billion in 2010
  A final rule issued late Friday by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services would increase Medicare payments for inpatient stays in acute care hospitals by a projected $1.9 billion during fiscal 2010, according to a CMS announcement. [CQ HealthBeat, 7/31/2009]
• OPINION: Health Care Realities
  By Paul Krugman
  At a recent town hall meeting, a man stood up and told Representative Bob Inglis to “keep your government hands off my Medicare.” The congressman, a Republican from South Carolina, tried to explain that Medicare is already a government program — but the voter, Mr. Inglis said, “wasn’t having any of it.” [New York Times, 7/31/2009]
• OPINION: What’s Not to Like?
  By Jonathan Alter
  Go ahead, shoot me. I like the status quo on health care in the United States. I had cancer a few years ago. I like the fact that if I lose my job, I won't be able to get any insurance because of my illness.
  [Newsweek, 7/31/2009]
• OPINION: Imagine Doctors, Patients Talking
  By Kristen Gerencher
  Your visits to the doctor are likely to take on a different tone as efforts to stem rapidly rising health-care costs move forward, transforming what often feels like a trip to the principal's office into something more like an intimate dinner conversation. [Wall Street Journal, 8/2/2009]
• OPINION: Whistleblower is Dems’ Best Ammo in Health Care Fight
  By Stanley Crouch
  Everyone is familiar with the street adage that one should not take a knife to a gunfight. They have probably even heard it way down in Washington, where the truth is hard to hear and even harder to see. [New York Daily News, 8/3/2009]