The healthcare overhaul now being debated in Congress appears poised to bring the most significant improvements to the American Indian health system in decades, the New York Times reports. Provisions under consideration could, over time, direct streams of money to the American Indian healthcare system and give American Indians more treatment options. But some proposals, like exempting Indians from penalties for not obtaining insurance, may meet resistance from lawmakers opposed to expanding benefits for American Indians, many of whom receive free medical care.
A grass-roots conservative group is launching a $1 million ad campaign to persuade key senators to oppose the reform measure. Keeping Small Business Healthy, a project run by the advocacy group Institute for Liberty, will begin airing ads targeting five Senate Democrats in four relatively conservative states. Each ad features small-business owners from the specified state warning of the dire consequences if Democrats' health-reform proposals become law. Groups on all sides of the debate have combined to spend more than $170 million, according to the Campaign Media Analysis Group.
After almost a year of maneuvering over policies and politics, the Senate officially began debate on the legislation to overhaul the nation's healthcare system, but it remained uncertain how long the deliberations would last or how much the bill would change before it comes to a vote, the Los Angeles Times reports. With Republicans united in opposition and conservative Democrats and the Senate's two independents continuing to express reservations, Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) faced a challenge in building the filibuster-proof majority needed for passage, reports the Times.
Six Massachusetts community hospitals, squeezed by the economic downturn and the state budget crunch, are set to file a lawsuit seeking millions of dollars from the state for unpaid healthcare services. The suit charges that Massachusetts violated a law requiring adequate reimbursement to hospitals for patients insured by the government. The hospitals contend the state set repayment rates so low they do not cover the cost of such medical care, the Boston Globe reports. The plaintiffs are part of a group of "disproportionate share hospitals," institutions at which at least 63% of patients, mostly low-income or elderly, are covered by public insurance plans such as Medicaid or Medicare.
In this essay published online by the New York Times, cardiologist and author Sandeep Jauhar, MD, contends that unless doctors view cost-cutting goals as their own, policy makers don't stand a chance of achieving them. Jauhar says that to curb the costs, Congress and the Obama administration are considering bonus payments to hospitals with low readmission rates and penalties on those with high rates. But these incentives are misdirected, he says.
Nashville's existing convention center could become a 15-story medical trade center as Dallas-based Market Center Management Co. plans to spend $250 million to redesign the 22-year-old facility. The proposal includes adding 12 stories on top of the convention center to create about 2 million square feet of exhibit space, company executives and city and state officials announced. The repurposed building would house a medical mart showcasing more than 600 healthcare companies' products and technology.