The Senate majority leader, Harry Reid of Nevada, said that he expected to bring major healthcare legislation to the floor next week and to complete work on the bill before Christmas. But other Democratic leaders said it was unlikely that a bill could reach President Obama's desk by year’s end, the New York Times reports. Reid still has not finalized the Senate version of the legislation. He is waiting for additional analysis by the Congressional Budget Office, with a goal of keeping the 10-year cost of the bill at the roughly $900 billion suggested by President Obama.
In the two weeks since the Senate majority leader, Harry Reid, embraced a proposal that would allow states to opt out of a new government health insurance plan, state leaders have begun debating whether to take part. The proposal, which is being woven into the Senate healthcare bill, would give states the right to opt out of only the public plan, not from the tax increases needed to subsidize coverage for the uninsured. Several state officials said that if Reid's proposal carries, many governors are likely to accept the new plan rather than incite an ideological battle mirroring the fight in Congress, the New York Times reports.
Former president Bill Clinton urged Senate Democrats to resolve their differences with a healthcare bill and pass an overhaul as soon as possible. Using the lessons of his own history with healthcare reform, Clinton noted the grim consequences of the failed reform effort 15 years ago, when he was in office: Democrats lost control of Congress in that year's midterm elections, healthcare costs skyrocketed, and the rate of Americans without insurance continued to rise.
Maine's legislators have tried for decades to fix its healthcare system, but their efforts have always fallen short: health insurance premiums are still among the least affordable in the nation, healthcare spending per person is among the highest, and hospital emergency rooms are among the most crowded. Many overhauls to the system have done little more than solve one problem while worsening another, reports the New York Times, and the state's history is a cautionary tale for national health reform.
While Miami-based Jackson Health System's governing body struggled to find more ways to cut costs and increase revenue, University of Miami President Donna Shalala made an appearance before the Public Health Trust to "personally apologize for statements by members of the university leadership team last week." She was referring to UM Board of Trustees Chairman Phillip George's comments to Jackson leaders that he was disturbed about the quality of doctors that Jackson had been hiring in recent years. Jackson leaders are now trying ways to reduce an anticipated loss of more than $100 million this year. On Nov. 9, Chief Executive Eneida Roldan ordered the closing of six units and laying off of 93 employees.
Primary care doctors in the U.S. spent more time with patients during office visits in recent years despite declining paychecks because of lower reimbursement from insurers, a study found. General practitioners, family doctors and general internists increased their time with patients to almost 21 minutes for an average office visit in 2005 from 18 minutes in 1997, according to the research. The physicians' 2003 average income of $146,405 was a 10.2% drop adjusted for inflation from 1995, according to a 2006 report.