Speaker Nancy Pelosi said that House Democrats are weighing a proposal to tax generous health-insurance plans, a step that risks conflict with unions but would help pay for the House's version of health-overhaul legislation, according to the Wall Street Journal. The proposed tax on "Cadillac" health plans offering generous benefits is a central feature of legislation pending in the Senate. The House bill, on the other hand, is financed in part by a surtax on the wealthy that would raise more than $500 billion over 10 years.
The Senate Finance Committee rejected a proposal to require pharmaceutical companies to give bigger discounts to Medicare on drugs dispensed to older Americans with low incomes. The proposal, an amendment by Senator Bill Nelson, Democrat of Florida, would have required drug makers to provide Medicare with discounts in the form of rebates totaling more than $100 billion over 10 years.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi stepped up her push for a publicly run health plan, saying it could "save enormous amounts of money." Congressional aides said including a government-run plan for people under 65 in the health overhaul could save as much as $100 billion, if such a plan were to pay healthcare providers the low rates used by Medicare. The resulting savings would allow Democrats to keep subsidies and other provisions intended to help lower-income people buy health insurance.
A Small Claims Court judge ruled that healthcare giant Anthem Blue Cross of California overcharged a Culver City man more than $5,700 for safety-net medical insurance, and he ordered the company to pay him back with interest. Anthem said afterward that it disagreed with the decision. "The company feels that the reimbursement made to the member was appropriate," spokeswoman Peggy Hinz said.
On the second day of work on legislation intended to overhaul the U.S. healthcare system, the Senate Finance Committee wrestled with politically volatile proposals to squeeze money out of Medicare. As they continued work on the bill, Democrats fended off attempts by Republicans to restore proposed reductions to the program and get rid of government restrictions on the ways insurance companies market to seniors.
In the drive to bring health coverage to almost every American, lawmakers have largely rejected restrictions on how much insurers can charge, sparking fears that consumers will continue to face the skyrocketing premium increases. The legislators' reluctance to control premium costs comes despite the fact that they intend to require virtually all Americans to get health insurance, a mandate that would mark the first time the federal government has compelled consumers to buy a single industry's product and effectively create a captive market, according to the Los Angeles Times.