President Obama continues to support the concept of a government-sponsored insurance option, but "he is not demanding that it is in" the final legislation, Valerie Jarrett, a senior White House adviser, said on NBC's "Meet the Press." "He thinks it's the best possible choice." White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, in two television appearances during the weekend, noted that the public option could provide much-needed competition, but that "it's not the defining piece of healthcare."
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosiand majority leader Harry Reid are working independently to merge sweeping healthcare bills produced by two committees in the Senate and three in the House into bills that each must pass in the respective chambers. Then, Democrats hope, they will negotiate one final version between them before sending it to President Obama's desk, reports the New York Times.
The drug industry stands to gain in a healthcare overhaul by getting tens of millions of newly insured customers, while insurance companies look like they are in for a tougher time, according to an early scorecard from executives poring over Congress's health legislation. Senate Democrats are meeting to write the bill they plan to bring to the floor, following last week's 14-9 vote in the Senate Finance Committee for a health bill that would cost $829 billion over 10 years.
As Democrats try to reform healthcare and essentially reorder one-sixth of the U.S. economy, the Congressional Budget Office is charged by Congress with assessing the effect on the federal budget and the impact on American lives. The Senate majority leader has vowed to hold no vote on a health plan until the CBO passes judgment. But the agency, while almost universally praised for honest and impartial analyses, does not have a crystal ball to determine the exact numbers, reports the Washington Post.
As swine flu continues to spread around the globe, a clearer picture of the most serious cases has started to emerge, indicating that the virus could pose a greater threat to some otherwise healthy people. The virus can cause life-threatening viral pneumonia much more commonly than the typical flu, prompting the World Health Organization to warn hospitals to prepare for a possible wave of very sick patients and to urge doctors to treat suspected cases quickly with antiviral drugs.
Seven months ago, insurance companies vowed to be allies in President Obama's effort to revamp healthcare, with one industry leader later telling Congress that "health insurance reform needs to be done this year." But as an $829 billion, 10-year healthcare bill approved by the Senate Finance Committee moves toward debate by the full Senate, the insurance industry and the Obama administration are increasingly at odds over key provisions in the bill, reports USA Today.
A $600,000 campaign by University of California-San Francisco medical group is designed to let as many as 160,000 managed-care members know that UCSF ended its relationship with Brown & Toland Physicians, San Francisco's largest medical group, and contracted with another group. Brown & Toland offices started handing patients letters telling them the UCSF advertisements are inaccurate, and the medical group's leadership also sent the UC Board of Regents a letter accusing UCSF of resorting to scare tactics and spreading "incorrect and disruptive" messages. UCSF officials have denied those accusations.
A nonprofit coalition is seeking the help of 1,800 South Florida doctors to get $10 million in federal stimulus funds to help set up a regional system of electronic health records. The coalition reports it has received preliminary approval to apply for the money to establish a Regional Extension Center to help facilitate the use of electronic records in Broward, Miami-Dade, and Monroe counties. As part of the application, the coalition must obtain letters of support from 1,800 South Florida doctors indicating interest of getting training, education, and technical assistance in using electronic health records from the REC.
Beginning in 2010, Bristol (CT) Hospital could be out of Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield's network, meaning that Anthem members who use the hospital would be charged out-of-network rates for all but emergency care. Bristol hospital gave notice that it will terminate its contract with the insurer after the two sides were unable to agree on reimbursement rates. Unless they reach an agreement, the contract will end Jan. 1. The two sides are scheduled for more negotiations but representatives of both the hospital and the insurer said they remain far apart, the Hartford Courant reports.
Despite growing frustration with the way health insurers deny medical treatments, major healthcare bills pending in Congress would give patients little new power to challenge those sometimes life-and-death decisions, according to this article from the Los Angeles Times. Experts said the legislation under consideration does not significantly enhance patient protections against insurers refusing to cover requests for treatment. Most people currently have no right to challenge health insurers' treatment decisions by suing them for damages, the article notes.
