Senate Republicans have vowed to use every available tactic to delay voting on the healthcare bill as Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-NV) continues efforts to unify Democrats in support of the legislation, the Washington Post reports. Republicans showed they were prepared to extend the healthcare debate as long as possible, with Sen. Tom Coburn (OK) demanding that a Senate clerk read aloud a 767-page Democratic amendment. Three hours later, the amendment to create a Canadian-style single-payer system was withdrawn. But Republicans are expected to make a similar move when Reid introduces the revised Senate bill, which is likely to top 2,000 pages and which cannot be similarly withdrawn, the Post reports.
The Senate healthcare bill could enable insurers to avoid some of the strongest consumer protections and benefit requirements adopted by state governments, Democratic lawmakers from Maine and California said in a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-NV). The bill would allow insurers to sell policies across state lines, subject to the laws and regulations in a state of the insurers' choosing, 31 Democratic House members said. "Practically speaking, insurers will domicile their plans in states with less stringent regulations and market to the population in more protective states like ours, just like nationally chartered banks have done," the House members wrote on behalf of lawmakers from the two states.
A conflict in the Senate this week illustrated the frustration growing for both Democrats and Republicans after more than two weeks of debate on healthcare reform, the New York Times reports. Democrats said Republicans were stalling and obstructing the most important social legislation in decades, while Republicans said a proposed amendment avowed a Democratic goal of a government takeover of healthcare, the Times reports.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid struggled to win over the last Democratic vote on health reform legislation as it remained uncertain whether the measure can be brought to a vote before Christmas, the Wall Street Journal reports. After more than two weeks of debate, Reid remained a vote short of the 60 votes needed to ensure passage of the White House-backed initiative. The latest focus was on Sen. Ben Nelson, a conservative Nebraskan who stands as the only undecided member of the party's 60-member caucus, which includes two independents, the Journal reports.
Boston-based Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, which in March warned it was on track to lose $20 million for the 2009 fiscal year, instead managed to post a $10.3 million operating gain for 2009. The gain for the 12 months that ended Sept. 30 represents a turnaround for the 620-bed hospital. Last winter, it laid off about 70 workers, consolidated research operations, and made other cuts to stabilize finances, the Boston Globe reports.
The Texas insurance consumer advocate is seeking to eliminate the blanket authority of health and disability insurers to decide what their policies cover. Public Insurance Counsel Deeia Beck has asked the state's insurance commissioner to end long-standing provisions in most health plans, called "discretionary" clauses, that give insurers the right to interpret their policies and decide what benefits must be paid. The health insurance industry strongly opposes such a change. Insurance Commissioner Mike Geeslin has held a hearing on the proposal and is considering whether to move forward, the Dallas Morning News reports.
Philadelphia-based Fox Chase Cancer Center lost its appeal to use 19.4 acres of neighboring Burholme Park for a $1 billion expansion of its hospital. Commonwealth Court upheld a ruling last December that Fox Chase is not entitled to lease a portion of the 65-acre public park. Fox Chase says it urgently needs to expand to keep pace with cancer care, research, and the burgeoning increase in patients, but it has said it will look elsewhere if the city said no to expanding into the park.
A Miami psychiatrist who writes prescriptions for Medicaid patients at a rate of 150 a day, seven days a week, has been targeted by Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA) as an example of why the federal government should do more to investigate over-utilization of healthcare. The letter from Grassley to federal Medicaid officials comes at a time when authorities are looking for ways to reduce what experts believe is massive overspending in areas like Miami, where healthcare costs can be more than twice the national average, the Miami Herald reports.
Hundreds of workers at a Sonoma County, CA, hospital are scheduled to go to the polls in a closely watched union vote pitting the giant Service Employees International against an upstart rival. The balloting at Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital has drawn scrutiny in labor circles nationwide because of the nasty underlying conflict between the SEIU and its breakaway competitor, the National Union of Healthcare Workers, the Los Angeles Times reports.
A Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll has found more Americans said the would rather stick with the status quo on healthcare than pass the Democrats' bill. More than four out of ten (44%) of respondents said it is better to not pass the plan and to keep the current system versus 41% who said it is better to enact the proposed healthcare overhaul. As recently as October, 45% said it was better to pass a bill while 39% preferred to status quo.
