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Lawmakers spar over health reform

As the Senate Finance Committee prepares to unveil a health overhaul proposal this week, key players have been weighing in on aspects of potential legislation.

15 Jun 2009

Medical isotope shortage hurts hospitals and disrupts medical tests

Reuters reports that "a North American shortage of medical isotopes has forced many U.S. hospitals to begin rationing scores of diagnostic tests, and doctors said on Friday they see no quick solution."

15 Jun 2009

Maryland hospital fined for not reporting errors

Regulators have fined a hospital in Lanham, Maryland, for not reporting errors. The Washington Post reports that "Doctors Community Hospital in Prince George's County has been fined by Maryland health regulators after failing to notify them that a patient had died and that at least seven others suffered serious harm last year as a result of mistakes by the medical staff.

15 Jun 2009

Obama considers taxing health benefits to pay for reform

As President Obama looks for a way to pay for health care reform in the United States, key Democrats advocate taxing employer-provided health benefits, The Washington Post reports.

15 Jun 2009

Medicare tapped for savings to cover reform costs, again

In his weekly Internet and radio address Saturday, President Obama announced a plan to cut $313 billion in Medicare and Medicaid spending over the next decade as a way to raise money for overhauling the health care system and covering millions of the uninsured, the Los Angeles Times reports.

15 Jun 2009

Administration could find compromise in ‘co-op’ plan

"With Republicans fighting the idea of a government-run health insurance plan, members of President Barack Obama's team said Sunday that they are open to a compromise: a cooperative program that would expand coverage with taxpayer money but without direct governmental control," the Associated Press reports. The non-profit, health insurance cooperatives were suggested in Congress by Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D., and HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said the concession could be a path to bipartisan health reform legislation (Elliott, 6/15).

15 Jun 2009

Obama asks AMA to support health care overhaul efforts

President Barack Obama delivered a speech today to the American Medical Association House of Delegates, which was meeting in Chicago.

15 Jun 2009

MedPAC: Medicare must reinvent its payment systems to improve quality, save money

A low-profile commission that advises Congress on Medicare has renewed its call for lawmakers to reinvent from the ground up the way doctors, hospitals and other providers are paid.

15 Jun 2009

FSAs could end up on chopping block in hunt for health overhaul money

Around Christmas a few years ago, Princeton University economist Uwe Reinhardt was looking forward to a holiday dinner when his wife told him he shouldn't bother setting a place for himself. She had scheduled a colonoscopy for him for the next day.

13 Jun 2009

Dartmouth studies influence administration, even in choice of venue

When President Obama chose Green Bay, Wis., to talk about the need for health reform, he did so in part because the area has achieved a high level of quality, and compared with other parts of the country, succeeded in restraining health care costs, National Public Radio reports.

13 Jun 2009

Prevention efforts have little success in reducing illness, cost

As health reform heats up, many lawmakers agree that the government should take a larger role in preventing disease. However, the Wall Street Journal reports that "many previous government prevention efforts aimed at costly chronic diseases have had little success in reducing illness or costs."

13 Jun 2009

Obama uses popularity to make case for health reform in Wisconsin

President Obama used his popularity Thursday at a town hall meeting in Green Bay, Wisc., in an effort to help make the case to Americans that a health care system overhaul needs to happen this year, Time reports.

13 Jun 2009

Insurers, business owners and doctors increase lobbying as details of health plan emerge

Insurers, business owners, and doctors -- three principal interest groups in health reform -- are stepping up their opposition and lobbying efforts as details of the health plans emerge.

13 Jun 2009

Democrats prepare for health reform cost analysis while courting GOP votes

What is sure to be a staggering price tag for health reform has Senate Democrats talking about changing the chamber's normal accounting procedures, The Hill reports.

13 Jun 2009

Oregon legislature passes statewide health reform bills

The Oregon state legislature cleared two reform bills that passed its House of Representatives earlier this week, the Portland Oregonian reports.

13 Jun 2009

Michigan hospitals suffer GM's bankruptcy, new Medicaid cuts

Health care could be the next Michigan industry to take a tumble, as hospitals anticipate caring for more uninsured patients in the wake of General Motor's bankruptcy and cuts to the state Medicaid program, the Detroit Free Press reports.

13 Jun 2009

Nursing shortage eases with recession's help

"The nation's deep recession is helping to alleviate the decade-long nursing shortage, as workers who had left the field in better times are returning in droves," the Wall Street Journal reports.

13 Jun 2009

Medicare reimbursement issues enter health reform debate

New legislation introduced yesterday would attempt to shift Medicare reimbursement policy to reward patient health outcomes, rather than the volume of services provided, MinnPost, a nonprofit online news organization, reports. "We need to be sure to keep score," said Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., who introduced the bill, according to MinnPost. "That means measuring outcomes and rewarding providers that deliver quality results."

13 Jun 2009

Lawmakers want Federal rules to cover home health care workers and end-of-life care

Lawmakers want federal rules to cover home health care workers while Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., plans to introduce legislation in Congress today to better educate the public on end-of-life care.

13 Jun 2009

Dodd's wife serving on health care company boards

The wife of Sen. Chris Dodd, a leading player in this year's attempt at health care reform, serves on the board of three health care companies, The Associated Press reports.

13 Jun 2009