Health Care Reform News – December 11, 2009

TOP STORIES

Medicare “Buy-In” Worse Than Public Option; The Wall Street Journal – December 11, 2009

It’s hard to imagine a better illustration of the panic and recklessness stringing ObamaCare along in the Senate than the putative deal that Harry Reid announced this week. Reid claims a Medicare “buy-in” for people from ages 55 to 64 has overcome the liberal-moderate impasse over the public option – if anything, this gambit is an even faster road to government-run health care. 

High Premiums in Senate Democrats Health Plan; The New York Times – December 11, 2009

Senate Democrats have provided few details about their latest health care proposal, but this much seems clear: Anyone who wants to buy the same health benefits as members of Congress, or to buy coverage through Medicare, should be prepared to fork over a large chunk of cash.

R.I.P Public Option; The Huffington Post – December 11, 2009

The public health insurance option died on Thursday, December 10, 2009.

Health Care Loophole Would Allow Coverage Limits; The Boston Globe – December 11, 2009

A loophole in the Senate health care bill would now let insurers place annual dollar limits on medical care for people struggling with costly illnesses, such as cancer. 

INSURANCE

Of OPM Role in a Reformed Health Care System, Some are Fans, Some are Definitely Not; The Washington Post – December 11, 2009

Like a backup singer finally getting the spotlight, the Office of Personnel Management (an agency that only federal employees and their kin have reason to know) is moving to center stage in the nation’s health insurance system debate.

TRANSPARENCY/SAFETY

Health Workers Are Most Trusted Profession:  Accept for HMO Managers; Healthpopuli – December 11, 2009

Gallup’s annual Honest and Ethics of Professions poll is out and finds that health providers and front-line health workers rank highest in the nation. 

WELLNESS/CHRONIC CARE

Swine Flu Death Toll at 10,000 since April; The New York Times – December 11, 2009

Federal health officials said Thursday that almost 10,000 people have died of the swine flu since April, a significant jump from mortality numbers released last month.

MEDICARE/MEDICAID

Snowe:  Medicare Buy-In Loses Her Vote; Politico – December 10, 2009

Sen. Olympia Snowe does not support the Medicare buy-in because it would “aggravate an already-serious problem” with the program – the low reimbursement rates for hospitals and doctors.

Pelosi Backs Medicare Buy-In Plan in Senate Health Care Deal; The Washington Post – December 11, 2009

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi endorsed a proposal Thursday that would allow people in late middle age to buy insurance through Medicare, helping to sustain an idea that sprang unexpectedly from the Senate this week. 

Additional Coverage:

Pelosi Indicates Support for Senate’s Medicare Deal – The Wall Street Journal

Moderates Uneasy With Medicare Plan; Politico – December 11, 2009

Senate moderates who are the linchpin to passing a health care reform bill raised fresh worries Thursday about a proposed Medicare expansion, complicating Majority Leader Reid’s hopes of putting together a filibuster-proof majority for the legislation in the coming days

REFORM EFFORTS

Health Care Help from the Rookies; The Washington Post Op-Ed – December 11, 2009

Finally, there is some good news on the health care front:  The headlines went to a possible compromise on the contentious issue of the public option, but the greater victory may lie in less-publicized Senate action that might actually cut the costs of our impossibly expensive health care system.

Senate Looks for Possible Compromises on Public Option; Healthleaders Media – December 11, 2009

Overall, Thursday failed to bring a clearer picture of the exact plan that the Democrats have in mind—whether the public option is being dropped completely or whether some new proposals are gaining acceptance among most of the senators

Health Leaders Speak Out About MedPAC’s Proposed Lower Payments for 2010; Healthleaders Media – December 11, 2009

A draft recommendation to Congress released by the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) Thursday has hospital officials concerned about payments for the year.

AARP Draws Political Fire; The Washington Examiner – December 11, 2009

AARP, with 40 million members, is drawing political fire for its support of Democratic health care legislation increasing regulation of the industry and cutting Medicare benefits.

Health Care Debate:  Hope and Skepticism on the Front Lines; USA Today – December 11, 2009

The men and women at the front lines of the national health care debate, who run hospitals, nursing homes, community health care centers and private practices, say they are hopeful, but wary, about the changes that might follow if Congress passes legislation to overhaul the health care system.

Internet Users Lured to Voice Views on Health Bill; The Associated Press – December 11, 2009

Internet users looking for gift cards and other free merchandise are being steered to Web pages inviting them to send e-mails to Congress expressing their views on President Barack Obama’s push to reshape the country’s health system.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS

Senate Health Debate Hits Snag Over Imported Drugs; The Los Angeles Times – December 11, 2009

Expanding access to low-cost prescription drugs from overseas might look like a sure winner in the effort to make health care more affordable, but the seemingly popular proposal brought the Senate health care debate to a standstill Thursday, as Democrats divided over whether they should bow to the drug industry’s fierce opposition.

Additional Coverage:

Pharmaceutical Deal Holding Up Bipartisan Health Amendment – The Hill

HEALTH INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

HHS Unveils New Web Projects under Open Government Effort; iHealth Beat – December 10, 2009

In response to President Obama’s new open government initiative, HHS plans to launch three new initiatives aimed at improving information sharing, project collaboration and public health awareness. 

MISCELLANEOUS

Urge Your Senators to Reject Medicare Expansion as Part of the Public Option 

AHA Advocacy Alert (Full Memo Below)

December 11, 2009

THE SITUATION
As the Senate debates its health reform bill, we have issued Advocacy Alerts urging opposition to attempts to expand Medicare and Medicaid eligibility as part of a public insurance option (Dec. 8), as well as attempts to expand the authority of an Independent Medicare Advisory Board to impose additional hospital payment cuts (Dec. 3); and on our three overriding concerns with the Senate bill (Nov. 23), including: 

• The number of people who would receive coverage under the bill must be increased, or the hospital payment reductions be lowered.
• The hospital readmissions policy must be narrowed to address only truly avoidable readmissions.
• The public option, as currently included in the Senate bill, should be dropped in favor of a non-governmental, non-profit co-op approach.

As we have indicated, we expect problematic amendments to continue to be offered and we will need your continued help to defeat them.

Today’s action: The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) today reported that hospitals’ Medicare margins dropped from negative 6 percent in 2007 to an historic low of negative 7.2 percent in 2008. 

This report reinforces our concerns with the Senate’s proposed Medicare expansion as part of the public option, which would allow individuals between the ages of 55 and 64 to buy into the program.  In a statement today, AHA President and CEO Rich Umbdenstock said, “For the majority of America’s hospitals, Medicare payments cover less than the cost of care for hospital services to seniors, making it more difficult to make ends meet.  The Medicare buy-in could hamper hospitals’ ability to maintain the essential public services that patients and communities depend upon and to upgrade technology and facilities that make care better.” 

Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY) told the Washington Post that the Medicare expansion proposal “would be the largest expansion of Medicare in 44 years … and would perhaps get us on the path to a single-payer model.”  He then called the expansion “the mother of all public options.” 

OUR MESSAGES
Please continue to contact your senators and urge them to reject the expansion of Medicare in health reform negotiations.  Utilize today’s MedPAC findings to bolster that view.  The Senate proposal would add millions of people to Medicare at a time when the program already significantly underfunds hospitals.  Health reform efforts need to bolster hospitals’ efforts, not undermine them.

HOW YOU CAN HELP

We need your help to ensure that these issues are addressed in a way that helps you take care of patients and serve your community.

Please click here to send an immediate e-mail message to your senators.
Depending on your relationship with your senators, please call them personally – or their chief of staff or legislative assistant that handles health care issues – and convey the messages outlined above. 

Visit the Health Policy News blog for archived Health Policy Reform News articles.