Healthcare, Senior Living, Economics
In another procedural vote on the revamped Jobs bill in the Senate, Democrats fell short of mustering 60 votes to end a Republican filibuster, effectively ending for now, legislative efforts to extend unemployment benefits. The vote count was 57 to 41 to continue debate. Dying with the extension of unemployment benefits are a series of … Read more
After a mid-week roadblock was established on a procedural vote all but derailing the American Jobs and Closing Tax Loopholes Act and the integrated provisions that included a “doc fix”, the Senate doubled-back on Friday and passed a separate measure that patches the pending cuts (21%) in the physician fee schedule set for June 1. … Read more
Yesterday the Senate, via a procedural vote, set a roadblock on the continued track toward passage for the American Jobs and Closing Tax Loopholes Act. The original version, re-crafted by the House to lower the price tag and then sent to the Senate, found limited traction on Wednesday. Oddly enough, the House version effectively trimmed … Read more
Funny title that is rather misleading given the gravity of the health care/post-acute care provisions that are included in this bill. As is the case in Washington, especially these days, important health care provisions not addressed in the PPACA are coming forward in other bills; particularly bills involving unemployment benefits and COBRA benefits, etc. Such is … Read more
Over the next few days I’ll be pushing out a series of posts as my schedule permits, on the implications of health care reform for various industry segments. These are not meant as in-depth analyses, more of a “summary” of the key points. Reconciliation Act: This Bill has yet to pass the Senate and as a … Read more
Earlier today, CMS released its annual report on national health spending for the year 2008. In summary, health spending grew at a rate of 4.4% (over 2007), equating to a per capita cost of $7,681 and a total cost of $2.3 trillion. This rate of growth, per CMS, is the slowest increase since 1960 although … Read more
In an effort to salvage some hope for the flagging Senate health reform bill and to provide sustenance for the neutered Harry Reid, President Obama convened all Democratic senators at the White House earlier this week for a strategy session. Per Mr. Obama, this activity was not a roll call to establish a majority but … Read more
Watching this reform process, at least for me, is now like watching a Ping Pong match or a Nascar race (sorry Nascar fans); back and forth and round and round. Even for someone who watches and interprets health policy for a living, this stuff is getting boring, monotonous and frankly, now somewhat nauseating, content wise. Maybe the … Read more
Last night via a 243 to 183 vote, the House approved a bill that would stave off the projected 21% cut in physician (fees) reimbursement under Medicare, set for January 1, 2010. The “Doc Fix” has been a hot-button issue within the health care reform debates as both the House and the Senate have not been … Read more
With so much discussion and news review on Medicare spending and health insurance reforms at the center of the health care reform debate, Medicaid has taken a back-seat in terms of analysis on its programmatic impacts. Today, Medicaid costs 76% of the cost of Medicare and covers approximately 20% of the population. In the recently … Read more