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Thursday, February 3, 2011

Health Care Reform Articles - February 4, 2011

February 2, 2011

Senate Rejects Repeal of Health Care Law









WASHINGTON — Senate Democrats on Wednesday defeated a bid by Republicans to repeal last year’s sweeping health care overhaul, as they successfully mounted a party-line defense of President Obama’s signature domestic policy achievement.
Challenges to the law will continue, however, on Capitol Hill and in the courts, with the United States Supreme Court ultimately expected to decide if the law is constitutional.
The vote was 47 to 51, with all Republicans voting unanimously for repeal but falling 13 votes short of the 60 needed to advance their proposal.

February 2, 2011

Officials Consider Requiring Insurers to Offer Free Contraceptives




WASHINGTON — The Obama administration is examining whether the new health care law can be used to require insurance plans to offer contraceptives and other family planning services to women free of charge.
Such a requirement could remove cost as a barrier to birth control, a longtime goal of advocates for women’s rights and experts on women’s health. But it is lik
ely to reignite debate over the federal role in health care, especially reproductive health, at a time when Republicans in Congress have vowed to repeal the law or dismantle it piece by piece. It is also raising objections from the Roman Catholic Church and is expected to generate a robust debate about privacy.



Democrats Cool To Obama’s Offer To Overhaul Rules On Malpractice

WASHINGTON — President Obama’s offer to join hands with Republicans and “rein in frivolous lawsuits’’ by overhauling medical malpractice rules was among the key bipartisan bullet points in his State of the Union speech.
But the president’s proposal has mostly fallen flat with his allies in the Senate, including Senator Patrick Leahy, the chairman of the Judiciary Committee. It also potentially puts him at odds with the nation’s trial lawyers, a powerful constituency of the Democratic Party.


Matt Miller - Health Care's Federal Future, Brought To You By The GOP

"Good afternoon, I'm Brian Williams reporting from Washington, where it looks like October 26, 2017, will be a day that truly goes down in history. In a few moments, at a table not far from where I now stand, President Hillary Clinton will sign into law the universal health-care legislation - "Medicare for All," as she calls it - that completes a journey Mrs. Clinton began nearly 25 years ago. Back then, as first lady, her attempt to reform the health-care system proved a fiasco that cost Democrats their hold on power. Who would have thought then - or later, when President Barack Obama's big health reform was overturned by the Supreme Court in a controversial 5 to 4 ruling in 2012 - that today's bipartisan bill would be the result? For some perspective on the twists and turns of history, we're joined by NBC's David Gregory. David, health reform seemed dead in the water in 2012. How did we get from that Supreme Court ruling to today?"


Virginia To Ask Top Court To Review Health Law

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Virginia said on Thursday it will ask the U.S. Supreme Court to hear its challenge to President Barack Obama's healthcare overhaul, bypassing the appeals process in a rarely used move to try to speed up a definitive ruling on the year-old law.
The Obama administration opposed the move and said the case should follow the regular process, which could put off until 2012 a Supreme Court ruling on the sweeping law that aims to provide more than 30 million uninsured Americans with medical coverage and cracks down on unpopular insurance industry practices.


February 3, 2011

Governors Get Advice for Saving on Medicaid




WASHINGTON — Fearing wholesale cuts in Medicaid by states with severe budget problems, the Obama administration told governors on Thursday how they could save money by selectively and judiciously reducing benefits, curbing overuse of costly prescription drugs and attacking fraud.


February 3, 2011

For Tucson Survivors, Health Care Cost Is Concern



TUCSON — Seconds after gunfire erupted outside a supermarket here last month, Randy Gardner, one of those struck during the barrage, said another potential crisis immediately entered his mind.
“I wondered, ‘How much is this going to cost me?’ ” he said. “It was a thought that went through my head right away.”


February 3, 2011

How Aggressive Is Your Hospital?

One morning during my training, I noticed that the belly of a patient in the I.C.U. had grown rounder and tighter overnight. The patient had gone through a difficult liver transplant a day earlier and was bleeding, it seemed, into his abdomen. I was the newest member of the transplant team, but even so, I knew what had to be done right away: We had to take this man back to the operating room.




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