By CHARLES ELMORE
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Posted: 7:07 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 19, 2011
Florida has paid less than $6,000 for its landmark challenge to President Obama's health care law largely because a business lobbying group is picking up an undisclosed share of the remaining legal costs.
While Florida, joined by 25 other states, won a favorable ruling last month from a federal district judge, the cost the states have split so far amounts to $46,000.
Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi told a state House committee this month that most of the rest is being covered by the National Federation of Independent Business, a group that opposes the law because of what it considers unconstitutional costs and regulations on firms and people.
Long-Term Care Needs Changes, Officials Say
By ROBERT PEAR
WASHINGTON — One of Senator Edward M. Kennedy’s legacies in the new health care law, intended to allow the chronically ill and people with disabilities to continue living in their homes, is too costly to survive without major changes, Obama administration officials now say.
Republican lawmakers, who have vowed to repeal the health care law, cite the administration’s acknowledgment as yet another reason to do so. But the health and human services secretary, Kathleen Sebelius, says the law gives her plenty of authority to make the necessary changes to the program without Congressional action.
Obama, GOP Should Avoid A Standoff On Malpractice Reform
PRESIDENT OBAMA announced in his State of the Union speech that he would deal with Republicans on one of their pet issues, reform of medical malpractice. But nothing is likely to get done because congressional Democrats oppose the GOP’s trademark solution to high liability costs — a federal law capping damages that malpractice victims can receive. They are right that a cap is too arbitrary, limiting awards even for the most egregious mistakes. But the debate shouldn’t end there. Both parties should find common ground on innovative approaches that not only reduce jury awards but also help doctors and hospitals correct underlying problems.
The Arrogance Divide - The Boston Globe
A RECENT essay in Boston Review by historian William Hogeland pondered a perplexing political question: Why haven’t populists and liberals been able to make common cause? They seem like natural allies. They both rail against economic inequality. They both are skeptical of America’s financial masters of the universe. They both believe that government has an obligation to help the country’s working men and women. They are both angry about the direction the country has been taking.
And yet these natural allies sit at opposite ends of the political spectrum. Whether the so-called Tea Partiers have simply co-opted the populist label and its heated rhetoric, populism seems to have taken a rightward swing — a process that has been going on for at least several decades. Sarah Palin, certainly no liberal, is now the self-appointed queen of American populism.
Dirigo Health Program To Lose Funding
Posted By Stephan Burklin On February 15, 2011 @ 4:15 pm In News | 1 Comment
The budget proposal submitted by Gov. LePage last week would incrementally diminish funding available to Dirigo Health, the agency that oversees the state’s subsidized health insurance program.
If adopted, the budget language would gradually reduce the fees assessed on state insurance carriers that are funneled into the Dirigo Health program.
Gov. LePage spokesperson Dan Demeritt described the proposal as part of the administration’s efforts to foster “consumer choice and market based reforms to lower our job-killing health care costs.”
“By phasing out the assessment and closing the program to new enrollees,” he said, “the Governor plans to give current Dirigo enrollees time to make new choices concerning their health insurance needs. We expect decreased utilization as the assessment goes down over time.”
http://maine.watchdog.org/2011/02/15/dirigo-health-program-to-lose-funding/print/
Posted By Stephan Burklin On February 15, 2011 @ 4:15 pm In News | 1 Comment
The budget proposal submitted by Gov. LePage last week would incrementally diminish funding available to Dirigo Health, the agency that oversees the state’s subsidized health insurance program.
If adopted, the budget language would gradually reduce the fees assessed on state insurance carriers that are funneled into the Dirigo Health program.
Gov. LePage spokesperson Dan Demeritt described the proposal as part of the administration’s efforts to foster “consumer choice and market based reforms to lower our job-killing health care costs.”
“By phasing out the assessment and closing the program to new enrollees,” he said, “the Governor plans to give current Dirigo enrollees time to make new choices concerning their health insurance needs. We expect decreased utilization as the assessment goes down over time.”
http://maine.watchdog.org/2011/02/15/dirigo-health-program-to-lose-funding/print/
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