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Senate Votes 60-39 To Pass Reid Health Bill |
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Members of the Senate voted 60-39 at 7:16 a.m. today to pass H.R. 3590, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act bill.
All Democrats and independents in the Senate voted for the bill. All Republicans in the Senate except for Sen. Jim Bunning, R-Ky., voted against the bill.
House and Senate leaders now must find a way to reconcile the differences between their two very different health bills, either through a conference committee or some other mechanism.
Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., who oversaw the development of a Senate Finance Committee health bill, has said that preconference activities will begin immediately, and that Congress plans to have a final bill ready for President Obama to sign before Obama delivers the State of the Union address Jan. 20, 2010.
The Senate cleared the way for today's unusual 7 a.m. vote Wednesday by agreeing to a final cloture motion, or limit on debate, to keep opponents from using endless rounds of debate to keep the bill from coming up for a vote. Supporters of H.R. 3590 needed 60 votes to get the cloture motion approved but only 50 votes to get the bill passed.
"The most obvious problem with the bill before us is that it doesn't do what it's supposed to do," Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said today as the session began.
The bill would not lower costs, and Democratic leaders have had trouble getting Democrats to vote for it, McConnell said. "Otherwise, they wouldn't be rushing it through Congresss on Christmas Eve," he said. "The fight isn't over. We will continue to work to keep it from becoming law."
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said the Congressional Budget Office has predicted the bill would save $132 billion over 10 years.
"Everyone knows" votes have taken place late at night and on Christmas Eve because "the Republicans wouldn't allow us to have votes at any other time," Reid said.
Because of the bill, "from this day forward, health insurance companies won't be able to deny coverage because of existing disability," Reid said. "We're standing up to the greedy insurance companies that deny coverage to the sick."
H.R. 3590 "is not the end of the process," Reid said. "It is merely the beginning. But we must strive for progress, not surrender for want of purity. "
Reid created the 2,074-page original version of the PPACA bill by melding bills drafted by the Senate Finance Committee and the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. A team of Democratic senators later drafted a 383-page manager's amendment to win over over the Democratic skeptics whose votes were needed to win approval for the cloture motion.
If implemented as written, the PPACA bill would:
- Require most individual Americans to own health insurance.
- Create new health insurance subsidies for individuals and small businesses.
- Require some employers that sponsor health plans to provide vouchers that employees could use to buy their own coverage.
- Require health carriers to sell coverage on a guaranteed issue basis, and impose tight pricing restrictions.
- Impose a new tax on health insurers.
- Require health carriers to spend at least 85% of the premium revenue from large health groups, and 80% of the premium revenue from individual health policies and small groups, on medical expenses.
- Set up a health insurance exchange system to help individuals and small groups get health insurance.
- Set up a system of health plans supervised by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management and administered by private carriers.
In addition, the Congressional Budget Office says the bill would cut 2010 reimbursement rates for physicians who participate in Medicare 21%, rather than letting reimbursement rates rise 0.5%.
The Community Living Assistance Services and Supports Act, or CLASS Act, section of the bill would establish a voluntary, government-run long term care benefits program.
Many bill provisions would take effect several years after passage. The exchange system, for example, would not be up and running until 2014. |
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Last Updated on Thursday, 24 December 2009 18:34 |
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Tips To Prevent Identity Theft |
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It's important to safeguard your personal information. Data breaches increased 47% last year and affected 35.7 million Americans. Here are some things you can do to protect your information from criminals: Don't carry sensitive personal Information such as your Social Security Card with you. Identity theft commonly results from information found in lost or stolen wallets, purses, mail or paper records. Don't give out your Social Security number unless absolutely necessary - and never on unsolicited phone calls or emails. Shred account statements and any financial documents before you throw them away. Provide financial information only when you are on a secure website. A secure Web address will begin with the letters "https" (instead of the usual "http") and will often display a small padlock icon. Maintain up-to-date anti-virus, anti-spam and persona firewall software. For reviews of the latest security software, see www.cnet.com.
Did you know? $48 billion was the total cost of identity theft in 2008. 43% resulted from lost of stolen wallets, checkbooks and credit cards. 11% were committed online. To further protect yourself and your family, check out our Identity Theft Program. |
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Last Updated on Thursday, 04 June 2009 23:34 |
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The Internet: Next-Generation Medical Sites |
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- Googel.com/health "allows individuals and families to create their own free online medical records." and to safely share them with physicians. As long as you feel comfortable doling out personal details, storing the information online can be "pretty appealing".
- Healthvault.com, Microsoft's health records site, similarly stores medical information. It also offers "programs that can link to home devices such as a blood-glucose meter or a heart-rate monitor."
- Everydayhealth.com "links 24 separate health sites catering to various interests." These include the pregnancy site Whattoexpect.com and CarePages.com, which "allows hospitalized patients and families to set up their own Web sites to keep relatives and friends posted on the patient's progress".
- Healthcentral.com includes information on everything from diabetes to attention deficit hyperactivty disorder, along with "a cool symptom checker."
Source: The Wall Street Journal |
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Last Updated on Thursday, 05 February 2009 22:28 |
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It Might Be MRSA |
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Ear infections, sore throats and stuffy noses are just part of being a kid. But these days, doctors are noticing that a growing number of such infections are taking a more dangerous form. Between 2001 and 2006, says a new report, increasing percentages of pediatric ear, nose and throat infections are turning out to be MRSA, the drug-resistant staph germ that is more difficult to fight with the usual antibiotics. In 2001, just 12% of kids' head and neck infections were MRSA. In 2006, 28% were caused by the life-threatening superbug. "In most parts of the United States, there's been an alarming rise," Dr. Steven Sobol tells the Chicago Sun-Times. If caught early, most MRSA infections do respond to vancomycin, a newer antibiotic, but some strains of MRSA are becomming resistant to vancomycin as well. If a child has a throat or ear infection that doesn't get better in a few days, doctors say, parents should seek immediate medical attention. from The Week, February 6, 2009 |
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Last Updated on Thursday, 05 February 2009 22:12 |
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Don't Be a Victim of Insurance Fraud |
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It’s long been said that if something seems too good to be true, it probably is. That adage definitely holds true when it comes to health insurance. The Coalition Against Insurance Fraud (CAIF) reports that as many as 200,000 people have purchased fake health coverage over the last three years. How does this happen? According to the national Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), “fake insurance companies defraud consumers by collecting premiums for bogus policies with no intention of paying claims. These ‘companies’ might offer policies at costs that are significantly lower than competitors’ prices or they might be difficult to reach by phone – if there is a listed phone number at all.” In an effort to prevent fraud and protect consumers, the NAIC has established a simple three-step plan you can follow to protect yourself from becoming a victim of insurance fraud. 1. If you are unsure about the insurance company or agent you are dealing with, STOP before signing any paperwork or writing a check; 2. CALL your state insurance department – easily reached by phone; and 3. CONFIRM the company or agent offering insurance is legitimate and licensed in the state. You can contact the Washington State Insurance Commissioner’s Office at 1-800-562-6000, or www.insurance.wa.gov/consumers/index/shtml. If you need more information involving other states you can the NAIC website at www.naic.org/documents/consumer_alert_beware_insurance_fraud.htm or call the NAIC Consumer Hotline at 1-866-470-6262. Note: Also beware of discount plans for medical and dental services. Though they are usually legitimate and offer good discounts, they are not insurance and there are limitations. |
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Last Updated on Friday, 05 December 2008 00:41 |
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