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Despite all the controversy, a new Congressional Budget Office estimate indicates that relatively few people would be helped by a public health insurance plan. Any “opt-out” provision means at least some states are likely to bar a government-backed plan within their borders.
Lately conservatives have been making an argument you should hear. It’s about whether we can believe Congress when it promises to raise taxes or cut spending–and, as such, whether we can believe that health care reform can actually be fiscally responsible.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says Democrats will “deliver on the promise of making affordable, quality health care available for all Americans” with a sweeping health reform bill.
KHN’s Mary Agnes Carey discusses the latest health reform proposal unveiled by House Democratic leaders. A transcript is also available.
The federal government could treat Indian Country, at least for health programs, as the 51st state.
Legislation seeks to limit the amount low-and middle-income people will pay for health insurance. But a shift in the way their share of the premium is calculated in the second year of the program may make it more expensive.
Nearly all seniors are covered through Medicare, but legislators still need their support for a health care overhaul bill. Democrats have packed their bills with perks for seniors in an effort to win their backing, but they’re not doing a good p.r. job, one public opinion expert says. This story comes from our partner NPR News.
In drafting national standards on how health insurers should be able to use age to set premium rates, congressional committees agree that older people should pay more. But they differ widely on just how much. Ultimately, it comes down to how many young adults get into the pool.
As part of the economic stimulus, the government offered subsidies so laid-off workers could keep their health insurance. For some, the subsidies are running out.
With growing signs that health reform bills would do little to “bend the cost curve,” Sens. Judd Gregg, R-N.H., and Kent Conrad, D-N.D., want a bipartisan commission to control future Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security costs.
KHN’s Mary Agnes Carey and Eric Pianin talk about new optimism among liberal Democrats that a public option will be included in the final health overhaul bill. They also discuss Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s determination to have a bill soon.
KHN’s Mary Agnes Carey and Eric Pianin talk about new optimism among liberal Democrats that a public option will be included in the final health overhaul bill. They also discuss Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s determination to have a bill soon.
When Congress tried to fix a glitch in Medicare that threatens to cut payments to doctors, senators refused to take up the bill because it didn’t include a way to offset the estimated $245 billion, 10-year cost. Both Democrats and Republicans are claiming that previous “fixes” for the Medicare doctor fee problem were paid for, but actually they weren’t.
We’ll never keep everyone at home. But if we work at it, we can postpone the transition for months or even years.
Seventy-six year old Frank Morrow is not only having his knee replaced at Hillcrest Medical Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He’s also helping to test a Medicare payment system.
At Hillcrest Medical Center, which is testing a “bundled” Medicare payment system, some seniors get paid up to $1,157 for having surgery. The pilot program aims to save money and improve care by paying doctors and hospitals a lump sum and rewards the patients with part of the savings.
Advocates for women are fighting to end gender rating in larger businesses as health overhaul legislation moves through Congress. But insurers say it’s necessary to use gender as a means of setting rates for this market.
The relationship between the Democrats and health insurers has turned ugly since the industry began to spurn the health care makeover it once supported. Now, some members of Congress Democrats want to strip the industry’s exemption from federal antitrust laws.
This brief explainer examines the number of uninsured illegal immigrants, where they go for health services and how they would fare if current health reform proposals pass.
While top members of the House and Senate are struggling to put together health care overhaul bills on Capitol Hill, elsewhere in Washington, patient advocates and other groups are trying to take apart some of the deals already cut with top health care industry groups.
