Writing a health care bill in Congress: A comparison of plain English vs. legislative textOctober 9th, 2009 A look at Congress' legislative languageHere's a look at how three issues are described in the legislative language of the House's initial health care bill compared with the "conceptual" — or plain English — language used by the Senate Finance Committee. The issues are: Coverage for pre-existing conditions and denial of coverage; a requirement for all individuals to obtain health insurance; and how subsidies to help low-income people purchase insurance are distributed.
Health care issues: Are insurance market changes enough to fix the health care system?October 5th, 2009 Health care issues: Insurance market overhaulA look at key issues in the health care debate:
THE ISSUE: Are changes in the insurance industry enough to fix problems in the nation's health care system?
THE POLITICS: To help expand health coverage, President Barack Obama is seeking changes to underwriting practices that can prevent Americans from obtaining affordable insurance. His proposals would ban higher premiums, caps or denial of coverage because of a pre-existing medical condition or when a person gets sick.
Senate health care bill could lead to higher Medicare prescription drug costs for seniorsOctober 2nd, 2009 Health care overhaul could raise Medicare Rx costsWASHINGTON — Medicare recipients could see higher premiums for prescription drug coverage as a result of changes to complex provisions in a Senate health care bill, a senior Republican said Friday. At issue are marching orders for a powerful new commission that would recommend annual Medicare savings to Congress.
Health care issues: Preventive measuresSeptember 30th, 2009 Health care issues: Preventive measuresA look at key issues in the health care debate:
THE ISSUE: Can preventive health measures not only improve the well-being of Americans, but also reduce the cost of health care?
THE POLITICS: President Barack Obama wants insurance companies to cover routine checkups and screening tests such as mammograms and colonoscopies. "That makes sense, it saves lives, and it will also save money over the long run," he often says.
Health care issues: Overutilization of careSeptember 25th, 2009 Health care issues: Overutilization of careA look at key issues in the nation's health care debate:
THE ISSUE: Health care costs in the United States are far higher than in other countries without better outcomes, and most experts agree that's partly because of the excessive and often unnecessary use of expensive tests, surgeries and procedures. Will health overhaul legislation address this?
THE POLITICS: Ezekiel Emanuel, an oncologist, White House adviser and brother of White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, has written that there's a "perfect storm of overutilization" of health care in the United States that's the greatest contributor to high medical costs.
Health care issues: Using parliamentary maneuversSeptember 23rd, 2009 Health care issues: Using parliamentary maneuversA look at key issues in the health care debate:
THE ISSUE: If Senate Republicans continue to oppose Democratic plans to overhaul the nation's health care system, should majority Democrats employ a process called "reconciliation" to pass parts of it without Republican support?
THE POLITICS: Reconciliation is a procedure used to protect bills from being filibustered to death. It effectively lowers the threshold for Senate passage from 60 votes to a simple majority of 51.
Health care issues: Bundling paymentsSeptember 22nd, 2009 Health care issues: Bundling paymentsA look at key issues in the health care debate:
THE ISSUE: What can the government do to get doctors and hospitals to deliver cheaper medical services?
THE POLITICS: Medicare's fee-for-service structure means that doctors, hospitals and other providers have a greater financial incentive to provide large quantities of medical services than to provide high-quality medical services. Democrats and the Obama administration want to change that, and use the savings to help pay for their health overhaul legislation and bring down medical costs over the long term.
Health care issues: Calculating the price tagSeptember 17th, 2009 Health care issues: Calculating the price tagA look at key issues in the health care debate:
THE ISSUE: Is the Congressional Budget Office doing an accurate job of calculating how much the health care overhaul will cost?
THE POLITICS: Democrats pushing for overhaul of the nation's health care system face a dilemma — they want to cover as many people as generously as possible, while limiting the cost to deflect Republican accusations that they are addicted to spending and tax increases. That makes every dollar count.
Health care issues: What's the best treatment?September 16th, 2009 Health care issues: What's the best treatment?A look at key issues in the health care debate:
THE ISSUE: Researching which treatments work best and how much they cost, and how doctors and patients should use that information. THE POLITICS: On the surface, it seems like common sense: How different health conditions are treated — whether with surgery, drugs or managing diet and exercise, for example — should depend on what works best and costs least.
Obama travels to Minneapolis on Saturday for rally by supporters of health care overhaulSeptember 12th, 2009 Obama to attend health care rallyWASHINGTON — President Barack Obama is traveling to Minneapolis for a rally on health care reform. Minnesota is an example of where Obama wants the rest of the country to go on health care.
Health care issues: The public insurance planSeptember 8th, 2009 Health care issues: The public insurance planA look at key issues in the health care debate:
THE ISSUE: Should Americans have the option of getting health insurance from a government plan that competes with private companies?
THE POLITICS: Many Democrats want to do away with private insurance and replace it with something resembling Medicare coverage for all, but that's not politically feasible. Offering the choice of a government insurance plan was a compromise within the Democratic Party.
Democratic senator says splitting health care bill into separate measures unlikely to workAugust 23rd, 2009 Senator: Single health care bill a better approachWASHINGTON — A key Democrat in the health care debate says separating out the various issues and putting them in different bills isn't likely to work. Some lawmakers have suggested that a separate bill with changes that are supported by Republicans and Democrats would be one route toward progress on the health care overhaul.
Himachal Pradesh to develop 50 micro hydel projectsJuly 25th, 2009 SHIMLA - Himachal Pradesh, which has a potential to generate 20,416 MW hydroelectric power, has decided to set up 50 new micro hydel projects with the help of small players. "The government has identified 50 mini hydroelectric projects across the state ranging up to 5 MW.
Obama quickly adds health care statement to Friday agenda as concerns rise over cost of reformJuly 17th, 2009 Obama quickly plans health care statementWASHINGTON — President Barack Obama has quickly scheduled a statement on health care for Friday afternoon as concerns rise about the cost of new legislation. Obama wants to sign a bill into law this year that would slow the rate of health care spending and expand health coverage to the millions of people who lack it.
Obama warns that health costs will keep rising without action as he touts proposal in NJJuly 16th, 2009 Obama says health costs will rise without actionHOLMDEL, N.J. — President Barack Obama says he wants a health care overhaul this year and that costs will continue to rise without action.
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