The Health Care Blog: Has Harry Reid Torpedoed Reform?

Health care reform ran into new BIG trouble this week with a series of comments from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.

On Tuesday, Reid leapt into the middle of reform negotiations, telling Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus that Democratic leaders had major concerns about the draft Senate Finance bill’s proposed taxation of some health benefits and the exclusion of a strong public plan.

The immediate result was the effective suspension of bipartisan negotiations on the Senate Finance draft, with Republican Senators Chuck Grassley and Orrin Hatch both saying that bill markup would have to be delayed indefinitely until the conflict was resolved.

The Health Care Blog: Has Harry Reid Torpedoed Reform?

Authorized Number of Beds for Veterans Administration State Homes

Grants to States for Construction or Acquisition of State Home
Facilities--Update of Authorized Beds

This proposed rule updates the number of authorized beds for Veterans Administration State Homes grant program. There is a 30 day comment period.

Congress has authorized VA to provide grants to States for the construction or acquisition of State home facilities for the provision of care to veterans. The term ``State home'' means ``a home established by a State (other than a possession) for veterans disabled by age, disease, or otherwise who by reason of such disability are incapable of earning a living'' and ``includes such a home which furnishes nursing home care for veterans.''

Section 8134(a)(2) of title 38, U.S.C., mandates that VA prescribe for each State the number of nursing home and domiciliary beds for which grants may be furnished, which the proposed note to 38 CFR 59.40(a) would refer to as a State's ``unmet need'' number. To compute this number, VA estimates for each State the maximum number of nursing home and domiciliary beds needed by veterans in that State (which is the maximum number of such beds designated for each State, as shown on the chart in proposed Sec. 59.40(a)), and then subtracts the number of existing State home beds plus the number of those beds under construction or that would be constructed in accordance with the State's grant applications.

Click the link below to see each state's authorized number of beds.
FR Doc E9-16341

H.R. 3155: To amend title 38, United States Code, to provide certain caregivers of veterans with training,... (GovTrack.us)

To amend title 38, United States Code, to provide certain caregivers of veterans with training, support, and medical care, and for other purposes.

Sponsor: Rep. Michael Michaud [D-ME2]

Cosponsors [as of 2009-07-10]
Rep. Joe Donnelly [D-IN2]
Rep. Deborah Halvorson [D-IL11]
Rep. Ciro Rodriguez [D-TX23]
Rep. Harry Teague [D-NM2]

Text: The text of this legislation is not yet available on GovTrack. It may not have been made available by the Government Printing Office yet.

Status:
Introduced Jul 9, 2009
Referred to House Committee on Veterans Affairs

H.R. 3155: To amend title 38, United States Code, to provide certain caregivers of veterans with training,... (GovTrack.us)

H.R. 3152: To amend titles XVIII of the Social Security Act to ensure that low-income beneficiaries have... (GovTrack.us)

To amend titles XVIII of the Social Security Act to ensure that low-income beneficiaries have improved access to prescription drugs under the Medicare and Medicaid programs.

Sponsor: Rep. Rush Holt [D-NJ12]
Cosponsors [as of 2009-07-10]
Rep. Lloyd Doggett [D-TX25]

Text: The text of this legislation is not yet available on GovTrack. It may not have been made available by the Government Printing Office yet.
Status:

Introduced Jul 9, 2009
Referred to House Ways & Means Committee
H.R. 3152: To amend titles XVIII of the Social Security Act to ensure that low-income beneficiaries have... (GovTrack.us)

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H. Res. 621: Ensuring access to affordable and quality health care without increasing the Federal budget or... (GovTrack.us)

Sponsor: Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers [R-WA5](no cosponsors)

Status:
Introduced Jul 9, 2009
Referred to House Judiciary Committee



H. Res. 621: Ensuring access to affordable and quality health care without increasing the Federal budget or... (GovTrack.us)

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H.R. 3148: To amend the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 respecting the scoring of preventive health savings (GovTrack.us)

Overview
Sponsor: Del. Donna Christensen [D-VI]
Cosponsors (42) - Click link below to see cosponsors

The text of this legislation is not yet available on GovTrack. It may not have been made available by the Government Printing Office yet.

Status:
Introduced Jul 9, 2009
Referred to House Budget Committee

H.R. 3148: To amend the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 respecting the scoring of preventive health savings (GovTrack.us)

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H.R. 3138: To amend title XI of the Social Security Act to provide for transparency in the relationship... (GovTrack.us)

To amend title XI of the Social Security Act to provide for transparency in the relationship between physicians and manufacturers of drugs, devices, biologicals, or medical supplies for which payment is made under Medicare, Medicaid, or SCHIP.

Sponsor: Rep. Baron Hill [D-IN9](no cosponsors)

Status:

Introduced Jul 9, 2009
Referred to House Ways and Means Committee

H.R. 3138: To amend title XI of the Social Security Act to provide for transparency in the relationship... (GovTrack.us)

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TIME GOES BY | Health Care Reform Noise

TIME GOES BY | Health Care Reform Noise:

"You can be forgiven if this week's noise on health care reform in Washington has left you confused, confounded and befuddled. It's gotten messy and little is getting done."

......... (Ms Bennett provides a good summary of the issues and options. Click the link above to read entire post).........

"But this is our only chance for meaningful health care reform. If it fails now, it will be another 15 years, as it has been since the Clinton health care initiative, before it comes up again. In our current, dismal economic circumstance, which will not end soon, that would be a disaster for additional millions of people piled on top of the already-uninsured 47 million. There is no overstating how crucial this legislation is.

So it is up to each of us individually to speak out, to flood Washington with the people's point of view. Write and phone your senators and representative. But don't stop there. Contact the majority and minority leaders in each house of Congress. The committee chairs and members. And don't stop. Keep doing it. Again and again. Here's the link to reach all of them."

Grassley Takes Closer Aim at Nonprofit Hospitals - Health Blog - WSJ

Grassley Takes Closer Aim at Nonprofit Hospitals - Health Blog - WSJ: "By Shirley S. Wang

Sen. Chuck Grassley has a record of hammering nonprofit hospitals about whether they’re restricting care based on patients’ ability to pay and about how much care they provide for the uninsured in relation to the tax exemptions they enjoy.

Now Grassley, the top Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, and Chairman Max Baucus are trying to force change. They are considering provisions as part of the health-care overhaul that would target nonprofits’ tax breaks, which were designed to help those hospitals provide charity care, according to the WSJ."

Permanent diet may equal longer life - Los Angeles Times

Permanent diet may equal longer life - Los Angeles Times: "By Karen Kaplan - 8:23 PM PDT, July 9, 2009

For a country in which roughly 200 million people are overweight or obese, scientists today have discouraging news: Even those who maintain a healthy weight probably should be eating less."