Mission Accomplished!!!
On Tuesday, March 23, 2010 HR 3590: Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) was signed by the President to become Public Law 111-148. Truly a great day in history.
Humpday Humor
I choose Thompson’s cartoon this week because it is such a stark contrast to the recent behavior of the most powerful health industry organizations. They once did seem to be a fortress unable to be penetrated. What about now? Leave a comment and tell me what you think.
A Place at the Roundtable on Health Reform
As Senator Max Baucus’s June deadline quickly approaches, events continue to emerge suggesting in this iteration of health care reform, all stakeholders want to make sure that they are included in the discussion, rather than refusing to negotiate as they did during the early nineties. So when the White House announced it’s receipt of a letter from the chairmen of Americas’ Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), American Hospital Association (AHA), American Medical Association (AMA), Advanced Medical Technology Association (AdvaMed), Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), and the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) proposing approximately $2 trillion savings over the next decade, I saw it as the latest maneuver to ensure a seat at the roundtable for health care reform. These six organizations pledge to adhere to evidence-based best practices and right-sizing the use of health system resources in accordance with several strategies already proposed by the administration. I was surprised to see SEIU join with the providers and payers of the health care industry. Yet, this is not the first union of seemingly unlikely organizations. Just last month PhRMA united with the consumer health group Families USA (an ideological adversary) to promote the expansion of Medicaid. With a newly planned lobbying and media campaign, the strategic partnership seeks new policy to cover more low-income families, provide income-adjusted subsidies for middle-class families and cap out-of-pocket expenditures for people with insurance. President of PhRMA, William Tauzin explained the strategy in this way, “We got a new team in town who could, I guess, pass what they wanted to…our job is to make sure that what they pass has as many elements of our principles in them as possible, and that means being at the table.” This, I believe explains it all.
Humpday Humor
Many stakeholders and special interest groups may become uneasy as the Administration makes progress towards reforming health care. Considering the current state of the system, can we really make things worse or is there nowhere to go but up? Leave me a comment and tell me what you think about this week’s satire feature. Subscribe … Read more
Obama Makes Giant Steps towards a Full Health Care Team
Health and the 44th Presidential Administration (Part III). In three nearly back-to-back announcements, President Obama is working prodigiously to fill his leadership roster for health care. Of course, the most newsworthy was his selection of Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius as Secretary-designate of the Department of Health and Human Services. The White House Office of Health Reform, however will be lead by Nancy Ann DeParle who headed up the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services during the Clinton administration.
SCHIP Is Signed into Law
Last week, by a margin of 66 to 32 votes (including 9 Republicans), the Senate approved expansion and reauthorization of SCHIP and today, President Obama signed that bill into law. This legislation was resurrected and revised after two vetos by former President Bush and began making its way through the Congress once again scarcely a … Read more
The Travails of Tom Daschle
Only time will tell as elements of health reform begin to make their way through the legislative process if there exist another health care champion with the political moxie to accomplish what the Clintons could not back in the 1990′s—reform America’s health care system.
Expansion of SCHIP is Approved by the House
“In this moment of crisis, ensuring that every child in America has access to affordable health care is not just good economic policy, but a moral obligation we hold as parents and citizens,” Obama said.
Dear 44: Take a Pragmatic Approach
A primer of the health policy advice Dr. Jeanne Lambrew, the newly named Deputy Director of the White House Office of Health Reform has for the President-elect.
