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This Week in Health Care Reform : EasyToInsureME Health Insurance

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This Week in Health Care Reform : EasyToInsureME Health Insurance

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This Week in Health Reform

Republican Scott Brown’s victory over Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley (D) in the January 19 special election to fill the seat of the late Senator Edward Kennedy (D) might prove to be a game-changer for the health care reform debate. The loss of the 60th Democratic vote now robs Senate Democrats of a filibuster-proof majority. Last week, Democrats were rushing to wrap up a House/Senate agreement on the bill, likely due to reports that Coakley’s lead had diminished.

Congressional leaders are still aiming to have the controversial points in the health care reform bill settled as soon as possible, so they can send the compromised bill to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) for scoring. The CBO will then need 12 days to analyze the legislation.

In addition to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), lawmakers participating in the White House meetings include: House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD), House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-SC), House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-CA), House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charlie Rangel (D-NY), House Education and Labor Committee Chairman George Miller (D-CA), Assistant Senate Majority Leader Richard Durbin (D-IL), Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT), Senate HELP Committee Chairman Tom Harkin (D-IA), and Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd (D-CT).

A main point of contention between the two houses of Congress pertained to the
40 percent excise tax on high-cost health insurance plans passed by the Senate. Since many labor union members would be affected by the tax on high-cost health insurance plans, the House of Representatives was not supportive of this provision in the Senate bill. Union leaders have also been included in key negotiations on this provision, and on January 14, signaled that they are ready to support the merged legislation with the compromised provision.

The main revenue source for the Senate’s health care reform bill (H.R. 3590) would be from an excise tax – beginning in 2013 – on employer-provided, high-cost health insurance plans costing more than ,500 for individuals and ,000 for a family. The reported compromise on the legislation now makes the tax kick-in on policies costing ,900 for individuals and ,000 for families. The tax threshold would still rise at inflation plus one percentage point, as is currently written in the Senate bill. Additionally, dental and vision benefits would be removed from the calculation of threshold costs, and plans offered by state and local governments, as well as plans covered by collective bargaining agreements, would be exempted from the excise tax until 2018. This would allow current agreements to expire and allow for negotiation of new contracts.

In an effort to make up the lack of revenue from the modification of the excise tax provision, leadership will have to come up with new funding to finance the merged bill. Some reports have mentioned that the pharmaceutical industry has agreed to provide more money than the billion they have already negotiated with the White House. Medical device companies could also face additional fees. Portions of the main revenue source in the House bill – a Medicare payroll tax on wealthy U.S. residents – could be added as well.

On January 14, Richard Trumpka, president of the AFL-CIO, said, “Union leaders approached negotiations with the White House and congressional leaders with one overriding goal in mind – getting a bill signed into law.” Gerald McEntee, president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), said, “We do like the way it’s shaping up, but it’s still not finished. We’ve got to see a final product.”

There also has been significant discussion – but no resolution so far – about the question of whether to establish a single national health insurance exchange or allow each state to operate its own exchange. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas continues to support a state-based approach to exchanges.

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January 27, 2010

This Week in Health Reform–Federal Legislative Overview

House and Senate
Republican Scott Brown’s victory over Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley (D) in the January 19 special election to fill the seat of the late Senator Edward Kennedy (D) is proving to be a game-changer for the health care reform debate. It is now unclear what Democrats can do to pass President Obama’s most important legislative agenda item. Even though the Democrats held a majority in the House and Senate this year, they failed to coalesce around a strategy to pass this legislation. Initially after Brown’s win, there were two options under discussion for moving forward on the current legislation.

Have the House take up the Senate-passed bill and use the “reconciliation” bill process to “fix” several of the provisions the House finds unacceptable (e.g., the “Cadillac” tax, etc.). If the House passes the Senate bill, it will go directly to the President for his signature, with no further action needed in the Senate. A “reconciliation” bill, which would need only 51 votes in the Senate, could be passed either in tandem with the Senate bill or follow soon after.
.
Scale back the health care reform bill. A scaled-back bill could include health insurance reforms, exchanges, as well as several other provisions and possibly could attract bipartisan support. While many Democrats are likely to view this approach as a major lost opportunity, leadership may determine this is the most viable approach.

However, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) publicly stated on January 21 that the House does not have the 218 votes needed to pass the Senate version of the health care reform bill, which takes option number one (above) off the table.

While numerous private discussions are reportedly being held on the matter, at the outset it seems that Democrats’ only option for keeping the current legislation alive is to reach across the aisle to their Republican counterparts, most notably, moderate Senator Olympia Snow (R-ME). That would mean a more conservative bill, which could anger rank and file Democrats who are supportive of the legislation.

Although no plans have emerged for how to move forward, it now looks like Democrats will have to modify their plans. On the night of Scott Brown’s win in Massachusetts, Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY) – one of the biggest proponents for a single-payer health care system – said: “The only way to go forward is to take a step back. If there isn’t any recognition that we got the message and we are trying to recalibrate and do things differently, we are not only going to risk looking ignorant but arrogant. I don’t think it would be the worst thing to take a step back and say we are going to pivot to do a jobs thing,” and include elements of health care reform in it, he said.

Rep. David Camp (R-MI), Ranking Member on the House Ways and Means Committee, declared Democrats’ health care overhaul legislation “dead” and said that instead of full-scale change Congress should take a “first step toward comprehensive reform” of the nation’s health care system.

Issue Overview: Nebraska Medicaid Deal
While key elements of the health care reform legislation remain in flux, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released its cost estimate of the expansion of the State of Nebraska’s Medicaid Deal, negotiated by Senator Ben Nelson (D-NE) who then voted for the Senate’s Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, HR 3590.

The letter responds to a request from Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI)), Ranking Member, House Committee on the Budget, asking if the cost estimate of the Senate health reform bill would change if all states received the same level of federal assistance for Medicaid as Nebraska receives under the bill.

The CBO stated on January 21 that the net spending for the Senate legislation would increase by billion over ten years if all states received the same level of assistance as Nebraska.

Under the Senate’s provisions, non-elderly individuals with incomes below 133 percent of the federal poverty level would be eligible for Medicaid beginning in 2014. The federal government would pay the cost of covering newly eligible enrollees through 2016; and federal spending would be about 90 percent by 2019. The Senate legislation states that it would pay all Medicaid expansion costs to Nebraska beginning in 2014.

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Friday, February 11th, 2011 Dentist No Comments

This Week in Health Care Reform EasyToInsureME health insurance

This Week in Health Care Reform EasyToInsureME health insurance

JANUARY 22, 2010

This Week in Health Care Reform

After months of public debate and private negotiations, health care reform discussions stalled following Tuesday’s Senate vote in Massachusetts. The Democratic Senate lost its 60th vote supermajority when Republican Scott Brown was elected to the United States Senate in the Massachusetts special election.

Health Care Reform Negotiations Post-Massachusetts Special Election

Massachusetts Election of Senate Republican Recasts Debate: Following the election of Republican Scott Brown to the Massachusetts Senate seat Tuesday night, Democratic leaders have been scrambling to revive what could now be a dying bill. The loss of the Democrat’s 60th vote in the Senate opens up the legislation to a Republican filibuster – something the Democrats have managed to avoid thus far in the debate.

House and Senate Democrats met this week to discuss how to move forward with the reform legislation in light of this election and promised Wednesday that they would push ahead. There are a number of options that Democrats are considering, but at this point they have not charted their course.

On Wednesday, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) attempted to rally House Democrats around a strategy to push the Senate bill through the House and onto President Barack Obama’s desk so as to avoid the need to again secure 60 Senate votes. However, the Speaker indicated on Thursday morning that she did not believe she has the needed 218 House votes necessary to move forward. This option would have allowed lawmakersto then propose additional modifications to the approved legislation through a process called “reconciliation,” which only requires 51 votes in the Senate.

Other remaining options:

1.
House and Senate Democrats could also quickly complete the merging of the two bills and vote on the combined package before Mr. Brown is sworn in.
2.
Democratic leaders could attempt to re-engage Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME), the only Republican who voted for the Senate Finance Committee’s bill passed in October. Democrats would need to allow her to amend the bill so that she could support its passage and give Democrats the needed 60th vote; or,
3. House and Senate Democrats could essentially start over in their respective chambers and propose scaled-back versions of the bill under “reconciliation” procedures or regular order. Reconciliation procedures would greatly limit the scope of the legislation to issues only related to raising or spending federal funds; therefore, many provisions, such as creating new insurance exchanges and an individual mandate, might be excluded.

President Obama seemed to indicate that he favors having House and Senate lawmakers start over again and produce a scaled-back bill. In addition, more moderate Senate Democrats – hesitant to push through such a huge partisan bill in light of the Massachusetts election – urged leaders to slow down.
Sen. Jim Webb (D-VA) has called on Senate leaders to suspend voting on health care reform until Mr. Brown is sworn into office. President Obama and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) have iterated this same message. Further, Sen. Joe Lieberman (D-CT) called for a bipartisan effort as the best way to achieve health care reform legislation.

Health Care Reform Negotiations Prior to Massachusetts Special Election

Senators Urge Guarantee of Government Savings: In a letter sent last Thursday to Sen. Reid, five Democratic Senators asked for the inclusion of a “fail-safe mechanism” in the final bill. This mechanism would give Congress “the tools to keep costs under control should the current savings estimates fail to materialize.”

Both the Senate and House versions of the bill rely heavily on reductions in government spending, particularly around Medicare, to help pay for reform. Republicans and some nonpartisan analysts believe the government will not follow through on these spending reductions, which will lead to soaring costs.

President Obama Pushes for Less Protection for Biologic Drugs: Last Thursday President Obama pushed for a change in the health care reform legislation that would reduce the number of years that biologic drugs were patent protected from generic competition, previously set at 12 years. White House officials and Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) were negotiating for 10 years protection or less.

Members of the news media speculated that the move to reduce biologic drug protections could be a leverage point for President Obama to pressure the drug industry to increase contributions to pay for health care reform. In fact, the Wall Street Journal reported that Congressional Democrats had already asked drug companies to contribute an additional billion or more, over and above the billion which the industry agreed to early on in the reform negotiations.

President Obama Strikes Deal with Unions: Last week Democratic negotiators struck a deal with union officials and conceded to union demands to scale back a tax on high-end insurance plans. The deal would exempt union workers from having to pay the tax until 2018, five years after the tax would apply to other workers. While the deal would help gain union support for the bill, it would also reduce the amount of tax revenue generated by about 40 percent, to billion. As such, Democratic leaders would need to find other sources of revenue to make up the difference.

Public Opinion

Exit Poll Indicates Health Care Reform as Hot Button Issue: As the ballot polls closed on Tuesday night’s Massachusetts Senate election, an exit poll conducted by Frabrizio, McLaughlin & Associates indicated that 52 percent of voters said that they oppose the federal health care reform measure and 42 percent said they cast their ballot to help stop President Obama from passing this legislation. In addition, 48 percent said that health care was the single issue driving their vote.

Polls Show Discontent: The latest Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll indicated that almost half of Americans believe the health care reform bill in Congress is a bad idea (46 percent). This figure is up dramatically from April when only 26 percent believed the plan was a bad idea. Further, just 33 percent say the plan is a good idea. Nearly half of those surveyed (48 percent) believe that passing the current legislation would be a “step backward.”

In addition, a new Quinnipiac University poll showed that public support for health care reform continues to decline. Thirty-four percent mostly approve, while 54 percent mostly disapprove. At the end of December, 53 percent of Americans mostly approved, while 36 mostly disapproved.

Looking Ahead

Currently, the path to health care reform is unclear. Democrats seek a way to secure the necessary votes to pass the legislation, and some now question the value of pushing such a large bill. President Obama had hoped to see a final bill prior to his State of the Union address, which has been scheduled for January 27; however, it appears this goal is likely out of reach.

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Spabeautyschools.com Featured School of the Week July 29, 2007: American College of Acupuncture & Oriental Medicine

Spabeautyschools.com Featured School of the Week July 29, 2007: American College of Acupuncture & Oriental Medicine

Got natural healing appeal? The American College of Acupuncture & Oriental Medicine (ACAOM) introduces students to a whole new world of combined ancient and innovative medicines in the fields of acupuncture and Oriental medicine. Located in the heart of Texas in Houston, ACAOM extends an in-depth Oriental medicine program that is both practical and flexible in nature. Many of the courses at the American College of Acupuncture & Oriental Medicine are provided during the evenings to meet demanding schedules of working professionals.

Hwan Jan, dean of student affairs at the American College of Acupuncture & Oriental Medicine is proud to tout the college’s high academic standards. “And we have really nice teachers who are experts,” he adds. The main draw to ACAOM, Jan explains, is the fact that the college teaches Acupuncture and Oriental medicine, and integrates Western medicine into its broad curriculum.

The Master of Acupuncture & Oriental Medicine degree program at the American College of Acupuncture & Oriental Medicine involves comprehensive studies over four years. In the first year alone, students learn about the history of medicine, the philosophies and physiology of TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine), an introduction to acupuncture and herbology, anatomy, psychology, and more. Years two, three and four are followed up with rigorous training in advanced anatomy, acupuncture and point energetics, needling techniques, Tai Chi, Qigong, herbology, TCM diagnosis, among other relevant subject matter.

“The American College of Acupuncture & Oriental Medicine is the only acupuncture school accredited by the American Academy of Pain Management,” says Jan. “We cooperate with a lot of clinics and hospitals, and we also do a lot of research with other colleges, which is unique from any similar school.” ACAOM is currently partnered with Memorial Hermann and Methodist Healthcare Systems, as well as Rice University, University of Houston Clear Lake, Legacy Community Health Center, and Baylor College of Medicine.

Continuing education programs offered at ACAOM include training in TCM theories and philosophies, Art of Wellbeing, Drug/Herb Interaction, Herbal Alternatives to the Top 50 Drugs, Wrist and Ankle Acupuncture, Korean Hand Therapy, among numerous other courses.

In addition to institutional scholarships, the American College of Acupuncture & Oriental Medicine participates in Federal PELL grant programs, as well as other federally subsidized and unsubsidized loan programs. With certification granted by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, ACAOM is also accredited by the Accreditation Commission for Acupuncture & Oriental Medicine, and its educational program is approved by the California Acupuncture Board.

With an opportunity to complete your Masters in Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine in three to four years, what’s stopping you from moving forward? Applying online has never been easier, and with the prospects of achieving a lucrative health career in the satisfying and rewarding field of complementary medicine, why not visit the American College of Acupuncture & Oriental Medicine. Start learning today and fulfill your professional aspirations as an Oriental medicine practitioner!

Featured School the Week: American College of Acupuncture & Oriental Medicine

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Tags: 2007, Acupuncture, American, College, Featured, July, Medicine, Oriental, School, Spabeautyschools.com, Week

Friday, October 8th, 2010 Dentist No Comments

The Week In Health Reform

The Week In Health Reform

The Week in Health Reform—Federal Legislative Overview

The White House
On March 3, President Obama continued his push for Members of Congress to complete health insurance reform legislation within the upcoming weeks. He delivered a statement to a group of medical professionals in the East Room of the White House, in which he said that he has asked Senate and House leaders to finish work on health reform and schedule final votes in the next few weeks. The President went on to say that the issues have been debated thoroughly and that now is the time to make a decision. Although he did not specifically mention the budget reconciliation process, the President said that the American people deserve an “up or down” vote on health reform in the same way that welfare reform and tax cuts were approved by Congress in the past under reconciliation rules.

The President said that health insurance reform would change three things:

* End the “worst practices” of health insurance companies
* Give individuals and small businesses the same kind of choices members of Congress have
* Bring down health care costs for families, businesses and the government

The President made numerous references to the health insurance industry and stated that there is a fundamental disagreement between Republicans and Democrats about whether there should be more or less regulation of health insurance companies. The President concluded by emphasizing that he will do everything in his power to make the case for health reform in the coming weeks, and he also urged the American people to make their voices heard.

In addition, the President said he is open to exploring policy priorities identified by Republicans at the bipartisan summit such as:

* Conducting undercover investigations of health care providers that receive reimbursement from federal programs.
* Appropriating funds for state-based demonstration programs to test alternative approaches, including health courts, to resolving medical malpractice suits.
* Linking Medicaid eligibility expansions to higher Medicaid reimbursement for physicians.

* Clarifying that Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) may be offered through the proposed health insurance exchanges.

On March 4, Health Care Service Corporation President and CEO Pat Hemingway Hall attended a meeting at the White House, along with CEOs from other leading health insurance companies and officials from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. The group met with Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and President Obama to discuss premium issues in the individual market.

House and Senate
Congressional leaders are now focused intensely on developing legislative language that could be supported by a majority of members in both chambers. The President’s comments last week send a strong signal that such legislation, once finalized, would move through Congress under budget reconciliation procedures.

Under reconciliation rules, the House first would have to pass the Senate version of the health care reform bill, H.R. 3590, which passed on Christmas Eve last year. After that, the House would then be required to pass a separate “corrections” bill incorporating specific changes to that bill that will likely be negotiated among White House officials and House and Senate leaders. After the House passes the “corrections” bill, under budget reconciliation procedures, the Senate would need at least 50 senators to vote for the “corrections” bill. Under reconciliation rules, only a simple-majority vote of 51 votes are needed for passage (Vice President Joe Biden would be the 51st vote if only 50 senators vote for the bill) and filibusters are banned.

In order to meet the goal of sending a final health reform bill to the President’s desk before the Easter recess (which is scheduled to begin on March 29), congressional leaders would need to send legislative language to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) for cost analysis in the very near future. On March 4, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said that President Obama hopes the House of Representatives will pass the health reform bill by March 18, so the rest of the process can move swiftly.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) is now tasked with trying to corral votes in the House, while trying to assure those who are wary that the Senate will be willing to support the same measures. Some House members are worried about being left “holding the bag,” if the Senate decides it will not support some of the same legislative language.

In order to ensure the Democrats have enough votes, President Obama invited two groups of the Democratic Caucus to the White House on March 4 to continue to push for health reform passage. Members from the Congressional Progressive Caucus were:
Caucus Chairs Raúl Grijalva (AZ) and Lynn Woolsey (CA), Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus Chairman Mike Honda (CA), Congressional Black Caucus Chairwoman Barbara Lee (CA), Congressional Hispanic Caucus Chairwoman Nydia Velázquez (NY), Reps. Dennis Kucinich (OH), Lucille Roybal-Allard (CA) and Jan Schakowsky (IL), as well as delegates Madeleine Bordallo (Guam) and Donna Christensen (Virgin Islands).

Afterward, Obama met with key members of the New Democrat Coalition. The New Democrats, like the Blue Dogs, are a group of fiscally conservative Democrats. Attendees of this meeting included: Reps. Jason Altmire (PA), Melissa Bean (IL), Lois Capps (CA), Joe Crowley (NY), Ron Kind (WI), Allyson Schwartz (PA) and Adam Smith (WA).

Overview: Extension of Physician Payment “Fix” and COBRA Provisions
On March 2, the Senate passed H.R. 4691, the “Temporary Extensions Act of 2010″ and President Obama signed it into law. This legislation includes a one-month extension of the Medicare physician payment “fix,” premium assistance for unemployed workers with COBRA and state continuation coverage, unemployment insurance and several other legislative provisions that expired on February 28. Before voting on passage of the bill, the Senate first voted on an amendment by Senator Jim Bunning (R-KY) that would have offset the billion cost of the “extenders” package. This amendment was defeated and therefore no further legislative action was needed. The bill was later signed by the President.

Overview: The “Health Insurance Industry Fair Competition Act” – H.R. 4626
In a letter dated March 3, 22 Democratic Senators wrote to Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) urging him to bring H.R. 4626, the “Health Insurance Industry Fair Competition Act, to the Senate floor at its earliest opportunity. In the letter they state that “[this legislation] is an important step toward bringing competition to the health insurance market, and would ensure that anticompetitive abuses such as price fixing and monopolization are policed in the health insurance industry.” America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) CEO Karen Ignagni maintains the position on the legislation saying, “The rhetoric surrounding repeal [anti-trust exemptions] does not match the reality of the situation. Health insurance is one of the most regulated industries in America at both the federal and the state levels. The Act is extremely limited in scope and has nothing to do with competition within the health insurance industry. In fact, a wide range of insurer activities, including mergers and many types of business practices, are and always have been subject to federal antitrust laws and to enforcement by the Department of Justice.”

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Sunday, August 15th, 2010 Dentist No Comments

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