Health Reform in the House Committee on Energy and Commerce Committee on Ways and Means Committee on Education and Labor

Fact of the Day The House health insurance reform legislation requires public reporting of health care-associated infections in hospitals and ambulatory surgical centers.

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At The Time This Daily Dose Was Sent, Insured Americans Had Paid a “Hidden Tax” of $35,043,222,458 This Year In Additional Premium Costs To Cover Care For The Uninsured.

Under the Microscope

GOOD NEWS FOR SENIORS: CLOSING THE DONUT HOLE FASTER

Today House Leadership and Rep. Ron Klein (D-FL) joined Executive Vice President of AARP, Nancy LeaMond to discuss how the revised House health insurance reform bill will now start closing the Medicare Part D “donut hole” coverage gap for seniors as early as next year. Read more about this in the first Headline below.  Earlier this morning House Democrats held a caucus meeting where Members discussed coming to consensus on a public option.

HEALTH PLAN REPORTING

The National Committee for Quality Assurance, long known for setting standards of quality care, released its 2009 State Of Health Care Quality Report gathered from voluntarily submitted data from 979 private health plans.  Among Medicare Advantage plans, only 5 of 36 measures (14%) showed a statistically significant improvement; in Medicaid, 18 of 50 measures (36%) showed a statistically significant gain, and most of these improvements were small.  The NCQA report calls on Congress to keep in their health reform proposals many of the provisions that address improving care and expanding quality measurement as well as primary care.

Insurers Not Improving Nation’s Health Care
New industry report: Health plans have flatlined on improving quality of care for the most prevalent conditions for the first time in 13 years. [CNN, 10/22/2009]

Health Care Headlines

Pelosi Moving to Close Medicare ‘Doughnut Hole’
Speaker Nancy Pelosi made another bid to solidify support for Democrats’ ambitious health care plans on Friday, pledging to move aggressively to close the “doughnut hole” in Medicare drug coverage.
[CQ Today, 10/23/2009]

House Democrats Back Medicare Disparity Fix In Overhaul
More than a dozen House Democrats who have long complained that their regions are shortchanged in Medicare reimbursements lined up Thursday behind a health care overhaul bill (HR 3200) after Democratic leaders agreed to a geographic fix. [CQ HealthBeat, 10/22/2009]

Lawmakers Warm to the Public Option
House Democrats are coalescing around an $871 billion health-care package that would create a government-run insurance plan to help millions of Americans afford coverage, raise taxes on the nation's richest families and impose an array of new regulations on private insurers, in part by stripping the industry of its long-standing exemption from federal antitrust laws. [Washington Post, 10/23/2009]

Senate Leader Takes Risk Pushing Public Insurance Plan
In pushing to include a government-run health insurance plan in the health care bill, the Senate majority leader, Harry Reid, is taking a calculated gamble that the 60 members of his caucus could support the plan if it included a way for states to opt out. [New York Times, 10/23/2009]

House Leaders Set Sights on Introducing Merged Health Care Bill Next Week
House Democratic leaders, believing they are near consensus on how to construct a new government-run health insurance plan, said Thursday they hope to complete their comprehensive health care overhaul next week. [CQ Today, 10/23/2009]

Hospital Collaborative Finds Sharing Data Saves Costs, Lives
Hospitals participating in the first year of the Premier healthcare alliance's national collaborative, QUEST: High Performance Hospitals, saved an estimate 8,043 lives and $577 million by focusing on areas to improve healthcare, according to study results released this week. [HealthLeaders Media, 10/23/2009]