Federal Legislation
Please click here for the latest 2009 Federal Health Care Reform News.
Comparison of Major Health Care Reform Proposals
Thursday, September 3rd, 2009Achieving comprehensive health reform has emerged as a leading priority of the President and Congress. President Obama has outlined eight principles for health reform, seeking to address not only the 45 million people who lack health insurance, but also rising health care costs and lack of quality. In Congress, a number of comprehensive reform proposals…
U.S. Psyche Bedevils Health Effort
Thursday, September 3rd, 2009I hate the health-care system — but don’t you dare mess with it.
That’s a pretty apt summary of the American mind-set about health care — and not just now, but for decades. Something about health care calls forth from the national psyche a deep, almost inexplicable schizophrenia, as the latest, delayed effort to…
Governors Fear Medicaid Costs in Health Plan
Monday, August 3rd, 2009BILOXI, Miss. — The nation’s governors, Democrats as well as Republicans, voiced deep concern Sunday about the shape of the health care plan emerging from Congress, fearing that Washington was about to hand them expensive new Medicaid obligations without money to pay for them…
To read more click here.
‘Blue Dog’ Democrats Hold Health-Care Overhaul at Bay
Tuesday, July 28th, 2009WASHINGTON — So-called Blue Dog Democrats continued to resist key aspects of their party’s health-care overhaul Sunday, despite pressure from party leaders who fear they will endanger President Barack Obama’s most ambitious legislative effort…
To read more click here.
Injecting Value into Medical Decisions
Tuesday, July 28th, 2009It’s widely estimated that 30% of U.S. health-care spending—some $700 billion a year—is spent on tests, treatments and procedures that provide no value. But one man’s waste may be another’s life-saving treatment. And there are hundreds of medical quandaries with no clear answers…
To read more click here.
Health Reform Legislation Affecting ASCs Introduced
Monday, July 20th, 2009Health reform legislation (America’s Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009) introduced July 14 in the House by the chairmen of the three committees with jurisdiction over health care — the Committee on Education and Labor, the Committee on Ways and Means and the Committee Energy and Commerce — would directly impact ASCs in the following…
States Fight Medicaid Expansion
Tuesday, July 7th, 2009Some governors are pushing to scale back or kill proposals to expand Medicaid to provide health-care coverage to the uninsured, raising a new challenge to President Barack Obama’s effort to overhaul the system…
To read more of this article click the link below:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124571731912339159.html
Kennedy Releases Draft Health Reform Legislation, Begins Mark-up
Wednesday, July 1st, 2009A new bill has been released to the senate. This bill is to make quality, affordable health care available to all Americans, reduce costs, improve health care quality, enhance disease prevention, and strengthen the health care work-force.
To read this bill click the link below:
http://help.senate.gov/BAI09A84_xml.pdf
ASC Cost Reporting Included in Draft Health Reform Legislation
Monday, June 29th, 2009Draft health reform legislation released on June 19, 2009 in the U.S. House of Representatives includes a provision requiring ASC Cost Reporting. As drafted, the legislation would require the development of an ASC cost report form within two years of the enactment of the bill…
To read more click the link below:
http://www.ascassociation.org/cost/