As some health care analysts express concern that the nation's economic problems will hurt chances next year for passage of major health care legislation, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus said that any economic recovery package must include health care overhaul legislation. Read more »
Former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle is President-elect Barack Obama's choice to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, an appointment that many Democrats predict will greatly help with efforts next year to overhaul the health care system. Read more »
Senate Finance Committee leaders introduced a bipartisan draft of legislation that would link the level of Medicare payment to hospitals to the quality of medical care rather than the number of services provided. Read more »
Congressional Budget Office alumni were divided over whether a move by agency director Peter Orszag to the top spot at the White House Office of Management and Budget would move the ball forward on overhauling health care or push it back. But they agreed that the appointment would be a strong addition to President-elect Barack Obama's inner circle as it confronts the twin challenges of a faltering economy and a dysfunctional health care system. Orszag could prove to be a forceful advocate for controlling Medicare spending, they added. Read more »
Key Senate health care players from both sides of the aisle met for the first time to discuss their plans for a health overhaul bill next year. Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee Chairman Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., Christopher J. Dodd, D-Conn., the second ranking Democrat on HELP, and Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., gathered with their ranking Republican colleagues and other key committee members and said after the meeting that Congress would lead the way early in 2009. Read more »
Cardiac patients experienced lower readmission rates and lower overall costs if they were treated at hospitals that had been designated for quality, according to a study released at a briefing by the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. Read more »