COBRA Subsidy Extended and Medicare Doc Fix Delayed

On March 2, President Obama signed into law “Temporary Extension Act of 2010,” (H.R. 4961) staving off the expiration of federal COBRA subsidies for 30 days while also delaying a 21% cut in Medicare provider payments. After the House had approved this bill last week, Senator Jim Bunning (R-KY), voicing his objections to how the bill would be financed, initiated and wouldn't back down from a filibuster until late Tuesday night.

Aimed at extending COBRA and unemployment insurance even further, the Senate is set to begin debate on a $150 billion bill introduced by Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT). The bill would extend these benefits through December 31, 2010.

For more on these development, click here to access the Kaiser Health News story.

Senate Finance Committe Bill Approval Press Release with Provision Descriptions

In a press release issued by the Senate Finance Committee, a recap of each of the major provisions of the Baucus bill are outlined. Without having to dissect the actual bill and its language, one can get a sense of what each provision is actually proposing.

Find the press release at: http://finance.senate.gov/press/Bpress/2009press/prb101309b.pdf

Health Care Reform - Senate Finance Approves Baucus Bill with One GOP Vote

In a 14-9 vote, with Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME) as the only Republican voting with the Democrats on the Senate Finance Committee, the landmark Baucus health care reform bill has cleared the panel and is now set to be merged with the Senate HELP committee health reform bill that was approved in July.

For the NYT story, click http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/14/health/policy/14health.html?hp

For the WSJ story, click http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125543637111982309.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_LEFTTopStories

Health Care Reform - Five Key Numbers from CBO Score

A posting on the Wall Street Journal Health blog highlights five key numbers from the CBO scoring of the Senate Finance Committee health bill.

CBO estimates the cost to be $829 billion over 10 years while shaving off over $80 billion from the federal deficit over ten years as well.

Find the article at http://blogs.wsj.com/health/2009/10/07/five-key-numbers-in-cbos-score-of-the-senate-finance-bill/

Health Care Reform - CBO Scores Baucus/Senate Finance Bill

The cost analysis is in! Sen. Max Baucus' Finance Committee bill will cost $829 billion over ten years, up from an initial estimate of $774 billion, according to the Congressional Budget Office. The Finance Committee is now expected to move forward with voting on the bill, which will then get moved to the full Senate floor to be merged with the Senate HELP committee bill that was finalized in July.

The NYT story: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/08/health/policy/08health.html?_r=1&hp

The WSJ reports: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125494356104171425.html

WSJ's Health Blog's take on the five important numbers in the CBO score: http://blogs.wsj.com/health/2009/10/07/five-key-numbers-in-cbos-score-of-the-senate-finance-bill/