Sensitive Information for over 800,000 Docs May be Compromised

Officals at Blue Cross & Blue Shields are warning that information for over 800,000 physicians may have been compromised when an employees laptop was stolen.

Information that may have been breached include business and personal information such as Social Security numbers, addresses and certain identification numbers.

For the full story, click here.

Snowe Indicates She Will Side with Dems in Crucial SFC Vote

Senator Olymipia Snowe (R-Maine) has indicated in her remarks to the Senate Finance Committee that she will vote to move the bill out of committee. She did, however, express that this should not be an indication of support of any final bill that emerges once the SFC's bill is combined with Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions bill that was passed early this summer.

All though she expressed reservations, Senator Snowe believe the process must move forward.

CBO Reviews Finance Committee Health Bill

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) gave a boost to the Senate Finance Committee's America’s Healthy Future Act of 2009, and have reported that in its current form the bill will not increase the federal deficit, but would actually reduce it by $81 billion over the next 10 years and these savings would continue into the future.

However, a major caveat to the CBO's report is the fact that the bill has not yet been formatted into legislative language. The estimates made by the CBO may change when this occurs.

The Finance Committee is expected to vote and approve the act this week. Once it is approved it will be merged by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid with legislation passed early this summer by the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions and brought to the Senate floor for debate.

To read the CBO's letter to Chairman Baucaus and the Senate Finance Committee, click here.

For more coverage:

Wall Street Journal
New York Times
Washington Post
Politico

WSJ Profiles What Health Care Bill Means to Docs

The Wall Street Journal's Health Policy Blog recently posted an item discussing what the Senate Finance Committee's Bill means to doctors. Items highlighted in the posting included:

• Bonus Medicare provisions to primary care doctors
• Provisions that would make it harder for doctors to own stakes in specialty hospitals
• The bill would not scheduled cuts to medicare payments

For the full posting click here.

Health Care Reform Bill Prepares for Floor Debates

Early Friday morning the Senate Finance Committee completed its review of over 500 amemendments and both the Senate and the House of Representatives will be scheduling floor debates for the bill in the near future. This is the farthest stage any Health Reform bill has made it in the legislative process.

For more information, click here.

Public Plan Defeated in Senate Vote

On Tuesday, the Senate Finance Committee twice defeated amendments adding a government run health insurance plan to the Senate Health Care bill. Although these votes do not bode well for the inclusion of a public plan, supporters of the option plan to reintroduce the option when the full Senate votes on the bill.

For more details click here.

Senate Finance Committee Releases Health Care Bill

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D‐Mont.) today introduced the America’s Healthy Future Act, thought by many to be the basis for future negotiations in the health care reform debate.

Provisions in the legislation include:

• Create health care affordability tax credits to help low and middle income families purchase insurance in the private market;
• Provide tax credits for small businesses to help them offer insurance to their employees;
• Allow people who like the coverage they have today the choice to keep it;
• Reform the insurance market to end discrimination based on pre-existing conditions and health status;
• Shift incentives in Medicare to reward better care, not just more care;
• Increase the number of primary care doctors in the system;
• Provide annual “wellness visits” for Medicare participants and their doctors to focus on prevention;

Click here for the full text of the Bill.

Click here for Chairman Baucus's Press Release.