The Christmas Rush is On

From press conferences, interviews, and events in Washington, D.C.
Senate Democrats are preparing to give the President an early Christmas present– passage of health reform legislation. A vote is scheduled for Christmas Eve and it appears that Democrats have the votes to pass the bill. It’s been a tough road. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D- [...]

Talk is Cheap. Or Is It?

On Wednesday, as the U.S. Senate continued to debate a potential overhaul of the American health care system, the Republican party made its strategy clear: it’s going to talk the bill to death.
Up until yesterday, the tactic was executed in a relatively polite fashion. Republican Senators took to the floor and spoke at length about [...]

Senate Plods Along on Health Reform

From hearings, press conferences, and interviews in Washington, D.C.
Senators were in Washington over the weekend, sloughing away on health reform legislation. Democrats are hopeful that with slow, but steady progress they can get a final bill by Christmas.
In this week’s Policy & Practice Podcast, we take a look at one of the first amendments made to [...]

Not All Turkey and Football: The Policy & Practice Podcast

The Senate cleared a big hurdle last week when it voted 60-39 to bring its health reform bill to the floor for debate. Now the horse race begins as senators jockey with Majority Leader Harry Reid for the provisions they would like to see changed or added. In the meantime, physicians are waiting to see [...]

No Pause In The Debate: The Policy & Practice Podcast

From press conferences, interviews, and more around Washington, D.C.
Congress took a holiday last week to honor America’s military heroes both past and present, but the veterans of the health reform debate did not pause.
A breakaway group of physician organizations mounted a challenge to the American Medical Association’s backing of the House-passed reform bill.  Activists on [...]

Coalitions Splinter: The Policy & Practice Podcast

The House approves a health care reform bill, but Democrats splinter over an abortion provision. The bill receives support from the American Medical Association, but some surgeons’ groups beg to differ. And physicians of all specialties await a Congressional fix to the Medicare SGR formula.
It’s all in this week’s Policy & Practice podcast. Take a [...]

High Stakes for Physicians: The Policy & Practice Podcast

From press conferences, interviews, and more around Washington, D.C.
Physicians have a lot riding on what happens in Congress this year. After months of wrangling over health reform, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) will try to get her version of the health overhaul bill through the chamber. The bill includes a public plan whose rates [...]

No SGR Fix So Far: The Policy & Practice Podcast

From press conferences, meetings, and more around Washington, D.C.
Too few votes on a procedural measure meant a fix to the Sustainable Growth Rate formula–a long-time thorn in doctors’ sides–was not taken up by the Senate last week. That’s the headline story in this week’s Policy & Practice Podcast.
Go ahead and take a listen to this [...]

Hurry Up… and Wait

From the American Academy of Family Physicians Scientific Assembly in Boston.
There was an awful lot of frustration and confusion from the family physicians who turned out for a session at the AAFP meeting about the federal funds available for doctors who adopt health information technology.
It was late afternoon and by my count more than 70 [...]

A Seat at the Table

From the American Academy of Family Physicians Scientific Assembly in Boston.
The new president of the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP), Dr. Lori Heim, wants you to know that the AAFP is politically connected. During her presidential address at the AAFP’s annual meeting, she touted the organization’s advocacy credentials. AAFP leaders have met personally with [...]