[NYAPRS Enews] Reuters: US Senators Start Writing Healthcare Reform Bill

[Matt Canuteson]

US Senators Start Writing Healthcare Overhaul Bill

By Donna Smith Reuters April 30, 2009 

WASHINGTON, April 29 (Reuters) - U.S. Senators leading the effort to
revamp the U.S. healthcare system said on Wednesday they had begun
fleshing out proposals aimed at improving the quality of care, but are
leaving until later tough decisions on how to cover the uninsured and
pay for it.

"Today we kicked off the process of writing a comprehensive health
reform bill," Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus said
following a closed door meeting of panel members. The session focused on
proposals aimed at changing the payment system for the Medicare program
for the elderly.

Baucus, a Democrat, and Senator Charles Grassley, the top Republican on
the panel, are pushing to draft far-reaching health reform legislation
by June to try to get a final bill to President Barack Obama by the end
of the year.

At Wednesday's session, lawmakers looked at changing the payment
structure of Medicare to reward quality rather than base payments on the
number of services and procedures performed by doctors and hospitals.
Baucus and Grassley said lawmakers were in broad agreement about that
goal, but had a number of questions about implementation and regional
impact.

The panel is focusing on the Medicare payment structure because changes
in the government program can influence private healthcare providers.

Panel members are considering giving bonus payments to doctors and
hospitals that deliver better care and keep their patients out of
hospitals. They are also looking at better compensation for primary care
doctors who oversee patient care and walk them through any treatments or
procedures.

Other proposals would reward health care providers who adopt electronic
health records.

Overhauling the $2.5 trillion U.S. healthcare industry to rein-in
soaring costs and cover an estimated 46 million uninsured Americans is a
top priority for Obama. And Democrats who control Congress have promised
a bipartisan bill.

But the role of government in covering the uninsured and how it will pay
for that are major sticking points.

The Finance Committee is set to tackle other aspects of the legislation
later in May, including the politically explosive issue of whether a new
government insurance program should be created to help cover the
uninsured.

Many Democrats, including Obama, back the idea of a public plan that
would compete with private insurers. Sixteen members of the Senate
Democratic caucus on Wednesday wrote a letter in support of a public
plan to Baucus and Senator Edward Kennedy, who also has a major role in
writing the legislation as head of the Senate Health, Education, Labor
and Pensions Committee.

"We need to provide quality, affordable coverage for the millions of
Americans the insurance industry has failed and a public plan is the
only reliable way to do just that, said Senator John Rockefeller, one of
the senators signing the letter.

But Republicans and insurance companies oppose creation of a new public
plan. They fear millions of people would drop their current policies and
sign up for the government plan, driving private insurers out of
business. The insurance industry prefers government subsidies to help
people, who otherwise would not be able to afford it, buy insurance. 

http://uk.reuters.com/article/americasRegulatoryNes/idUKN294262092009042
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