 Sword of San Galgano. Authenticated to 12th Century; said to have been plunged into a rock by a medieval Tuscan knight who then became a monk. Click on image for more This just in from the Washington Post:
Massachusetts state Sen. Scott Brown was elected to the U.S. Senate on Tuesday, winning a special election over two opponents, the Associated Press projected. Brown — the first Republican senator from the Bay State in 31 years — willgive the GOP 41 seats in the Senate, enhancing the party’s ability to demand changes in legislation.
“Enhancing the party’s ability to demand changes in legislation.” That is certainly one way of saying it. As we live under the yoke of the Senate’s filibuster rule, and the stated aim of soon-to-be (or maybe not so soon) U.S. Senator Brown is to put a halt to the health reform legislation currently poised for informal reconciliation between the two houses of Congress, it is dizzying to think that the life’s work of Senator Ted Kennedy may well be torn asunder by the man who’ll take his seat. It is a biting irony of classical greek proportions.
And I find myself wondering, honestly, “What would Ted Kennedy do?” A consummate politician and a superb tactician, I doubt, considering the stakes, he would be adverse to the Massachusetts Secretary of State’s position:
Ah! The Senate Rules. As that yoke of the modern filibuster draws nearer round the throat of health care reform, and the phrase “in the nick of time” begins to hang in the air like a concrete goal, these words to the opponents of health care reform seem apt: Live by the sword….
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A new Commonwealth Fund survey of safety-net clinic patients in New Orleans finds that, despite being disproportionately low-income and uninsured, these patients had fewer problems affording care and fewer instances of medical debt and inefficient care than most U.S. adults. The findings suggest that the locally based clinics could serve as a model for deliv […] - Commonwealth Fund 2009 Survey of Clinic Patients in New Orleans
A new Commonwealth Fund survey of safety-net clinic patients in New Orleans finds that, despite being disproportionately low-income and uninsured, these patients had fewer problems affording care and fewer instances of medical debt and inefficient care than most U.S. adults. - New Report: Post-Katrina Safety-Net Clinic Patients in New Orleans Report More Efficient and Affordable Health Care and Less Medical Debt Than Most U.S. Adults; Pilot Could Serve as National Model
A new Commonwealth Fund survey of safety-net clinic patients in New Orleans finds that, despite being disproportionately low-income and uninsured, these patients had fewer problems affording care and fewer instances of medical debt and inefficient care than most U.S. adults.
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- Democrats May Seek to Push Health Bill Through House
The White House and Democratic Congressional leaders, scrambling for a backup plan to rescue their health care legislation if Republicans win the special election in Massachusetts on Tuesday, have begun laying the groundwork to ask House Democrats to approve the Senate version of the bill and send it directly to President Obama for his signature. - Insurer Okayed Out-of-Network Care for Heart Patient But Family Faces Huge Bill
Five months into pregnancy, Jodi Lemacks discovered that her unborn son had a severe heart defect and would require a complex operation as soon as he was born. - Only Thing Democrats Need to Fear is Fear Itself
To state some of the arguments of my earlier post more succinctly, the short-term danger of a Scott Brown victory is not Scott Brown in the Senate, or even 41 Republicans in the Senate. It's Democrats freaking out and abandoning the House bill. But on the merits, this is just absurd. If health-care reform was a good idea last week, it's a good idea […] - Senate Election in Massachusetts Could Be Harbinger for Health-care Reform
Democrat Martha Coakley's struggle to stave off a potentially devastating defeat in Tuesday's special Senate election in Massachusetts marks a critical turning point in the year-long debate about health-care reform. - How Does Health Care Reform Fit in Budget?
In less than two weeks, President Barack Obama will have to submit a budget outlining his spending priorities for the next fiscal year, but the uncertain future of health care reform leaves a big question mark in that spending outline.
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By Stephen Smith, Globe Staff PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti -- There's a contingent of Massachusetts voters in this shattered city who are in a race against the clock to vote in the special election today to replace US Senator Edward M. Kennedy.... - Dispatches from Haiti: limitless patients, wounds 'equivalent to the Civil War era'
Dr. Selwyn Rogers (left, in photo via cell phone), chief of burn, trauma, and surgical critical care at Brigham and Women's Hospital, sends this message from a Partners In Health clinic in Saint Marc, about 90 minutes from the Haitian... - Patients' rights advocate dies
Judi Chamberlin, who was hospitalized against her will for depression four decades ago and championed patients' rights ever since, died on Saturday the way she wanted -- at home, in Arlington, with family.The 65-year-old Brooklyn, N.Y. native authored a seminal...
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Obesity rates for adults and children in the U.S. seem to be leveling off, according to a new study from the Centers for Disease and Prevention released online last week in the Journal of the American Medical Assn. According to... - A new test to reveal a baby's gender revives an old ethical dilemma
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The health care reform debate has stirred up strong sentiments on both sides of an important issue that, on its face, doesn’t seem all that complicated: Should employers that offer wellness and prevention programs offer employees monetary rewards for their participation? Should the rewards be linked to attainment of wellness goals? The Agency for Healthcar […] - Requiring Employers To Contribute To Health Coverage For Workers
Almost three out of five Americans under age 65 have employment-based health insurance – but with costs rising, this coverage is under serious pressure. Congress is now finalizing plans to require more employers to contribute to coverage for their workers. The latest Health Policy Brief from Health Affairs and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) […] - Don’t Handicap The Reform: Protecting Integrated Care Systems
Congress is preparing to finalize a health care bill for both chambers to consider. The purpose of healthcare reform is to increase the number of insured, improve the level of health care and reduce health care spending. Although there are many disputes in the health care debate, two issues seem clear. First, integrated health care [...] - Wellness Programs And Diabetes Costs
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As negotiations continue to reconcile the differences between the Senate and House versions of the health reform legislation, one thing is clear: most Americans would be required to obtain health insurance and penalties would be imposed on those who failed to do so. This provision is known as “individual responsibility” or an “individual […]
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Sword of San Galgano. Authenticated to 12th Century; said to have been plunged into a rock by a medieval Tuscan knight who then became a monk. Click on image for more
This just in from the Washington Post:
“Enhancing the party’s ability to demand changes in legislation.” That is certainly one way of saying it. As we live under the yoke of the Senate’s filibuster rule, and the stated aim of soon-to-be (or maybe not so soon) U.S. Senator Brown is to put a halt to the health reform legislation currently poised for informal reconciliation between the two houses of Congress, it is dizzying to think that the life’s work of Senator Ted Kennedy may well be torn asunder by the man who’ll take his seat. It is a biting irony of classical greek proportions.
And I find myself wondering, honestly, “What would Ted Kennedy do?” A consummate politician and a superb tactician, I doubt, considering the stakes, he would be adverse to the Massachusetts Secretary of State’s position:
Ah! The Senate Rules. As that yoke of the modern filibuster draws nearer round the throat of health care reform, and the phrase “in the nick of time” begins to hang in the air like a concrete goal, these words to the opponents of health care reform seem apt: Live by the sword….