Monday, November 2, 2009

Posts Tagged ‘Joe Lieberman’

The movers and shakers of healthcare reform

Monday, November 2nd, 2009


The Politico published a piece this morning, summarizing which members of the House and Senate will have the most say regarding the fate of healthcare reform. This article does a great job of not only identifying “who’s who” in the healthcare debate, but also shows how just a handful of legislators can determine the outcome of important legislation.

Last week, I wrote about Sen. Joe Lieberman’s (I-CT) opposition to the public option – here’s what the Politico article had to say about it:


Lieberman’s pledge last week to vote against any bill with a government insurance option sent a reminder — as if one were needed — that any single senator has the power to cast passage of health care legislation into doubt. As long as Reid sticks to his 60-vote strategy, the majority leader will need to meet an endless list of demands from his Democratic Caucus. Lieberman was just the latest wild card. Indeed, Sen. Roland Burris (D-Ill.) has threatened to oppose any bill that lacks a public option.

Read the entire article here.

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Lieberman to Join Republican Filibuster

Tuesday, October 27th, 2009


The Democrat-turned-Independent Senator Joe Lieberman (I-CT) has announced his opposition to current Senate healthcare legislation and will join Senate Republicans in stopping a final vote on the legislation.
The Wall Street Journal has the story:

Lieberman, a Connecticut independent who caucuses with the Democrats, told reporters Tuesday that he would vote in favor of a procedural motion allowing debate of the bill. But he said that, unless the bill changes substantially, he would vote with Senate Republicans against a motion to allow a vote on final passage of the bill.

His opposition to the bill centers around its inclusion of a government-run health insurance plan that states could choose not to carry. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, (D., Nev.) announced Monday that he intended to include a public plan in Senate health-care legislation.

“I think that a lot of people may think that the public option is free. It’s not,” Lieberman said. “It’s going to cost the taxpayers and people that have health insurance now, and if it doesn’t, it’s going to add terribly to our national debt.”

Reid will need 60 senators to vote in favor of a motion to move to a vote on final passage to avoid a Republican filibuster. While there are 60 senators who are part of the Democratic caucus, including Lieberman, several moderate senators have expressed ambivalence about including a public option in the legislation.

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H1N1: When Public Health Meets Public Policy

Thursday, October 22nd, 2009

According to a recent Washington Post-ABC News Poll, 52% of Americans are worried that they, or someone close to them, will contract the H1N1 virus (a.k.a. “swine flu”) – up from 39% in August. However, only one third of Americans plan to get the H1N1 vaccine this year, and 52% of parents plan to vaccinate their children. Out of those parents who would not vaccinate their children, 53% said it is because they worry that the vaccine has not been thoroughly tested and thus it could have negative side effects.The Washington Post offers this analysis of the poll results:

The findings illustrate the dueling challenges the federal government faces in its unprecedented effort to protect Americans against the first influenza pandemic in more than four decades. Federal officials have spent at least $2 billion to buy enough vaccine to inoculate at least half the population and pledged to provide the immunization to everyone who wants it.

But vaccine production has lagged behind projections, leaving public health officials scrambling to allocate the limited doses available and frustrating some anxious parents and other people waiting to be immunized. At the same time, there is still a long way to go in federal efforts to convince people of the necessity and safety of the vaccine.

While the cases of H1N1 continue to grow, there is pressure put on the Federal Government to find a vaccination, while at the same the public wants to be assured that the vaccination has been thoroughly studied and tested enough to determine its safety and side effects. Government officials seem optimistic that there is a safe solution:

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano assured the senators that everything is being done as quickly as possible to produce and distribute antiviral drugs and vaccine.

“There will be enough vaccine for every American who wants to be vaccinated,” Sebelius said, repeating reassurances that the vaccine is safe.

Read the entire Washington Post article here.

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Cantwell and 27 others author letter to President Obama about Medicare reimbursement rates

Wednesday, September 23rd, 2009

Here is the text of a September 17th letter from Senator Maria Cantwell and 27 others to President Barack Obama about Medicare reimbursement rates.

Dear Mr. President:

As you continue working with Congress to facilitate the passage of health care reform legislation, we write to emphasize the need to realign spending in the Medicare program to focus on providing more value to beneficiaries. We support many of the Medicare payment reforms that are included in current versions of health care reform legislation, but believe additional effort must be made to get better care at a lower cost.

(more…)

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