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    <recommendedItem id="20100101_19_423"
                     title="Week 31: Baucus Quotes Gandhi; Obama Wants $80 Billion HHS Boost"
                     score="0.013"
                     href="http://www.medpagetoday.com/Washington-Watch/Reform/tb/18337?impressionId=1265796911169"
                     
      &lt;p&gt;WASHINGTON  --  Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.), chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, likes to start hearings with a quote from a famous leader. This week, he quoted Mahatma Gandhi.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&quot;Every worthwhile accomplishment . . . has its stages of drudgery and triumph; a beginning, a struggle, and a victory,&quot; said Baucus, who has been an integral part of the negotiations that stalled last month with Congress apparently just weeks away from passing a healthcare reform bill.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The effort to enact healthcare reform &quot;has certainly seen its struggles,&quot; Baucus said. But he said he agrees with President Barack Obama, who urged Congress during his State of the Union address not to give up on passing comprehensive reform.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&quot;We have gone well past this effort&apos;s beginning,&quot; Baucus said. &quot;We have endured our share of struggle. Now let us at last bring this bill to victory.&quot;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Since the election to the U.S. Senate of Massachusetts Republican Scott Brown  --  a vocal opponent of healthcare reform  --  and the president&apos;s State of the Union message, which focused strongly on job creation and improving the economy, healthcare reform has been moved to a back burner.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;But &quot;I&apos;m very confident we&apos;re going to pass healthcare reform this year,&quot; Baucus said during Wednesday&apos;s hearing.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Obama also urged Congress again not to give up on a bill when he spoke to Democrats at a question-and-answer session on Thursday.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&quot;All that&apos;s changed in the last two weeks is that our party&apos;s gone from having the largest majority in a generation to having the second-largest majority in a generation,&quot; Obama said. &quot;We&apos;ve got to remember that.&quot;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Although Baucus used most of his speaking time talking about healthcare reform, the purpose of this week&apos;s hearing was to question Department of Health and Human Services secretary Kathleen Sebelius about the $80 billion increase in funding for HHS requested in the &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.medpagetoday.com/Washington-Watch/Reform/18248&quot; mce_href=&quot;http://www.medpagetoday.com/Washington-Watch/Reform/18248&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; title=&quot;Obama&amp;#8200;Requests&amp;#8200;$80&amp;#8200;Billion&amp;#8200;Increase&amp;#8200;in&amp;#8200;Healthcare&amp;#8200;Funding&quot;&gt;president&apos;s 2011 budget&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Under Obama&apos;s blueprint, HHS would receive $911 billion in 2011, most of which would be Medicare and Medicaid spending. But the National Institutes of Health (NIH) would also get a $1 billion boost for medical research, and there would be money for improving food, drug, and device safety, and to intensify efforts to help Americans quit smoking and get healthy.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The President&apos;s budget doesn&apos;t make any provisions for healthcare reform should it be enacted.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Healthcare spending now accounts for 17.3% of the nation&apos;s total spending, according to &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.medpagetoday.com/Washington-Watch/Washington-Watch/18302&quot; mce_href=&quot;http://www.medpagetoday.com/Washington-Watch/Washington-Watch/18302&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; title=&quot;In&amp;#8200;Bad&amp;#8200;Economy,&amp;#8200;Record&amp;#8200;Growth&amp;#8200;in&amp;#8200;Health&amp;#8200;Spending&quot;&gt;new data&lt;/a&gt; released by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The recession of 2009, coupled with growing use of medical services, led to the fastest one-year growth in health spending since the 1960s, according to the CMS report.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;By 2019, national health spending is projected to reach $4.5 trillion and account for about 19% of gross domestic product (GDP), according to the report.&lt;/p&gt;

    </recommendedItem>
    <recommendedItem id="20100101_19_399"
                     title="In Bad Economy, Record Growth in Health Spending"
                     score="0.012"
                     href="http://www.medpagetoday.com/Washington-Watch/Washington-Watch/tb/18302?impressionId=1265796911169"
                     
      &lt;p&gt;WASHINGTON  --  The recession of 2009, coupled with growing use of medical services, led to the fastest one-year growth in health spending since at least the 1960s, according to a report by the Centers for Medicare &amp;amp; Medicaid Services (CMS).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;In 2009, national health spending grew 5.7% to reach $2.5 trillion, according to preliminary estimates from CMS actuaries and economists published in &lt;em&gt;Health Affairs.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;That $2.5 trillion accounts for 17.3% of total GDP, which declined by 1% in 2009. In 2008, healthcare spending accounted for 16.2% of the GDP.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;By 2019, national health spending will reach $4.5 trillion and account for about 19% of the gross domestic product (GDP), according to the report.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;National heath expenditures have grown faster than the GDP for years. But in 2009, the bad economy, job losses, an increasing Medicaid population, and more people seeing a doctor powered the unprecedented growth.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;While the 2009 numbers are preliminary, the authors singled out job losses that resulted in more people qualifying for Medicaid. Spending on Medicaid grew by nearly 10% in 2009, twice as fast as the year before.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Another spending growth driver: More people utilized healthcare services in 2009, in part because so many sought H1N1 pandemic flu vaccinations.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Utilization of medical services grew at a rate of 1.5% in 2009, compared with just a 0.9% growth rate in 2009. That translated into growth in spending on physician and clinical services as well: up 6.3% compared with 5% growth in 2008.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The report also found: &lt;ul&gt; &lt;li&gt;Hospital spending increased 5.9 percent in 2009 compared with 4.5 percent in 2008, and reached $760.6 billion.&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;Spending on prescription drugs reached $246 billion, up by 5.2% compared with growth of 3.2% the previous year. &lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;Government spending on healthcare in 2009 outpaced private insurance company spending, despite subsidies in the stimulus bill that allowed recently laid-off workers keep their private health insurance plans through COBRA. The number of people with private insurance plans declined by 1% in 2009. &lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;Growth in out-of-pocket spending slowed in 2009, which the study authors attribute to the recession. &lt;/li&gt; &lt;/ul&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The good news is the economy is expected to grow in 2010, and analysts predict the growth rates in healthcare to be closer to the growth in GDP. Health spending is expected to decelerate to a growth of less than 4%, while GDP is anticipated to rebound to a 4% growth rate.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;However, that assessment may not be accurate because the estimate is based on a 21% cut in Medicare payments to physicians. Those cuts are slated to go into effect on March 1, but Congress is expected to vote at the last minute to stall the cuts  --  as it does every year.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;If Medicare payments for physicians hold steady  --  &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.medpagetoday.com/Washington-Watch/Washington-Watch/18094&quot; mce_href=&quot;http://www.medpagetoday.com/Washington-Watch/Washington-Watch/18094&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; title=&quot;AMA&amp;#8200;Pushes&amp;#8200;for&amp;#8200;Permanent&amp;#8200;Doctor&amp;#8200;Pay&amp;#8200;Fix&quot;&gt;either by Congress voting to put the cuts on hold for the next decade, or by voting to overhaul the sustainable growth rate (SGR&lt;/a&gt;)  --  healthcare spending would grow at a rate of about 4.7% in 2010.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The authors point out the difficulty of forecasting future spending levels in the midst of a recession.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&quot;How quickly economic growth rebounds, and to what extent, will affect the growth of healthcare spending over the next decade,&quot; the authors said.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;In addition, if a healthcare reform bill ultimately passes, new projections would have to be issued.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&quot;Should such legislation ultimately be signed into law, there would undoubtedly be many changes in healthcare delivery and financing,&quot; they said.&lt;/p&gt;

    </recommendedItem>
    <recommendedItem id="20100101_19_193"
                     title="Democratic Supermajority at Stake in Mass. Election"
                     score="-0.003"
                     href="http://www.medpagetoday.com/Washington-Watch/Reform/tb/18032?impressionId=1265796911169"
                     
      &lt;p&gt;WASHINGTON  --  As voters in Massachusetts cast ballots to elect a new U.S. senator, Democrats in Congress are scrambling to come up with a backup plan in case Republican Scott Brown beats Democrat Martha Coakley in today&apos;s election.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;If Brown takes the seat  --  left vacant after &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.medpagetoday.com/Washington-Watch/Washington-Watch/15694&quot; mce_href=&quot;http://www.medpagetoday.com/Washington-Watch/Washington-Watch/15694&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; title=&quot;Brain&amp;#8200;Tumor&amp;#8200;Fells&amp;#8200;Ted&amp;#8200;Kennedy&quot;&gt;Sen. Edward Kennedy died&lt;/a&gt; in August  --  the win would break the Democrat&apos;s filibuster-proof 60-seat supermajority. Although the &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.medpagetoday.com/Washington-Watch/Washington-Watch/17679&quot; mce_href=&quot;http://www.medpagetoday.com/Washington-Watch/Washington-Watch/17679&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; title=&quot;Senate&amp;#8200;Passes&amp;#8200;Healthcare&amp;#8200;Reform&quot;&gt;Senate has already passed&lt;/a&gt; a healthcare reform bill, in the typical course of events, the upper chamber would need to take a final vote on whatever measure results when its bill is combined with the &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.medpagetoday.com/Washington-Watch/Reform/16847&quot; mce_href=&quot;http://www.medpagetoday.com/Washington-Watch/Reform/16847&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; title=&quot;House&amp;#8200;Passes&amp;#8200;Healthcare&amp;#8200;Reform&quot;&gt;bill passed by the House&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;span class=&quot;mceItemHidden&quot;&gt;Coakley, who is the Massachusetts attorney general, and Brown, a state senator, were neck-and-neck in the polls when voting booths opened.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Another option would obviate a need for a second Senate vote by convincing members of the House to approve a version of the bill that closely mirrors what the Senate passed. That version could then go directly to the president&apos;s desk.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Although the two bills are similar  --  and identical on some points  --  a few notable differences make it unlikely that members of the House would support a wholesale adoption of the Senate bill.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;For instance, the Senate bill is less restrictive about using federal funds for abortion, it doesn&apos;t contain a public insurance plan, and it doesn&apos;t exempt insurance companies from antitrust laws.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;At least one moderate Democrat  --  Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.)  --  has said House members wouldn&apos;t vote for the Senate bill, according to the &lt;em&gt;New York Times. &lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&quot;If Scott Brown wins, it&apos;ll kill the health bill,&quot; Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) reportedly said last week.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;President Obama traveled to Massachusetts over the weekend to campaign for Coakley and today, the president sent out an e-mail pitch aimed at getting Massachusetts voters to support Coakley.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&quot;Right now, the polls are open to elect a new senator to the seat that my friend Ted Kennedy held for 47 years,&quot; Obama wrote. &quot;The choice could not be more stark, and the result could not be of greater consequence  --  for Massachusetts or the nation.&quot;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Polls in Massachusetts close at 8 p.m.&lt;/p&gt;


    </recommendedItem>
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                     title="Hillary&apos;s Health Plan: Mandates But No Government Takeover"
                     score="-0.005"
                     href="