Part B News | Editors' Blog

Post-Christmas update: Senate passes its health reform bill

by: Grant Huang Dec 28, 2009

As expected, the Senate went ahead and passed the health reform bill on Christmas Eve. Republicans had pledged to offer resistance to the last, but the threat of a major Midwestern snow storm led to an agreement between the GOP leadership and Democrats to wrap up the vote on the morning of Dec. 24. The vote had been set for the evening.

Epic, highly partisan Senate vote advances health reform

by: Grant Huang Dec 22, 2009

The Senate's vote to advance the health care reform bill Sunday couldn't have been more dramatic. With the Capitol still blanketed under two feet of heavy snow, lawmakers spent the entire day engaged in intense debate, with the final vote coming at 1 a.m. It became necessary to wheel 92-year-old Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W. Va.) into the snow-muffled Capitol to prevent any deadlocks based on procedural motions.

2-month SGR reprieve clears hurdle in Senate

by: CHARLES FIEGL Dec 18, 2009

In the wee hours of the morning, 63 senators voted to end debate on a defense bill containing a 60-day delay of the sustainable growth rate (SGR) cut to Medicare reimbursements. The vote clears the way for a final Senate vote scheduled for Saturday.

Grassley: Where's CERT?

by: CHARLES FIEGL Dec 17, 2009

You're not the only one wondering where is CMS's Comprehensive Error Rate Test (CERT) report for 2009. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) fired off a letter to HHS and CMS asking: what's the hold up?

Temporary doc fix added at end of defense spending bill

by: CHARLES FIEGL Dec 16, 2009

The House Appropriations Committee tucked in a Department of Defense appropriations bill a two-month, zero percent update to the conversion factor used to calculate Medicare payments. This means the 2009 conversion factor of $36.0666 won't be subject to a 21.29% cut until March 1, 2010 -- providing a "bridge," buying federal lawmakers another 60 days, to finding a more permanent solution to a flawed Medicare payment formula.

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