House committee chairmen Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) and George Miller (D-Calif.) say they're united and committed to passing a major health reform bill on their side of Capitol Hill by the August recess. "We have also agreed on a timetable for our joint efforts," the Democrats write in a letter to President Obama. "In order to achieve our shared goal of enacting health reform this year, we will coordinate our committee consideration so that action on the House floor can occur before the August recess."

Jim Bossenmeyer, CMS's director of provider and supplier enrollment, was on hand for several sessions at the American Health Lawyers Association (AHLA) conference last week (see last week's blog post). Having spoken to Bossenmeyer several times, I can tell you he tends to be hostile with the press and rarely indulges in interviews. 

The Senate Finance Committee scheduled a hearing for Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, who's been nominated for HHS secretary (PBN 3/9/09). The hearing is scheduled for April 2 at 10 a.m. It's a step toward finally filling some lingering executive appointments.

I spent a whole day at the Institute on Medicare and Medicaid Payment Issues, a three-day conference held every year in Baltimore by the American Health Lawyers Association. Top consultants, CMS officials and industry representatives give detailed presentations and take questions, making the conference perfect for newsgathering. Check out my initial coverage in Part B News.

A physician responds to his patient's questions and concerns via e-mail - and gets paid for it. He also works roughly eight-hour weekdays, has stable off-hours coverage and enough money to purchase his own electronic medical record (EMR) system. Sounds pretty nice, right? Well, this physician is in Denmark. Nothing against the Danes, it's just far away from home in the U.S.