|
Subscribe to Rotunda Review/Preview email alerts
Rotunda Archive
November 20, 2009
The Nebraska Hospital Association – Nebraska's influential voice for health
care.
|
NHA Advocacy Action Center
Nebraska Legislature online
E-mail your state senator
Contact the Nebraska Governor
Contact Nebraska's Congressional Delegation
The Unicameral Web
site
has been redesigned and includes comprehensive information about the
senators, bill status, legislative calendar and news.
If you have questions or concerns about any state legislation,
please contact Bruce Rieker, Vice President, Advocacy, at (402) 742-8146 or
brieker@nhanet.org; or Cora Micek,
Advocacy Coordinator, at (402) 742-8153 or
cmicek@nhanet.org.
|
|
NHA launches Twitter account; beneficial for legislative
updates
LINCOLN—Hospitals, lawmakers and health care stakeholders can stay up-to-date on the latest breaking health care news by signing up for the Nebraska Hospital Association's (NHA) Twitter and RSS feeds at
http://twitter.com/NebHospitals. The NHA
posts links to relevant Nebraska stories, shares health care industry resources
and communicates current legislative updates and alerts. The
NHA Web site also contains the latest news in health care. Contact
Kelley Porter, NHA
Director of Communications, at (402) 742-8151 with any questions.
— Nebraska Hospital Association, November 20, 2009
Motion to invoke cloture on Saturday's calendar
WASHINGTON—The next Senate vote will occur at 8:00 p.m. on Saturday, November 21. That vote will be on the motion to invoke cloture on the motion to proceed to H.R. 3590, the legislative vehicle for the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2009.
The bill would establish a mandate for most legal residents of the United States to obtain health insurance; set up insurance exchanges through which certain individuals and families could receive federal subsidies to reduce the cost of purchasing that coverage; expand eligibility for Medicaid; reduce the growth of Medicare’s payment rates for most services; impose an excise tax on insurance plans with relatively high premiums; and make
other changes to the federal tax code, Medicare and Medicaid.
— Nebraska Hospital Association, November 20, 2009
Budget package approved
LINCOLN—Lawmakers gave final-round approval today to five bills intended to address the state’s projected budget shortfall. LB 1, LB 2, LB 3 and LB 4, introduced by Senator Mike Flood at the request of the governor, were all passed on 47-0 votes. LB 5, introduced by the Education Committee, passed 40-7.
-
LB 1 makes changes to the state’s mainline budget bill by reducing and eliminating various appropriations, reappropriating unexpended funds, increasing and creating certain transfers to the general fund and making across-the-board reductions in agency appropriations of 2.5 percent in fiscal year 2009-10 and 5 percent in FY2010-11;
-
LB 2 provides for and eliminates certain fund transfers;
-
LB 3 authorizes transfers outlined in LB1 by inserting language into the statues governing each fund authorizing transfers to the general fund at the direction of the Legislature;
-
LB 4 appropriates funds to pay for the special session; and
-
LB 5 adjusts the state aid to schools formula.
— Unicameral Update, November 20, 2009
Senators approve changes to state aid to schools formula
LINCOLN—Senators passed a bill today that makes adjustments to the state aid to schools formula in order to hold expenditures flat over the next two years.
York Senator Greg Adams, chairperson of the Education Committee, estimated the proposed adjustments would result in a savings of $31.5 million.
Read more.
— Unicameral Update, November 20, 2009
Reid pushes for votes on health care bill
WASHINGTON—As Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid worked to nail down the votes needed to move to a final debate on health care legislation, a tepid assessment of the public insurance plan he crafted emerged as the latest potential obstacle to its passage, the
Washington Post reports. A Congressional Budget Office analysis of the scaled-down public plan that Reid included in his $848 billion measure said it would have relatively little impact on the current system, would charge "somewhat higher" premiums than its private competitors, and would draw only about 4 million subscribers.
Read more.
— Washington Post, November 20, 2009
WASHINGTON—The House has approved a $210 billion measure to avert steep cuts in Medicare payments to doctors. The legislation, known on Capitol Hill as the "doc fix," would prevent a 21
percent cut in Medicare payments to doctors set to take effect in January, and also prevent further cuts in the years ahead. The bill seeks to correct a flawed payment formula that stems from earlier legislation intended to control the steep rise in Medicare costs. But Congress has stepped in repeatedly in recent years to avoid the cuts to doctor payments, the
New York Times reports.
Read more.
— New York Times, November 20, 2009
WASHINGTON—The Senate health care bill does not include a new surtax on the wealthy that House Democrats' legislation relies on to offset costs of overhauling the system. But Senate Democrats have their own taxes that are stirring controversy and likely to be at the center of debate, the
Wall Street Journal reports. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid made a late change to his bill by adding an extra Medicare payroll tax, which would generate $54 billion over 10 years according to the Congressional Budget Office. Under the plan, wages over $200,000 for single people and $250,000 for married couples would be subject to a 1.95
percent payroll tax, up from the current 1.45 percent.
Read more.
— Wall Street Journal, November 20, 2009
For more information about health-related
legislative bills or resolutions, contact: Bruce Rieker, Vice President,
Advocacy, at (402) 742-8146 or
brieker@nhanet.org
or Cora Micek, Advocacy Coordinator, at (402) 742-8153 or
cmicek@nhanet.org.
NHA Rotunda Review is published by the Nebraska Hospital
Association, 3255 Salt Creek Circle, Lincoln, NE 68504. Phone (402) 742-8140,
Fax (402) 742-8191. Visit our Web site at
http://www.nhanet.org. Kelley Porter,
editor, at (402) 742-8151, or email,
kporter@nhanet.org.
Click here to Subscribe to Rotunda Review/Preview
Click here
to Unsubscribe
Click here to change your email address
or call Vicky Pfeiffer at (402) 742-8145.
Please be sure to include the individual's name, title, email address and if
you are subscribing, unsubscribing or updating information.
Back To Main
|
