Weekly News Wrap-Up (June 1-June 5)

Nursing Home Lobbyists Urge Lawmakers for Change but Don’t Expect Long-Term Care Reform (McKnight’s Long Term Care News & Assisted Living, June 5, 2009)
Hundreds of nursing home owners and operators blitzed Congressional buildings in Washington on Wednesday, pressing lawmakers for better Medicare payments, a halt to post-acute payment bundling system talk and other improvements. But one thing they weren’t expecting to make much progress on was long-term care reform.

Obama Supports Requiring Health Insurance for all (The Washington Post, June 4, 2009)
President Barack Obama, in a letter to Sens. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., and Max Baucus, D-Mont., supported the idea of requiring everyone to have health insurance, if such a plan included a “hardship waiver” for small businesses and low-income people. Obama also said he “strongly” believes in having a public-plan option for health care coverage, alongside private plans.

Health Insurers Balk at Some Change (The New York Times, June 3, 2009)
The insurance industry says it wholeheartedly embraces a health care overhaul, promising Congress and the president that it will make it much easier for individuals to buy insurance on their own.

New Insurance Proposal Would Help Pay for Nursing Home Stays for Disabled (McKnight’s Long Term Care News & Assisted Living, June 3, 2009)
A provision in Sen. Ted Kennedy’s (D-MA) healthcare overhaul proposal would automatically enroll workers in a disability-insurance program. This would help pay for nursing home costs for the disabled before Medicaid payments kick in, according to recent reports.

Obama Urges Quick Action on Insurance (New York Times, June 2, 2009)
President Obama on Tuesday affirmed his support for the creation of a government-sponsored health insurance plan, but he acknowledged that such a plan would sharply reduce the chances for Republican support of legislation to overhaul the health care system, Democratic senators said.

CMS Pilot to Test Incentives for Nursing Home Care (The Wall Street Journal, June 1, 2009)
The CMS this summer will launch a pilot program to see if incentives can improve the care provided by nursing homes, with a focus on improvements in nurse staffing and preventable hospitalizations. The agency also has posted information online about nursing home rankings, based on government inspection results, quality measures and staffing information.

Health Groups Detail Ways to Lower Costs (Houston Chronicle/The Associated Press, June 1, 2009)
Several health industry groups, including AHIP and the American Medical Association, presented proposals that could help the Obama administration reduce medical costs over 10 years. Efficient use of medical services, better chronic-disease management, and administrative and business developments are key areas for savings, the groups said.