There are many more...they won't pass ANYTHING , they have to get Obama- it's all his leadership ya know....and the "liberal" media goes along..."corporate" media more like.
G.O.P. Bill Would Benefit Doctor-Owned Hospitals
By ROBERT PEAR
Published: December 12, 2011
WASHINGTON — The House Republican bill to hold down payroll taxes and extend unemployment benefits, coming up for a vote on Tuesday, offers a special dispensation to doctors who invest in hospitals.
Related
Millionaires on Food Stamps and Jobless Pay? G.O.P. Is on It (December 13, 2011)
Times Topic: Federal Budget (Payroll Tax Extension Debate)The bill would repeal and relax several provisions of the 2010 health care law that clamped down on doctor-owned hospitals. The bill would allow such hospitals to open if they were under construction at the end of last year, and it would allow them to expand if they were already in existence.
Congressional aides say dozens of hospitals and their physician owners could benefit.
Numerous studies have found that when doctors have a financial stake in a hospital, they tend to order more tests and procedures, raising costs for Medicare and other insurers.
Many doctor-owned hospitals specialize in surgery, orthopedics or heart care. Proponents say they provide superior services.
The provision of the House bill allowing the spread and expansion of doctor-owned hospitals would increase federal spending by $300 million over 10 years, the Congressional Budget Office said.
Dr. Michael E. Russell II, president of Physician Hospitals of America, a trade group for doctor-owned institutions, said the 2010 law “limits access to care,” at a time when the need for it will increase because of the expansion of coverage. More than 30 million Americans are expected to gain insurance under the 2010 health care law.
Dr. Russell said the House Republican bill would benefit 25 to 30 hospitals that were under construction but had not opened. In addition, he said, more than half of the 270 existing doctor-owned hospitals want to expand, and they too could benefit.
But Representative Pete Stark of California, the senior Democrat on the Ways and Means Subcommittee on Health, said the provision dealing with doctor-owned hospitals was “a special interest giveaway.”
“These facilities have caused patient deaths and are proven to increase unnecessary utilization, thus increasing costs,” Mr. Stark said. “Yet Republicans spend $300 million to allow more of these facilities to exist and enable all of them to easily continue to expand. That’s bad for America’s health, but good for special interests.”
Representative Joe Pitts, Republican of Pennsylvania and chairman of the Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health, defended the provision.
“A number of hospitals broke ground with the expectation that they would be able to operate under Medicare,” Mr. Pitts said. “The health care law changed the rules midgame, jeopardizing potentially thousands of jobs to build and staff these facilities. This provision would allow these hospitals that were already under construction prior to Dec. 31 to operate under Medicare for services provided to Medicare beneficiaries.”
Richard J. Umbdenstock, the president of the American Hospital Association, said his group could not support the House Republican bill because it would cut Medicare payments to hospitals, forcing some to “limit services and limit access for patients.”
Mr. Umbdenstock also deplored the loosening of restrictions on doctor-owned hospitals.
“Research shows that there is more utilization of services when hospitals are owned by physicians,” Mr. Umbdenstock said.
Doctor-owned hospitals, he said, tend to focus on the more profitable types of business, “leaving community hospitals with the more acutely ill patients and those who are uninsured or have coverage through public programs.”
As Democrats examined the House Republican bill on Monday, they found much to criticize, ensuring a partisan battle in both houses. Many Senate Democrats oppose a provision intended to speed approval of the Keystone XL oil pipeline, running from Alberta, Canada, to the Gulf Coast.
Several Democratic senators said they hoped to see a deal under which Republicans would drop the pipeline if Democrats dropped their demand for a surtax on individual income in excess of $1 million a year.
Republicans oppose the surtax. President Obama has said he will reject a bill tying the payroll tax cut to the pipeline.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/13/h...ll-would-help-hospitals-owned-by-doctors.html
Add your own poison pills in the bills- there are many more...
Pubs depend on the ignorance of the dupes.
G.O.P. Bill Would Benefit Doctor-Owned Hospitals
By ROBERT PEAR
Published: December 12, 2011
WASHINGTON — The House Republican bill to hold down payroll taxes and extend unemployment benefits, coming up for a vote on Tuesday, offers a special dispensation to doctors who invest in hospitals.
Related
Millionaires on Food Stamps and Jobless Pay? G.O.P. Is on It (December 13, 2011)
Times Topic: Federal Budget (Payroll Tax Extension Debate)The bill would repeal and relax several provisions of the 2010 health care law that clamped down on doctor-owned hospitals. The bill would allow such hospitals to open if they were under construction at the end of last year, and it would allow them to expand if they were already in existence.
Congressional aides say dozens of hospitals and their physician owners could benefit.
Numerous studies have found that when doctors have a financial stake in a hospital, they tend to order more tests and procedures, raising costs for Medicare and other insurers.
Many doctor-owned hospitals specialize in surgery, orthopedics or heart care. Proponents say they provide superior services.
The provision of the House bill allowing the spread and expansion of doctor-owned hospitals would increase federal spending by $300 million over 10 years, the Congressional Budget Office said.
Dr. Michael E. Russell II, president of Physician Hospitals of America, a trade group for doctor-owned institutions, said the 2010 law “limits access to care,” at a time when the need for it will increase because of the expansion of coverage. More than 30 million Americans are expected to gain insurance under the 2010 health care law.
Dr. Russell said the House Republican bill would benefit 25 to 30 hospitals that were under construction but had not opened. In addition, he said, more than half of the 270 existing doctor-owned hospitals want to expand, and they too could benefit.
But Representative Pete Stark of California, the senior Democrat on the Ways and Means Subcommittee on Health, said the provision dealing with doctor-owned hospitals was “a special interest giveaway.”
“These facilities have caused patient deaths and are proven to increase unnecessary utilization, thus increasing costs,” Mr. Stark said. “Yet Republicans spend $300 million to allow more of these facilities to exist and enable all of them to easily continue to expand. That’s bad for America’s health, but good for special interests.”
Representative Joe Pitts, Republican of Pennsylvania and chairman of the Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health, defended the provision.
“A number of hospitals broke ground with the expectation that they would be able to operate under Medicare,” Mr. Pitts said. “The health care law changed the rules midgame, jeopardizing potentially thousands of jobs to build and staff these facilities. This provision would allow these hospitals that were already under construction prior to Dec. 31 to operate under Medicare for services provided to Medicare beneficiaries.”
Richard J. Umbdenstock, the president of the American Hospital Association, said his group could not support the House Republican bill because it would cut Medicare payments to hospitals, forcing some to “limit services and limit access for patients.”
Mr. Umbdenstock also deplored the loosening of restrictions on doctor-owned hospitals.
“Research shows that there is more utilization of services when hospitals are owned by physicians,” Mr. Umbdenstock said.
Doctor-owned hospitals, he said, tend to focus on the more profitable types of business, “leaving community hospitals with the more acutely ill patients and those who are uninsured or have coverage through public programs.”
As Democrats examined the House Republican bill on Monday, they found much to criticize, ensuring a partisan battle in both houses. Many Senate Democrats oppose a provision intended to speed approval of the Keystone XL oil pipeline, running from Alberta, Canada, to the Gulf Coast.
Several Democratic senators said they hoped to see a deal under which Republicans would drop the pipeline if Democrats dropped their demand for a surtax on individual income in excess of $1 million a year.
Republicans oppose the surtax. President Obama has said he will reject a bill tying the payroll tax cut to the pipeline.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/13/h...ll-would-help-hospitals-owned-by-doctors.html
Add your own poison pills in the bills- there are many more...
Pubs depend on the ignorance of the dupes.
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