Not even the most intense civics class would have prepared you for the theatrics coming our way in Congress.
I’ve read several articles about the Democrats’ strategy to get reform passed and signed into law and the GOP’s efforts to block reform. There’s at least a semester’s worth of study just in the Congressional manueverings, with a full year required to flow the Senate processes, parliamentary rules, and political manupulation thereof.
Politico has a pretty good synopsis, with the net being this.
1. The House has to pass the current Senate bill as is.
2. There are provisions in the Senate bill that are repugnant to many Dems; they will pass a ‘sidecar’ bill to address those provisions which will then go to the Senate.
3. The Senate Republicans will seek to delay the vote in the House and Senate thru debate, asking for votes on amendments to peel away Dem votes, and seeking rulings from the Senate parliamentarian on points of order. These last are a key part of the Republican strategy as the rules for what can and cannot be passed thru the reconciliation process are arcane and complicated.
4. If the Dems are successful, they will seek a vote that only requires 51 yeas, and the reform will pass.
It’s anyone’s guess if that will happen. If it does I’ll be looking closely at the final bills to ferret out the key provisions…
Posted via iPhone so typos are probable.
Mar
18
Joe,
I am a patient advocate in the Dallas Texas area, and have worked with several Doctors who treat injured workers. Most of these Doctors are patient advocates and have the same goal as the employer, and that is to fix the injured worker and return them to work. Most managed care networks limit the amount of providers that are allowed in the network to a point that access is delayed. The other problem is what the Doctors are allowed to do within the network and how it relates to the success of the outcome. The formula is simple, the product is complicated. While the division ( and I am guessing you) are focusing on the Doctor, you should really be focusing on the functionability of the network. I think they should perform site visits before allowing any provider to participate, and I think the relationship should be negotiated between the provider and the employer only allowing the carrier to facilitate their opinions. The “product” is really the carrier. I think the carriers should be evaluated on how much money is spent on unneccesary administrative cost and the overall profitability of the carrier. Lets face it Joe, the true reason for alot of this mess is due to the fact that big insuranc profits are made by gouging the employers and denying care. That is one of the major cost drivers in the system. Because of the fact that an average “independant” Doctors office is at the mercy of these networks, they are afraid to address most of these issues in fear that they might be removed from the network without ANY due process. Big insurance companies are big bullies in my opinion, and shouldnt be allowed to step into this arena with such a heavy hand, at the expense of injured workers and the ability for companies to profit ina a more “healty” manner.