WAUKON, Iowa — The two seem an unlikely pair — Max Baucus, the Stanford-educated lawyer from a Montana ranching family who looks uncomfortable leading debates; and Chuck Grassley, the thrifty soybean farmer from Iowa who has a penchant for righteous speeches about government waste, according to the Los Angeles Times.
But Baucus and Grassley share a bond. They are loners whose independent streaks make them outsiders in their own political parties, the L.A. Times said. Baucus, a Democrat, and Grassley, a Republican, are leading the health care reform effort in the Senate Finance Committee. Their bond — and their independence — may hold the key to unlocking the mystery of health care reform, which has eluded U.S. lawmakers for decades.
In the face of strident criticism from colleagues in both parties, Baucus and Grassley are trying to satisfy some of the people some of the time with compromises on health care aimed at winning the support of a bipartisan majority on Capitol Hill, the Times said. On Wednesday, Sen. Harry Reid, a Nevada Democrat, gave a nod to their joint effort at a meeting with Grassley, encouraging the quest despite  complaints by more partisan senators, according to the L.A. Times.
With the Rise of AI, What IP Disputes in Healthcare Are Likely to Emerge?
Munck Wilson Mandala Partner Greg Howison shared his perspective on some of the legal ramifications around AI, IP, connected devices and the data they generate, in response to emailed questions.
On Thursday, Baucus, who chairs the finance committee, presented his members with more than a dozen ways to pay for health care reform, according to Politico. The ways ranged from new fees on industry to an income-tax hike on couples earning more than $1 million a year. Baucus is revisiting several money-raising options raised early in the debate to fill the $320 billion hole in his committee’s reform plan, Politico said. The options are needed because Baucus this week discarded his favorite – taxing employer-provided health care to pay for reform — because it would hurt the middle class.
The stakes are high. If Baucus and Grassley are unable to do the job, this year’s historic effort to reform the nation’s health care system could dissolve in partisan bickering, and the opportunity for reform, uncertain, the L.A. Times said. House Democrats face the same challenge: Find a way that pays for reform without raising taxes on the middle class, the New York Times said.
More stories worth a read:
- High percentage of hospital patients readmitted, report says; Clinic rates worse-than-average (Cleveland Plain Dealer)
- Consumer hospital comparison Website now includes quality data on readmission rates (Health 2.0 blog)
- West Nile virus found in Gahanna, Ohio (Columbus Dispatch)
- Doing the return-on-equity math on mobile health care (Mass High Tech)
- Kodiak Venture keeps start-up Greenlight Biosciences in stealth (Mass High Tech)
- Nexus Biosystems raises $5 million (Xconomy | San Diego)
- China’s medical bonanza: Promise shifts homeward for China’s biggest medical device maker (Forbes)
- Akron Children’s Hospital connects to patients online (Akron Beacon Journal)
- Boston Scientific to make the Emerald Isle $30 million greener (MassDevice)
- Intellikine raises $28 million; Cadence awaits FDA action…Â (Xconomy | San Diego)
- Life Spine announces FDA clearance of FS3 minimally invasive spine system (PRNewswire)
- NatureWorks and Avantium to collaborate on a new generation of bio-based polymers (BusinessWire)
- How Johnson & Johnson marketed Tylenol after acetaminophen hearings (Wall Street Journal Health blog)
- OptumHealth donates more than $2 million in eyeglass frames to Prevent Blindness America (BusinessWire)
- Arena Pharmaceuticals raises $52.1 million in offering (Xconomy | San Diego)
- CareFusion files amended Form 10 registration statement with Securities and Exchange Commission (CardinalHealth)
- Health-care reform: Hospitals may take smaller payments (Columbus Dispatch)
