Debbie Stabenow News Archives

"The Medicare Physician Fairness Act" was defeated last week in the Senate. Sponsored by Senator Debbie Stabenow , the legislation proposed to reverse a 21-percent cut in Medicare and TRICARE payments for doctors that is scheduled to take effective January 1, 2010 , and protect against future cuts in ensuing years.

Just from the title of today's Huffington Post cover story, Leaderless: Senate Pushes For Public Option Without Obama's Support , you can see that they have pretty much given up on counting on Barack Obama demonstrating leadership in the fight to pass ObamaCare.

As I listened to comments being made by senators over the last few days regarding S. 1776, it became clear to me that the promises made by some people in the past to fix the sustainable growth rate formula have been hollow.

By Nancy Frazier O'Brien Catholic News Service WASHINGTON - The push is on to get a health reform bill through Congress, and some longtime Catholic supporters of a more accessible and affordable American health system are hoping they are not going to have to push back.

The defeat that made Reid look like a putz By Jack Kelly Oh what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive," wrote Sir Walter Scott in his 1808 poem, "Marmion." I doubt Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., has read "Marmion." But he now has a pretty good idea of what Sir Walter Scott meant.

U.S. lawmakers are preparing for a big vote on Capitol Hill this week. The Senate will decide whether to extend unemployment benefits for millions of Americas.

Senators Debbie Stabenow and Chris Dodd are two of the Democrats pushing party leaders and the White House to speed up key benefits in the health reform bill to kick in by 2010.

The Senate Finance Committee's ranking Republican Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, second from right, makes a point as he talks about the public option during the markup of health care legislation, Tuesday, Sept.

North Farmington High School Principal Rick Jones is back from Washington, D.C., having been named Michigan High School Principal of the Year.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is pushing a health bill to halt scheduled reductions in Medicare payments to physicians.

Senate Democrats lost a key vote Wednesday on a controversial $247 billion measure designed to ensure that doctors experience no cut in Medicare reimbursement payments over the next 10 years.

Pro-life Democrats disagree over whether bills include federal funding for abortion.

Senate Punts on Medicare/TRICARE Fix a ' For Now Despite MOAA's strong push and 16,000 messages from MOAA members, the Senate failed to muster enough votes this week to fix the law that's scheduled to cut Medicare and TRICARE payments by 21% in January 2010 and 40% over the next six years.

Main Category: Medicare / Medicaid / SCHIP Also Included In: Primary Care / General Practice Article Date: 22 Oct 2009 Democrats backed away from an unfunded proposal to increase physician payments from Medicare in the face of opposition from Republicans and some fiscally conservative members of their own ranks, the New York Times reports.

Doctors' Medicare fees would be cut 21 percent next year unless some change is approved, and quickly, but senators sent a strong signal Wednesday that they're reluctant to spend billions on a long-term solution.

The American Physical Therapy Association is disappointed by the Senate's actions yesterday to block S. 1776, the Medicare Physicians Fairness Act of 2009, legislation that would have protected the ability of physical therapists to serve the rehabilitation needs of seniors and people with disabilities.

JOINT NEWS RELEASE U.S. SENATORS CARL LEVIN AND DEBBIE STABENOW CONGRESSMAN BART STUPAK 1ST CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT OF MICHIGAN *************************** Levin, Stabenow and Stupak announce U.P.-wide community development and federal funding workshop ESCANABA - U.S. Sens.

The American College of Physicians, representing 129,000 internal medicine physicians and medical student members, is gravely disappointed by the failure of the "cloture" vote today in the U.S. Senate on S. 1776, the Medicare Physician Fairness Act of 2009.

The President of the Military Officers Association of America was one of three major association leaders invited to Capitol Hill by Sen.

Main Category: Medicare / Medicaid / SCHIP Also Included In: Primary Care / General Practice Article Date: 22 Oct 2009 Kaiser Health News staff writer Chris Weaver reports on developments surrounding efforts in the Senate regarding legislation on Medicare payments to physicians.

Democrats lost a big test vote on health care legislation on Wednesday as the Senate blocked action on a bill to increase Medicare payments to doctors at a cost of $247 billion over 10 years.

It looked like the fix was in. The "Doc Fix," that is. As the Heritage Foundation has been reporting, the White House and Dem leaders scurried today to try and pass a $247 billion payoff to doctors groups as an enticement to support Obamacare.

As Congress shuffles through legislation on health care reform, one long-standing issue is being treated like an old maid in a deck of cards.

The Methodist Church offers guidelines to its members to lessen the chance of getting flu as a result of Communion.

Top Democrats ramped up efforts Tuesday to reverse $247 billion in projected Medicare reimbursement cuts to doctors over the next decade.

The Medicare Rights Center sent a letter to Senator Debbie Stabenow in support of S. 1776, legislation sponsored by Senator Stabenow that would repeal Medicare's flawed physician payment formula.

The controversial health care reform package just passed by the Senate Finance Committee includes a provision to prevent those with criminal histories from working within long-term care settings.

"U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., told reporters Thursday that Senate Republicans will offer amendments to offset the cost of a 10-year, $247 billion Medicare physician payment bill set for debate next week," according to The Wall Street Journal .

"A.M.A. Opens Bid to Kill Medicare." Click here to see a pdf of the original Jan.

Main Category: Medicare / Medicaid / SCHIP Also Included In: Primary Care / General Practice Article Date: 16 Oct 2009 Both the House and the Senate are considering moving quickly to bar cuts in Medicare payments to physicians.

In a surprise move, physicians will get a Senate vote as early as next week on a Medicare payment fix that helps them avoid massive cuts as House Democratic leaders work to set up that chamber's own separate vote on a payment solution.

" The MMA and the AMA are calling for physicians to rally around a Senate bill that would repeal Medicare's flawed physician payment formula and erase backlogged physician payment cuts.

I do not have much time for blogging today so I offer a conundrum instead. The thesis of Thomas Frank's What's the Matter with Kansas?: How Conservatives Won the Heart of America is that most Red State Americans do not understand that their economic interests are best served by the Democrats and have been fooled into voting for Republicans based on ...

Maneuvering to boost prospects for sweeping health care legislation, Senate Democrats hope first to win quick approval for a bill that grants doctors a $247 billion increase in Medicare fees over a decade, officials said Wednesday, a move that would raise federal deficits.

Why won't either Pennsylvania's Democratic Sen. Bob Casey nor Michigan's Democratic Sen.

Sen. Debbie Stabenow Sen. Debbie Stabenow , who serves on the Senate Finance Committee, says that a provision in the committee's health care reform bill that increases the medical expenses a person must incur before they can write them off of their federal income taxes is not a tax increase on the middle-class--and thus a violation of President ...

Sens. Bob Casey and Debbie Stabenow made an appearance on CNN's "State of the Union" with John King this afternoon, and in light of President Obama's speech last night and the march today, the topic of conversation was LGBT rights.

As thousands gathered Sunday in Washington for a march and rally focused on gay rights issues, lawmakers showed that some of the demonstrators' key goals face major obstacles ahead.

Meet the Press : Sen. Carl Levin ; Sen. Lindsey Graham ; Gen. Barry McCaffrey ; Former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen.

Arizona Sen. Jon Kyl has come under fire for comments he made regarding maternity care during a hearing on health care reform Sept.

"This is insane." Those are the words of Sen. Patty Murray, who has seldom raised her voice during 17 years on Capitol Hill.

Democrats decry Republican Party as sexist, out of touch and 'extreme' By Michael O'Brien - 10/07/09 08:37 PM ET Democrats are seizing on a GOP press release that said Speaker Nancy Pelosi should be 'put in her place' to paint Republicans as out of touch with women.

National Democrats want it known that they haven't given up on the governor's race in Virginia.

NEWS RELEASE UNITED STATES SENATOR CARL LEVIN ************************* Senator Levin introduces resolution to issue a stamp commemorating War of 1812 WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Carl Levin, D-Michigan, [has] introduced a concurrent resolution calling for the issuance of a postage stamp commemorating the War of 1812.

Arizona Republican Senator John Kyl is dishonest about health care reform and the Democratic National Committee is calling him out.

WASHINGTON -- The Senate Finance Committee's health care reform legislation will include a $5-billion allocation to help reimburse employer- and employee-based insurance plans -- including the voluntary employee benefit associations set up by the UAW -- for catastrophic claims by retirees too young for Medicare coverage.

I recently chatted with the Rev. Keith Butler, the man Michigan Republican Party leaders have chosen to be beaten by U.S. Sen.

On the cusp of a key legislative push, President Barack Obama on Monday filled the Rose Garden with doctors supportive of his health care overhaul, saying "nobody has more credibility with the American people on this issue than you do." Obama's White House event gave him another chance to frame the debate on his terms as his top domestic priority ...

Women's health groups, legal organizations and some female senators are fighting for a host of little-known provisions in the health care legislation being debated in Congress that they say will dramatically improve health care and insurance coverage for women.

Members of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Berkeley in Kensington, Calif., participate in a September 22 rally in front of Blue Cross offices in San Francisco.

Main Category: Women's Health / Gynecology Also Included In: Health Insurance / Medical Insurance ; Pregnancy / Obstetrics ; Nursing / Midwifery Article Date: 29 Sep 2009 - 2:00 PDT At Friday's Senate Finance Committee markup of its health reform, the committee voted 14-9 to reject an amendment by Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl that would have ...

Main Category: Women's Health / Gynecology Also Included In: Health Insurance / Medical Insurance ; Pregnancy / Obstetrics ; Caregivers / Homecare Article Date: 30 Sep 2009 - 2:00 PDT The following summarizes selected women's health-related blog entries.

When speaking before a veterans group last month, President Obama's words sounded simple and direct.

Some legal experts say that provisions Congress passed to defund ACORN may be unconstitutional, and the House bill in particular will alienate defense contractors, who are long-time allies of Republicans.

The Senate Finance Committee's ranking Republican Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, second from right, makes a point as he talks about the public option during the markup of health care legislation, Tuesday, Sept.

A proposal to broaden abortion restrictions under the overhaul of the U.S. healthcare system was voted down Wednesday in the Senate Finance Committee.