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Suitably opaque, Section 2006 takes up only a few dozen lines in a sweeping health care bill that runs to 2,074 pages and mentions neither Sen. Mary Landrieu nor her state of Louisiana.
Seniors would pay $49 billion in higher premiums over the next decade as a result of legislation headed for a House vote that raises fees for doctors treating Medicare patients, according to an estimate by congressional budget officials.
Overall spending on health care would rise as a result of legislation approved a week ago by the House, and billions of dollars in projected savings contained in the measure will be difficult to maintain, according to a report by a top official at the agency that oversees Medicare.
Former President Bill Clinton plans to visit Capitol Hill on Tuesday to discuss health care legislation with Senate Democrats.
President Barack Obama is pushing back a trip to Capitol Hill aimed at discussing the proposed health care overhaul with lawmakers.
Far from chastened by off-year election setbacks, congressional Democrats vowed no let-up in the drive to pass controversial health care Wednesday, arguing that the way to regain voter trust was to complete what they started in more prosperous political times.
In a blow to the White House, the Senate's top Democrat signaled Tuesday that Congress may fail to meet a year-end deadline for passing health care legislation, leaving the measure's fate to the uncertainties of the 2010 election season.
The health care bill headed for a vote in the House this week costs $1.2 trillion or more over a decade, according to numerous Democratic officials and figures contained in an analysis by congressional budget experts, far higher than the $900 billion cited by President Barack Obama as a price tag for his reform plan.
Health care legislation headed for a vote in the House would give the Federal Trade Commission authority to look into the health insurance industry at its own initiative, Democratic officials said late Wednesday.
Time growing short, Democratic leaders in the House and Senate still face key decisions if they are to achieve President Barack Obama's goal of passing legislation to remake the nation's health care system by year's end.
In the special interest war over health care, the White House and congressional Democrats have the nation's drug makers and hospitals generally on their side; the insurance industry, not so much.
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 but raises federal deficits in the process, officials said Wednesday.
More than nine months in the making, the health care bill soon to emerge from the Senate Finance Committee is the only one judged so far to meet President Barack Obama's conditions for significantly expanding insurance coverage without raising federal deficits, at the same time it slows the rise in medical costs.
His fellow Democrats shuddered and Republicans sneered when Sen. Max Baucus unveiled legislation to remake the health care system. Now, the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee gamely insists that it can pass the Senate, core provisions intact.
In the quiet of a Capitol elevator, one of Edward M. Kennedy's fellow lawmakers asked whether he had plans for a family Thanksgiving away from the nation's capital. No, the Massachusetts senator said with a shake of his head, and mentioned something about visiting his brothers' gravesites at Arlington National Cemetery.
As public pitchman, President Barack Obama accuses special interests of fighting to block his health care overhaul. "They run their ads. And let's face it, they scare people," he told one weekend audience.
A spokesman for the health insurance industry accused Democrats of mounting a "fishing expedition" on Wednesday, as individual insurers decided whether to honor a request for financial records sought in a House committee's investigation.
President Barack Obama's weekend concession on a health care "government option" drew complaints from liberals and scarce interest from Republicans and other critics on Monday, a fresh sign of the daunting challenge in finding middle ground in an increasingly partisan political struggle.
The nation's drugmakers stand ready to spend $150 million to help President Barack Obama overhaul health care this fall, according to numerous officials, a staggering sum that could dwarf attempts to derail his chief domestic priority.
Japanese automakers objected Wednesday to a request from lawmakers to change the $3 billion "cash-for-clunkers" program to allow consumers to get vouchers even if a car isn't in stock at dealerships.
After weeks of turmoil, House Democrats reached a shaky peace with the party's rebellious rank-and-file conservatives Wednesday to clear the way for a vote in September on sweeping health care legislation.
A bipartisan group of senators agreed tentatively Tuesday on a plan to squeeze an additional $35 billion out of Medicare over the next decade and larger sums in the years beyond, according to congressional officials, a step toward fulfilling President Barack Obama's goal of curbing the growth of health care spending.
Frustrated with the pace of bipartisan talks, Democratic leaders on Monday promised to push a sweeping health care bill through the Senate whether they get Republican support or not.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi says Democrats have the votes to pass health care legislation in the House, even though negotiations are under way to make changes in the bill to satisfy some of its critics.
President Barack Obama's pledge to make sure health care legislation is fully paid for excludes $245 billion to raise fees for doctors treating Medicare patients, a senior administration official said Tuesday.
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