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House Democrats fret over administration's deference to states on health law
February 7th, 2012
The Obama administration risks giving insurers too much power to determine Americans' healthcare benefits if it turns that decision over to the states, House Democrats said Monday. In a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, the lawmakers raise concerns with the administration's decision to give states broad latitude when determining the so-called "essential health benefits" health plans will have to offer in order to be sold on subsidized health exchanges starting in 2014. They worry that the default benchmark plans could be too restrictive or vary greatly by state.
WSC Grants Management and Procurement Services
Washington Strategic Consulting offers full-service, turn-key grants consulting services to its clients. Read more on WSC's creative strategies to procure federal grant funding of organizations by following this link to the report: WSC Grants Management and Procurement Services
Obama calls again for capping government contractor pay
The Obama administration is renewing its push to cap the pay of government contractors, as the House prepares to vote on a bill that would freeze federal and congressional salaries. Certain federal government contracts permit government contracting firms to bill federal agencies up to $693,951 annually for incurred costs, including employee salaries, meaning many contractors earn more than top-earning federal employees and President Obama. Since 1995, Congress has tied the contractor pay cap to compensation levels for the nation’s top-earning business executives — a figure that has ballooned in the last two decades.
House and Senate at Impasse on Medicare Payments
House and Senate negotiators are deadlocked over how to prevent a deep cut in Medicare payments to doctors who treat millions of Medicare beneficiaries, an impasse that could threaten broader legislation on a payroll tax cut. Lawmakers in both parties said they wanted to give doctors a small increase, but could not agree on how to cover the cost. The issue, which is being negotiated as part of the talks over maintaining a reduction in payroll taxes for 160 million Americans, pits health care providers against one another — doctors versus hospitals — in a type of conflict that is most likely to become more common as the federal government tries to throttle back the growth of Medicare costs. The payroll legislation would also continue jobless benefits for many of the nation’s unemployed.
February 7th, 2012
The Obama administration risks giving insurers too much power to determine Americans' healthcare benefits if it turns that decision over to the states, House Democrats said Monday. In a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, the lawmakers raise concerns with the administration's decision to give states broad latitude when determining the so-called "essential health benefits" health plans will have to offer in order to be sold on subsidized health exchanges starting in 2014. They worry that the default benchmark plans could be too restrictive or vary greatly by state.
WSC Grants Management and Procurement Services
Washington Strategic Consulting offers full-service, turn-key grants consulting services to its clients. Read more on WSC's creative strategies to procure federal grant funding of organizations by following this link to the report: WSC Grants Management and Procurement Services
Obama calls again for capping government contractor pay
The Obama administration is renewing its push to cap the pay of government contractors, as the House prepares to vote on a bill that would freeze federal and congressional salaries. Certain federal government contracts permit government contracting firms to bill federal agencies up to $693,951 annually for incurred costs, including employee salaries, meaning many contractors earn more than top-earning federal employees and President Obama. Since 1995, Congress has tied the contractor pay cap to compensation levels for the nation’s top-earning business executives — a figure that has ballooned in the last two decades.
House and Senate at Impasse on Medicare Payments
House and Senate negotiators are deadlocked over how to prevent a deep cut in Medicare payments to doctors who treat millions of Medicare beneficiaries, an impasse that could threaten broader legislation on a payroll tax cut. Lawmakers in both parties said they wanted to give doctors a small increase, but could not agree on how to cover the cost. The issue, which is being negotiated as part of the talks over maintaining a reduction in payroll taxes for 160 million Americans, pits health care providers against one another — doctors versus hospitals — in a type of conflict that is most likely to become more common as the federal government tries to throttle back the growth of Medicare costs. The payroll legislation would also continue jobless benefits for many of the nation’s unemployed.
