WASHINGTON — Barack Obama now has a political triumph for the ages to burnish an already historic legacy, as the first president to fulfill the Democratic dream of health care for nearly every American. Yet such is the rancor whipped up by the ferocious battle over the health reform bill sent to the president’s desk by Congress on Sunday, the impact on Obama’s political prospects and those of his Democratic allies is unclear. Obama claimed a unique place in US history when his 2008 election win gave the United States its first black president. Now, his victory on health reform, confirmed after a landmark House of Representatives vote on the most extensive social legislation in decades, has crowned a century-long, and oft-thwarted Democratic political crusade. Supporters will make a case that Obama is the most significant reforming Democratic president since at least Lyndon Johnson, who pushed through health care for the poor and seniors and civil rights legislation in the 1960s. Sunday’s victory boosted a presidency launched with stratospheric expectations, but which had recently looked beleaguered, and allows Obama to argue he has delivered the change he promised. ‘This is what change looks like,’ […]
WASHINGTON — The sweeping healthcare overhaul the U.S. House of Representatives approved on Sunday includes about $455 billion in spending cuts for Medicare and other federal health programs over the next 10 years. Here are some questions and answers about how the reforms will affect the Medicare healthcare program for the elderly. WILL THE LEGISLATION CUT MEDICARE BENEFITS? There are no cuts to the traditional Medicare benefit. The lion’s share of spending cuts are in Medicare Advantage — a program that uses private firms such as Humana and UnitedHealth Group to deliver Medicare benefits. Many of these providers offer extra coverage and some of those extras could be dropped as Medicare Advantage subsidies are bought more in line with the cost of traditional Medicare benefits. Medicare Advantage payment rates will be frozen in 2011 and then gradually reduced giving companies time to adjust to the changes. ARE THERE ANY MEDICARE BENEFIT CHANGES IN THE BILL? Yes. Medicare will begin paying for annual wellness visits and increase reimbursements for primary care physicians. Currently Medicare only pays for a general checkup when someone first enters the program and many health analysts believe regular check ups would help […]
BEIJING — Government moves to exclude foreign businesses from parts of China’s booming market have led to a jump in dissatisfaction among multinational companies and growing complaints of protectionism, according to a survey released on Monday. The proportion of US businesses that feel foreign companies are increasingly unwelcome to participate and compete in the Chinese market rose to 38 per cent in February, up from 26 per cent just two months earlier, according to the American Chamber of Commerce in China. That was the highest level of concern since Amcham began polling its members four years ago. The rising discontent among US businesses comes amid worsening bilateral relations and as Washington applies pressure on Beijing to allow its currency to appreciate. But the mood is not restricted to American companies, with businesses from all over the world and across a wide range of sectors increasingly disenchanted about operating in China, according to Joerg Wuttke, president of the European Chamber of Commerce in China. ‘The mood has obviously soured in several areas, Mr Wuttke told the Financial Times on Monday. ‘Businesses feel the market is growing but the access is getting narrower. He said this […]
H R 4872 RECORDED VOTE 21-Mar-2010 11:37 PM QUESTION: On Passage BILL TITLE: Reconciliation Act of 2010 Ayes Noes PRES NV Democratic 220 33 Republican 178 Independent TOTALS 220 211 —- AYES 220 — Ackerman Andrews Baca Baird Baldwin Bean Becerra Berkley Berman Bishop (GA) Bishop (NY) Blumenauer Boccieri Boswell Boyd Brady (PA) Braley (IA) Brown, Corrine Butterfield Capps Capuano Cardoza Carnahan Carney Carson (IN) Castor (FL) Chu Clarke Clay Cleaver Clyburn Cohen Connolly (VA) Conyers Costa Costello Courtney Crowley Cuellar Cummings Dahlkemper Davis (CA) Davis (IL) DeFazio DeGette Delahunt DeLauro Dicks Dingell Doggett Donnelly (IN) Doyle Driehaus Edwards (MD) Ellison Ellsworth Engel Eshoo Etheridge Farr Fattah Filner Foster Frank (MA) Fudge Garamendi Giffords Gonzalez Gordon (TN) Grayson Green, Al Green, Gene Grijalva Gutierrez Hall (NY) Halvorson Hare Harman Hastings (FL) Heinrich Higgins Hill Himes Hinchey […]
Remote Viewing the Year 2060
