Beauty really is a blessing. Not every woman has this blessing. However, everyone can make their appearance attractive and keep it that way for decades, if they listen to Ayurveda, eat the right kind of food, exercise (yoga) daily, and nurture their skin, hair, eyes, lips, foot, hands, mouth, teeth, etc with the recommended herbs.

Ayurveda never approves wearing makeup of any kind. Make-ups do not show real beauty. They are just a mask. However, Ayurveda recommends variety of cosmetics – henna, shoe flower (hibiscus), turmeric, sandalwood paste, aloe vera, etc.

Ayurveda recommends daily abhayanga (oil massage before bath), applying oil on your hair, practicing yoga, applying mascara (not the synthetic type), etc.

Beauty care massages are also recommended. Women can achieve glowing hair by applying certain types of herbal pastes, specially suited for their body or skin types. The herbal pastes can be a mixture or a sole herb – kasthoori manjal (Curcuma aromatica), mailanchi (henna, Lawsonia inermis), hibiscus, aloe vera, etc. Hair oil can have henna, hibiscus, kayyonni (eclipta alba), etc.

Another significantly important part about Ayurvedic beauty care if modifying lifestyle, eating habits and working habits according to dinacharya (daily routines) and rithu charya (seasonal routines) according to Ayurvedic recommendations. The general directions include sleeping at a fixed time, waking up early before sunrise, eating vegetarian food, avoiding fat, leading an active lifestyle, etc.

A happy face is a beautiful face. No amount of makeup can hide your worries, doubts and insecurities. It is always essential that you maintain a positive outlook to your life. This has positive effects on your health and your beauty.

Look at the famous women who maintain their youthful beauty, even into their sixties. Not every woman will be able to achieve that fete. However, nothing on earth can prevent you from enjoying your healthful, youthful and beautiful life, if you start early (at least in your 20s) and stick to the Ayurvedic principles of beauty care.

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Natural essential oils are highly effective antioxidants. Clove essential oil is one of the strongest natural antioxidants known, with and ORAC value of over 100,000 — though it might be a little spicy to use on your face. There are a great many other essential oils with strong antioxidant action packed are known healers to the skin from which to choose. For example, a study just released by French scientists note that Myrrh essential oil has a profound oxygen quenching effect on free radicals produced by the interaction of UV rays and the skin’s sebum. All essential oils used in skin care have the ability to absorb oxidative radicals, and they each have specific healing properties for the skin.

It’s simple to compound your own formula: Choose from a few readily available oils commonly used in skin care, add them to one or more nourishing carrier oils and voil?– your own personally-tailored recipe. The obvious first choice is lavender. Lavender reduces inflammation and has natural constituents which stimulate healthy skin cell regeneration. Lavender in fact began the modern aromatherapy revolution with its quick healing of burns. Really, when we come in from sun over-exposure, even without a sunburn, we do have a mild burn on a cellular level. Lavender can be used undiluted on burned his skin, and will be an effective addition to any recipe.

Blue Tansy is a somewhat more rare essential oil with profound anti-inflammatory action. Blue Tansy can be used in very dilute amounts; it is often called for in recipes at only a one or 2% concentration. Blue tansy’s wonderful aroma will have you bathing in your lotion just for its sweet berry-like scent. Blue tansy is especially effective for sensitive skin that may be prone to irritation. It is included in many eczema and allergy blends for its naturally-calming action. So if your skin is gentle, and the Sun treats it a little harshly, a little blue tansy can really help.

Everlasting essential oil, better known as Helichrysum Italicum, is a wonderful and profoundly healing oil called for when the most potent anti-inflammatory and regenerative effects are needed. If you’re looking for one of the secret ingredients in natural skincare, Helichrysum is it. While expensive, just a small amount will have important healing effects. Helichrysum is used in wound healing and scar removal blends, and will do just as well for daily facial care. For folks with an eye toward really preventing any damage from the sun’s rays, Helichrysum is a must. Like lavender Helichrysum can be used neat in emergencies, and at about 3% for a regular use skin recipes.

And for be perhaps most profound protective effects, choose Sea Buckthorn. This essential oil has been studied by Russian scientists as a protective agent for cosmonauts in outer space. It’s deep red color indicates a high concentration of vitamin A like compounds, highly regarded for their skin healing properties. Steam distilled from the berries found across Europe, it too has a sweet fruity aroma loved by many. Sea Buckthorn is useful in virtually any skincare application, and most certainly for an after-sun formula. Add at one to 3% in your carrier base.

Other additions to your formula include myrrh, as it’s antioxidant effects for the skin have recently been elucidated (use at 1-3%); natural vitamin E (use at 10-20 drops per ounce) — also an excellent antioxidant for the skin; or a form of vit. C added to many skin care preparations these days, known as ascorbyl palimate (include .5 to 1 gram per each ounce ~ you may find this in capsules, along with vitamin E at health food stores or online). All these oils will go into a base of carrier oils. Carrier oils are natural cold-pressed oils from seeds, nuts, and fruit. Good choices for your after-sun formula are Avocado, Apricot Kernel, Jojoba, Tamanu and Rosehip seed. Avocado is very hydrating, with a plethora of nutrients. Apricot Kernel is quickly becoming more popular in aromatherapy skin care for its anti-inflammatory action. Jojoba is also hydrating and healing. Tamanu and Rosehip seed are the ultimate exotic skin care base oils. Tamanu is described in the aromatherapy literature for wound healing and scar reduction; Rosehip seed has been the subject of many University studies, and has been shown to reduce the appearance of sun damage.

The recipes are really flexible; you can easily tailor them to your own needs, or to those of your children and other loved ones. These are a some excellent, effective recipes to give you a few ideas: make a base of one third Apricot Kernel, one third Tamanu, and one-third Rosehip seed. For each ounce of base, add 15 drops each of Lavender, Blue Tansy and Sea Buckhorn — include 15 drops of vitamin E and 1/8 teaspoon of ascorbyl palimate for that extra nutraceutical enhancement. You might also try a base of Jojoba, Avocado, and Tamanu; to this add 15 drops each of myrrh, helichrysum, and Sea Buckthorn. While simple, these formulas are highly effective. They will reduce inflammation and quench oxidative radical activity in your skin on a cellular level. All of these oils are gentle enough for family members of all ages, though for the very young ones use only a quarter as much essential oil in the recipe. These oils are gentle enough for frequent application, and frequent application is encouraged for the long-term health and vibrancy of your skin.

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The sudden halt to health care reform’s steady march forward came as a shock to many who saw an upset win by Republican Senator-elect Scott Brown in Massachusetts as all but impossible. But if many took delight in the election outcome’s impact on health reform legislation, Aetna Chairman Ronald A. Williams made it clear in a New York Times story last week that the country still needs meaningful health care reform – reform that addresses access as well as affordability. Everyone benefits by health reform that gets at the factors driving soaring health care costs and the loss of coverage for so many Americans. While Congress thinks carefully about its next steps, Aetna will continue to support meaningful health care reform and continue to offer responsible solutions to legislative leaders.

Federal

The election of Republican Scott Brown as the new senator from Massachusetts has derailed the Congressional health care reform train, less because Brown denies Democrats the 60th filibuster-proof vote, though that is certainly a major result, and more because it collapsed the Democratic political house of cards by highlighting the power of independent voters and the frustrated anti-incumbent mood of the electorate. Whether Democrats can regroup from this wake-up call will consume their leadership from now until the November off-year elections. How Democrats handle, and how Republicans respond to, health care reform in the short term and other key priorities – such as jobs, the economy, energy and security – over the rest of the session will underscore all Congressional decisions from now until the first Tuesday in November. In short, the 2010 elections started in earnest with Brown’s victory.

Once Democrats get past the shock of losing Kennedy’s seat, they will have to grapple with health care reform, one way or the other. The early favorites, including passing the Senate bill “as is” in the House, have been dropped for now as Democrats recognize the political cost of ramming through something unpopular propelled by political muscle only. Passing a smaller, less invasive and mostly Democratic bill has only a slightly better chance, as Republicans are not too likely to “crossover” quite yet. There is a growing interest in using reconciliation (the 51-vote tactic) down the road to pass a Democratic-only bill, once the House and Senate Democratic leadership can agree to a single bill. And, there is the outside chance that Democrats will see the Massachusetts election as an imperative to craft a bipartisan bill with Republicans that can secure 70-plus votes in the Senate. Wednesday’s State of the Union speech, followed by the party issues retreats later in the week, will go a long way toward determining which path will be pursued.

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Beauty Tips Start With Self Care

For one thing, remember that beauty really does start from within. People who have a very unhealthy diet and who don’t get enough water every day usually look very sallow with blotchy, uneven skin. All the beauty tips in the world won’t help you if you’re not watching your diet and drinking enough water. A diet high in animal fat will result in oily skin and clogged pores, and not enough water means dry skin with flakes and lines. The best beauty tips you’ll ever get will include taking care of yourself first so that you establish a “foundation” of good, healthy skin, nails, and hair.

Beauty tips also include getting adequate exercise as well. When you exercise you help your blood circulation and oxygen circulation as well, and this helps your skin to look more radiant. Blood and oxygen deliver vital nutrients to your skin and also work to take away dead cells and other impurities.

Beauty Tips for Your Skin

Probably one of the biggest mistakes that women make when it comes to skin care is to overdo their routine. They often use harsh cleansers and instruments that do nothing but irritate the skin and dry it out. Remember that even if you have skin problems you shouldn’t act as if your skin needs to be punished! Better beauty tips for your skin are to be gentle with it when you cleanse or exfoliate. Skip the harsh cleansers with alcohol and instead go for old-fashioned cold cream or a moisturizing toner. Don’t exfoliate too often; do this just once per week or even less. Be sure to moisturize every single night but again, skip the harsh chemicals. Many women have found that vitamin E oil works better than any commercial or expensive product.

Sometimes beauty tips for your skin also address your environment, which has a lot to do with how your skin looks. Keep a humidifier going in the dry months as your skin will get dry when the air around it is dry. Keep yourself out of the sun during the summer as this causes premature aging.

Beauty Tips for Your Hair

As with your skin, most women overdo it with shampoos and products for their hair. Unless your hair is very dirty or has a lot of product in it, you can usually just lather once in the shower regardless of what the shampoo bottle says about repeating! Beauty tips for the hair also include being gentle with it for better health. Get rid of wire brushes and opt for natural bristles and be gentle when you do brush. Avoid hair products that pull and tug on your hair as this can cause it to break and split. Use hot oil treatments on a regular basis as these help to restore your hair shaft’s strength and can replenish oil back into your hair. Other beauty tips include using natural products on your hair as well. Many women find using an egg or a cup of beer as a rinse can bring back the shine.

Some General Beauty Tips It may sound cliché, but usually a fresh face without a lot of makeup is more attractive to most than a woman that cakes on the product. The more makeup you heap on your face, the more likely you are to have clogged pores and other problems. So, skip the heavy product and opt for a natural look – a little bit of foundation, blush, mascara, and a light gloss on the lips is perfect for every day. This simplifies your routine and makes those beauty tips that much easier to apply!

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Reality will set in for some graduates when their parents’ plan or student insurance coverage expires, if it hasn’t already. Whether these current students are busy studying sociology or calculus, they need to make time to read up on their health insurance options before they suddenly find themselves uninsured.

“Thirty percent of people ages 19 through 29 are uninsured,” said Steve Trattner, president of Cinergy Health, in his article “Congratulations on Your College Graduation – Now Get Health Insurance.”

“Instead of being smart about the frailty of life, this age group tends to believe they’re invincible or simply do not recognize the necessity of health insurance, especially as we confront seemingly ever-rising health care costs,” Trattner continues in the article.

CNN Senior Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen agrees with Trattner’s viewpoint in her article, “What’s a Recent College Graduate to do about Health Insurance?” Cohen acknowledges that some students are trying to find health insurance, but “others, dubbed the ‘young invincibles’ think they don’t need it since they’re young and healthy.” Cohen makes the point that all it takes is “a car accident, a cancer diagnosis” to put a 20-something college grad in “real trouble.”

To save themselves the pain and hassle of acquiring medical debt on top of already-looming college loan debt, students should check out their options now.
Insurance laws vary by state. As of Jan. 1, 2009, Connecticut law states that “Every individual health insurance policy providing coverage of the type specified in [certain] subdivisions… shall provide that coverage of a child shall terminate no earlier than the policy anniversary date on or after whichever of the following occurs first, the date on which the child: Marries; ceases to be a resident of the state; becomes covered under a group health plan through the dependent’s own employment; or attains the age of twenty-six.” This law does not apply to all insurance plans.

In “What’s a Recent College Graduate to do about Health Insurance?” Cohen suggests looking into the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA). According to the U.S. Department of Labor Web site, COBRA “gives workers and their families who lose their health benefits the right to choose to continue group health benefits provided by their group health plan for limited periods of time under certain circumstances.”

COBRA is not a free option. The Web site explains that “Qualified individuals may be required to pay the entire premium for coverage up to 102 percent of the cost of the plan.”

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Home Health Care is skilled nursing care and certain other health care services that you receive in your home for the treatment of an illness or injury. This could also include physical, occupational, and speech therapy. Medicare Part A will cover home health expenses at 100%. Private duty home care is not covered by Medicare and is paid for by the individual receiving the service. This type of service usually includes housekeeping and other routine personal care services (cooking, laundry, and shopping, and live in care givers.).
This could also include physical, occupational, and speech therapy. Medicare Part A will cover home health expenses at 100%. Private duty home care is not covered by Medicare and is paid for by the individual receiving the service. This type of service usually includes housekeeping and other routine personal care services (cooking, laundry, and shopping, and live in care givers.).  

***FREE OF CHARGE***if Medicare approved

Call or email now to see if you are Medicare/Medicaid Qualified
If you or someone you know needs help with
1. Diabetes
2. High Blood Pressure
3. Wound Care
4. Arthritis/Joint Pain
5. Any Chronic Illness or Disease
We Also Provide:
1. Light House Keeping/Laundry Services
2. Senior Transportation
3. Meal Preparation
4. And Much More At No Charge to YOU!!

CLICK LINK BELOW TO WATCH VIDEO ABOUT HOME CARE  http://www.tahc.org/associations/1626/files/TAHC new VO.wmv

II. How to get Medicare Home Health Care: 

• Your doctor must determine you need medical care in your home.

 • You will need at least one of the following services: skilled nursing care, physical or speech therapy. 

• You must be homebound. Homebound means that leaving your home is a considerable and taxing effort

III. What qualifies as Skilled Home Care Services?

• Wound Care for pressure ulcers or surgical wounds 

• Physical Therapy (fall prevention, recent fractures, recent stroke, TIA’s, endurance issues, or transfer training) 

• Occupational Therapy (recent strokes, ADL training-such as dressing, grooming, and bathing)

• Speech Therapy (swallowing issues, aspiration, recent stroke, pneumonia)

 • Patient and Caregiver education

• IV Therapy

• Injections (diabetes, B-12)

• Medication Management

IV. Home Health vs. Hospitalization:

• In many cases home health care services may be appropriate to prevent an individual from being hospitalized.

• Most patients and their families prefer to stay at home rather than be placed in the hospital or skilled nursing facility when their condition allows them to remain at home.

• Home health care is usually less expensive and in some cases just as effective as care in a hospital or skilled nursing facility. 

Home health care assists a person in their recovery from an illness, accident, surgery, or change in their medical condition. Professional health care and rehabilitation services are delivered in a person’s home environment under the direction of their personal physician.        

Services offered include:     

Skilled Nursing 

24/7 Availability     

Physical Therapy 

Wound/Ostomy Care   

Occupational Therapy  

Infusion Therapy   

Speech Therapy 

PT/TNR results in home  

Home Care Aides 

Pain Management    

Medical Social Workers 

Rehabilitation 

Who pays for home health care?

If you are Medicare eligible and qualified for care, there is no out of pocket cost to you. Home care can also be paid for by many private insurances or a variety of public programs.

To qualify for Medicare home health services, there are five basic requirements:

1. Your physician must determine that you need home health care services

2. Your own physician must write the orders for home health services, and oversee your care

3. You must need skilled services that are provided by a nurse or therapist

4. Your physician must determine that you are homebound, requiring considerable effort and help to leave home

Because benefits and requirements can vary, we can help you check with payors about your specific benefits, even before beginning services, so you can have this information at the start of care. 

-Medicare pays 100% of the cost for home health care for individuals 65 years of age or over or permanently disabled.

-Private insurance will pay for home health care. Benefits vary per policy and verification of benefits is required.

-Medicaid pays 100%. Pre-authorization is required.

-Workers Compensation Insurance.-Private Pay.

We can HELP you in a number of ways.      

   ·     Patient specific health data with observations by a professional nurse are reported to the physician. 

 Helping patients and their families to understand and follow physician’s orders regarding nutrition, special diets, medications, and general nursing care:

 ·       Assisting with home management of catheters and feeding tubes.

 ·     Giving injections ordered by the physician and teaching patients and family the proper techniques for doing so. 

  ·       Helping patients restore strength and independence through physical therapy exercises, 

Educating diabetic patients on how to manage diet, insulin, and other health related measures.  Enabling the patient with ostomy how to resume a full, active life.

 ·        Assisting patients with bathing and personal grooming (ADLS).  

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Q: Why home health care?
A: Home health care is a cost-effective option for receiving health care services. Returning to one’s home and family can quicken recovery and improve the quality of life for both patient and family or caregiver.

Q: Who pays for home health care?
A: Most health insurance companies, HMOs, PPOs and Workers Compensation cover home health care. In addition, Medicare and Medicaid pay for home care services. Some insurance providers do not cover all home health services. Our staff will verify health coverage for the patient.

Q: What criteria are required for Medicare to approve services?
A: The following criteria are used to meet Medicare requirements:
• The patient is a Medicare recipient.
• The patient must be homebound. This is defined by Medicare as “normal inability to leave the home and that leaving the home requires considerable and taxing effort.”
• The skilled care must be medically necessary as determined by the physician.

Q: What if I have a problem at night or on the weekend?
A: We have registered nurses on call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Q: Do I need a physician’s order for home health care?
A: Yes, all health care provided in the home occurs under direct order and supervision of the patient’s physician.

Q: What types of services can be provided at home?
A: Many medical conditions that previously required hospitalization can safely be treated in the home. Home care services may include but are not limited to:

Skilled Nursing:
• Observation and assessment of condition
• Patient and family education of disease process
• Management and evaluation of patient care plan
• Medication education and management
• Dressing changes
• Home safety education
• Wound care
• Catheter care
• Injections
• IV therapy
• Ostomy care
• Pain management
• Diabetic care
• Nutritional support

Assistance with Daily Living:
• Bathing/dressing
• Transfer/ambulation
• Light meal preparation
• Light housekeeping
• Grocery shopping
• Medication reminder
• Laundry
• Companionship/Conversation
• Reading/writing
• Pet sitting/walking
• Escort to appointments
• Live-ins
• Respite
• Exercise therapy assistance

Q: How does Paloma Home Health Care, Inc. ensure quality care in the home?
A: Providing continuous quality care to patients is paramount to all we do. All patients are given a patient satisfaction survey that is incorporated into our ongoing evaluation process to continually increase our patient satisfaction. New programs and processes are developed through our quality improvement team to promote favorable outcomes.

Q: How do I find out more about home health care?
A: Please call our office to learn more about how you can benefit more about the service, at 972 346 2013

Q: What services can Paloma Home Health Care, Inc. offer?
A: Our services include but are not limited to:
• Supportive Care Education of Disease Process
• Individual and Family Counseling
• Management and Evaluation of Patient Care
• Observation and Assessment
• Home Safety and Emergency Education
• Medication Education
• Assistance with ADLs
• Nutrition Education
• Restorative Therapy (Physical, Occupational and Speech)

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President Obama has prioritized health care reform to ensure that millions of Americans have a fair, affordable and efficient health care system. For immigrants, this vision is far from a reality. First, the current health care reform bill treats legal immigrants unfairly. Individuals who have waited years to come to the United States will be required to wait years in order to obtain affordable health care.

Immigrants are generally younger and healthier than the U.S. population at large. However, no one is immune to falling ill or having an accident. The current health care bill would require recently arrived, legal immigrants to wait five years to obtain the only option for affordable health care coverage, Medicaid. While low-income citizens will have access to Medicaid, the most vulnerable among us will continue to wait for affordable health care despite the fact that they pay taxes for the very programs from which they are excluded. There is no sound reason for Congress to discriminate against these individuals and prevent them from receiving basic medical care.

Congress and the White House also took an unprecedented step to prohibit individuals from buying — with their own hard-earned money — an American good that could help their families. The Senate version of the health care bill forbids undocumented immigrants from purchasing private insurance at full cost in the newly created insurance marketplaces. As a result, undocumented immigrants as well as their family members, who are often U.S. citizens or legal immigrants, will likely remain uninsured and will be forced to seek care in the emergency room.

The costs of providing health care for undocumented immigrants will not disappear after passing health care reform. It is unlikely that millions of immigrants, whose contributions keep up our standard of living and our economy functioning, will be deported. Instead, the cost of care will become the financial responsibility of the patient, the provider, the local and state governments, and every single taxpayer. Moreover, in order to exclude a few, there will be additional forms, documents, and bureaucrats that the rest of us will be subjected to. Buying the mandated health insurance could feel like a trip to the Department of Motor Vehicles. Taxpayers will have to pay millions for this additional red tape and delay, all to keep a few people from buying health insurance with their own money.

Providers, employers, consumers, religious leaders, and state and local governments recognize that these policies are short-sighted and will cost all of us more in the long-run. Policies that attempt to exclude and ostracize immigrants also disproportionately harm all communities of color and immigrant-rich states like California and New York, further widening existing inequities in our nation. Yet because immigrants live in all 50 states, the intended and unintended consequences and costs of these restrictions will be far-reaching.

Ending discriminatory and exclusionary policies in this final round of negotiations is not only a matter of fundamental fairness and sound economics. It is required in order to not leave all of us worse off. Congress has a short window of opportunity to remove the restrictions on legal and undocumented immigrants in the health care reform bill. Doing so will not jeopardize the passage of the bill. Failing to doing so, however, will leave all of us, immigrant or not, worse off and wondering what happened to the promise of health care reform.

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This Week in Health Care Reform

After months of public debate and private negotiations, health care reform discussions stalled following Tuesday’s Senate vote in Massachusetts. The Democratic Senate lost its 60th vote supermajority when Republican Scott Brown was elected to the United States Senate in the Massachusetts special election.

Health Care Reform Negotiations Post-Massachusetts Special Election

Massachusetts Election of Senate Republican Recasts Debate: Following the election of Republican Scott Brown to the Massachusetts Senate seat Tuesday night, Democratic leaders have been scrambling to revive what could now be a dying bill. The loss of the Democrat’s 60th vote in the Senate opens up the legislation to a Republican filibuster – something the Democrats have managed to avoid thus far in the debate.

House and Senate Democrats met this week to discuss how to move forward with the reform legislation in light of this election and promised Wednesday that they would push ahead. There are a number of options that Democrats are considering, but at this point they have not charted their course.

On Wednesday, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) attempted to rally House Democrats around a strategy to push the Senate bill through the House and onto President Barack Obama’s desk so as to avoid the need to again secure 60 Senate votes. However, the Speaker indicated on Thursday morning that she did not believe she has the needed 218 House votes necessary to move forward. This option would have allowed lawmakersto then propose additional modifications to the approved legislation through a process called “reconciliation,” which only requires 51 votes in the Senate.

Other remaining options:

1.
House and Senate Democrats could also quickly complete the merging of the two bills and vote on the combined package before Mr. Brown is sworn in.
2.
Democratic leaders could attempt to re-engage Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME), the only Republican who voted for the Senate Finance Committee’s bill passed in October. Democrats would need to allow her to amend the bill so that she could support its passage and give Democrats the needed 60th vote; or,
3. House and Senate Democrats could essentially start over in their respective chambers and propose scaled-back versions of the bill under “reconciliation” procedures or regular order. Reconciliation procedures would greatly limit the scope of the legislation to issues only related to raising or spending federal funds; therefore, many provisions, such as creating new insurance exchanges and an individual mandate, might be excluded.

President Obama seemed to indicate that he favors having House and Senate lawmakers start over again and produce a scaled-back bill. In addition, more moderate Senate Democrats – hesitant to push through such a huge partisan bill in light of the Massachusetts election – urged leaders to slow down.
Sen. Jim Webb (D-VA) has called on Senate leaders to suspend voting on health care reform until Mr. Brown is sworn into office. President Obama and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) have iterated this same message. Further, Sen. Joe Lieberman (D-CT) called for a bipartisan effort as the best way to achieve health care reform legislation.

Health Care Reform Negotiations Prior to Massachusetts Special Election

Senators Urge Guarantee of Government Savings: In a letter sent last Thursday to Sen. Reid, five Democratic Senators asked for the inclusion of a “fail-safe mechanism” in the final bill. This mechanism would give Congress “the tools to keep costs under control should the current savings estimates fail to materialize.”

Both the Senate and House versions of the bill rely heavily on reductions in government spending, particularly around Medicare, to help pay for reform. Republicans and some nonpartisan analysts believe the government will not follow through on these spending reductions, which will lead to soaring costs.

President Obama Pushes for Less Protection for Biologic Drugs: Last Thursday President Obama pushed for a change in the health care reform legislation that would reduce the number of years that biologic drugs were patent protected from generic competition, previously set at 12 years. White House officials and Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) were negotiating for 10 years protection or less.

Members of the news media speculated that the move to reduce biologic drug protections could be a leverage point for President Obama to pressure the drug industry to increase contributions to pay for health care reform. In fact, the Wall Street Journal reported that Congressional Democrats had already asked drug companies to contribute an additional $10 billion or more, over and above the $80 billion which the industry agreed to early on in the reform negotiations.

President Obama Strikes Deal with Unions: Last week Democratic negotiators struck a deal with union officials and conceded to union demands to scale back a tax on high-end insurance plans. The deal would exempt union workers from having to pay the tax until 2018, five years after the tax would apply to other workers. While the deal would help gain union support for the bill, it would also reduce the amount of tax revenue generated by about 40 percent, to $90 billion. As such, Democratic leaders would need to find other sources of revenue to make up the difference.

Public Opinion

Exit Poll Indicates Health Care Reform as Hot Button Issue: As the ballot polls closed on Tuesday night’s Massachusetts Senate election, an exit poll conducted by Frabrizio, McLaughlin & Associates indicated that 52 percent of voters said that they oppose the federal health care reform measure and 42 percent said they cast their ballot to help stop President Obama from passing this legislation. In addition, 48 percent said that health care was the single issue driving their vote.

Polls Show Discontent: The latest Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll indicated that almost half of Americans believe the health care reform bill in Congress is a bad idea (46 percent). This figure is up dramatically from April when only 26 percent believed the plan was a bad idea. Further, just 33 percent say the plan is a good idea. Nearly half of those surveyed (48 percent) believe that passing the current legislation would be a “step backward.”

In addition, a new Quinnipiac University poll showed that public support for health care reform continues to decline. Thirty-four percent mostly approve, while 54 percent mostly disapprove. At the end of December, 53 percent of Americans mostly approved, while 36 mostly disapproved.

Looking Ahead

Currently, the path to health care reform is unclear. Democrats seek a way to secure the necessary votes to pass the legislation, and some now question the value of pushing such a large bill. President Obama had hoped to see a final bill prior to his State of the Union address, which has been scheduled for January 27; however, it appears this goal is likely out of reach.

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