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Senate Finance Committee Releases Policy Paper Describing Options To Pay For Health Overhaul
Senate Finance Committee Chair Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and ranking member Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) on Monday released a 41-page document outlining policy options for financing health care reform, The Hill reports (Young, The Hill, 5/18). The paper is the third and final to be released before the senators draft health reform legislation. The document says Baucus and Grassley do not support all the proposals included in the paper, but does not indicate which are backed by the senators (Wayne, CQ Today, 5/18). The options, which will be discussed at a closed-door committee meeting on Wednesday, include a number of proposed spending cuts and new or revised taxes (Drucker, Roll Call, 5/18). The report outlines several ways to gain revenue by re-evaluating the tax exemption for employer-sponsored health care benefits, which cost the government $194.2 billion in revenue in 2008, according to the report. The options include:

Schizophrenia Does Not Increase Risk Of Violent Crime
A new study from the Swedish medical university Karolinska Institutet and the University of Oxford finds that the severe mental disorder schizophrenia only marginally increases the risk of committing violent crime. Rather, the overrepresentation of individuals with schizophrenia in violent crime is almost entirely attributable to concurrent substance abuse.
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White House Refines Health Reform Message
As the White House declines direct comment on pending health care reform bills in Congress, President Obama is readying his message ahead of his second town hall meeting in as many weeks, Roll Call reports.
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Rep. Stupak Signals Willingness To Compromise On Abortion Coverage In Health Reform Legislation

Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.) on Monday said that he and House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) are negotiating to resolve the concerns of antiabortion-rights Democrats who want to exclude abortion coverage from the House health reform bill (HR 3200), Dow Jones reports. Stupak said that the compromise would affect how state abortion laws are handled under the bill (Yoest, Dow Jones, 7/20.). According to the AP/Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Stupak did not give details on the negotiations, and aides said that no final deal has been reached (Werner, AP/Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 7/21).Stupak said that he and Waxman"s staff discussed the compromise over the weekend. According to Stupak, a compromise could be voted on this week as an amendment during the committee"s markup of the bill. According to Dow Jones, Stupak holds a key vote on the health bill, which faces opposition from some other conservative Democrats on the panel over costs. His comments on Monday suggest "an easing of tensions" between antiabortion-right Democrats and supporters of the bill, Dow Jones reports. Stupak and 19 other House Democrats last week sent a letter to party leaders stating that they "cannot support a health care reform proposal unless it explicitly excludes abortion from the scope of any government-defined or subsidized health plan." They also stated that they want to ensure that a health benefits advisory council created under the bill "cannot recommend abortion services be included under covered benefits or as part of a benefits package." The advisory council would make recommendations to the HHS secretary, who would make final determinations on what public and private plans would be required to cover in a health insurance exchange. Stupak said that the two sides are "working in good faith" and that other members of the committee should not push their own abortion-related amendments (Dow Jones, 7/20). On Monday, committee voted 20-35 to reject an amendment, offered by Rep. Nathan Deal (R-Ga.), that would have eliminated a provision requiring states to adhere to minimum benefits requirements that employer-sponsored insurance must include. Deal said that states could be required to cover abortion or "out of mainstream" services. Stupak responded, "I hope we"re not going to start using reproductive rights as a red herring on every amendment that comes up." Panel Approves Sex Education AmendmentThe panel voted 33-23 to approve an amendment that would authorize $250 million through 2014 for "evidence-based" sex education programs for teenagers. Rep. Lois Capps (D-Calif.), who offered the amendment, said that abstinence-only programs would not be excluded if they are proven effective. Following debate on Capps" amendment, Rep. Lee Terry (R-Neb.) offered an amendment that would reauthorize the Title V abstinence-only sex education program. Committee Chair Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) said that Title V "has been a failure," adding that 25 states refused to accept the money through the program because it is ineffective. Terry"s amendment was rejected 26-29.The committee also voted 36-23 to adopt an amendment that would provide $150 million in grants through 2014 to state and local governments and not-for-profits for educating residents in "medically underserved" areas on various topics, including sexual behavior (Wayne, CQ Today, 7/21). Reprinted with kind permission from http://www.nationalpartnership.org. You can view the entire Daily Women"s Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery here. The Daily Women"s Health Policy Report is a free service of the National Partnership for Women & Families, published by The Advisory Board Company. © 2009 The Advisory Board Company. All rights reserved.


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