Dems rip White House over prevention fund: Two Senate Democrats blasted the Obama administration Wednesday for slow-walking membership to the prevention fund and for aiming to slice off chunks of a $15 billion prevention health fund. Sens. Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) and Tom Harkin said HHS “has offered few nominees or proposed nominees to fill the panel that advises HHS on how to spend the fund’s monies” [Modern Healthcare]
GOP takes up ‘Let Women Die’ bill today: The bill would ban federal funding of abortions, prohibit the tax subsidies in the health reform law from going toward a health plan that includes coverage of abortions and allow hospitals that receive federal funds to turn away a woman seeking an abortion in all circumstances, even if an abortion is necessary to save her life. It is expected to pass the House but likely won’t see a vote in the Senate. [Jennifer Haberkron]
White House threatens to veto it: “The Administration strongly opposes H.R. 358 because, as previously stated in the Statement of Administration Policy on H.R. 3, the legislation intrudes on women’s reproductive freedom and access to health care and unnecessarily restricts the private insurance choices that women and their families have today,” the administration said in a statement. [RH Reality Check]
Conrad opposes using reconciliation to repeal ACA: “Using the budget reconciliation process to repeal healthcare reform would be inappropriate, Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad (D-ND) said Wednesday.” “CBO has also said that repealing the entire health care law would dramatically increase the deficit, so Republicans would be misusing reconciliation if they tried to use it for that purpose.” [Healthwatch]
Insurers want to manage care for dual eligibles: “The U.S. may save as much as $125 billion over a decade if health insurers manage care for about 9 million people now covered by Medicare because of their age and Medicaid because they’re poor, the companies have told Congress. America’s Health Insurance Plans, or AHIP, the Washington- based trade group for insurers,” is lobbying the congressional supercommittee studying debt reduction to allow states to hire private health plans to direct their care. [Bloomberg]
Tort reform has not lowered premiums in Texas: Premiums in Texas have risen by 51.7 percent, compared with a national average of 50 percent, a new report from Public Citizen claims. “It also says the number of doctors practicing in the state hasn’t grown as fast as the overall population.” [Sam Baker]
Condom use on the rise: “A surprising 80 percent of teenage boys are using condoms the first time they have sex, a government survey finds. But another promising trend — fewer teenagers having sex — has leveled off.” [AP]
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