I am writing today to announce the closure of the New Mexico Independent. After three and a half years of operation in New Mexico, the board of the American Independent News Network, has decided to shift publication of its news…
While environmental activists played their part yesterday during demonstrations at the capitol building, going so far as to dress up as solar panels and to sing the tune of “You Are My Sunshine,” their counterparts, the anti-cap-and-trade contingency who has…
Roughly one quarter of University of New Mexico students are unimpressed with the state’s flagship public school, according to a survey that questioned college students about their higher education experiences.
Senator Tom Udall, D-N.M., joined in with ten other Senate Democrats to introduce a package of amendments designed to “encourage innovation and lower costs” in the health care reform bill currently being debated in the Senate.
“Months ago, our freshman class decided that we weren’t going to sit on the sidelines as the Senate developed and debated this historic health care reform legislation. As a group, we met with leadership, held numerous discussions, heard from experts and debated how to best improve upon the solid legislation now being considered by the Senate,” Udall said in a statement sent to the press. “The result of months of collaboration, this amendments package will build upon that strong foundation by speeding the transition to a more efficient and affordable health care system for all Americans.”
Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., was the Senator who “spearheaded” the effort according to Politico.
In a joint statement, the Senate freshmen said, “Our amendments encourage a broader, quicker shift toward a more innovative 21st Century health care system. Our goal is a health care system that is more efficient and affordable for consumers, and one which will hold health care providers and insurers more accountable.”
The amendments include three to “transform payment systems and improving quality to require the public and private sectors to move forward together on the shared goals of cost containment, improved quality, and delivery system reform.”
One of these would establish an independent Medicare advisory board which would make system-wide recommendations that are non-binding.
Another two of the amendments would “require the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to aggressively pursue streamlined regulations and anti-fraud initiatives to ensure that all sectors of the health care system work together to improve value” according to the statement.
In addition, the package would ask the U.S. Government Accountability Office to look at the current laws and what barriers to health care access they contain.
The final part of the package, according to the release, includes four amendments to “allow HHS to experiment with promising new models to further lower costs, increase quality and improve patient health.”
This includes requiring the Department of Health and Human Services to modernize data systems.
The statement also includes a list of businesses and groups that are in favor of the package including the senior-citizens advocacy group AARP and the chip manufacturer Intel. Intel has a large facility in Rio Rancho.
Another group that is on board is the Health Leadership Council, which is made up of the CEOs of health insurance companies.
