Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Weary 9/11 Health Bill Supporters Wonder, Why Won't It Pass?
House Speaker Paul D. Ryan assured House Republicans in a closed-door conference meeting that the 9/11 health program would be taken care of. But it remains uncertain exactly how that will happen. 鈥淓veryone said they were for it,鈥 said Rep. Carolyn Maloney on Thursday. "But if everyone鈥檚 for it, why couldn鈥檛 you pass it?" (DeBonis, 12/14)
In other congressional news, the Senate held a hearing on聽why agencies, such as the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, do not always listen to their watchdogs --
Federal watchdogs told Senate lawmakers Thursday that thousands of their recommendations for eliminating millions of wasted dollars every year get swept under the rug and simply never implemented. ... The auditors have made many recommendations for savings to Medicare, but although the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services said it would take auditors鈥 findings into consideration, as of April 2015 the agency has not established a time frame for improving the accuracy of its adjustments. (Rein, 12/11)
