Health Proposals Likely To Be Taken Up
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) next month would like to win approval for health care information technology legislation "before lawmakers return to the campaign trail," CongressDaily reports. Frist has said he also is considering a second attempt to win passage for legislation (S 1955) that would allow small businesses to join together to create association health plans.
However, Frist "acknowledged before the August break that the ambitious schedule" -- which also includes a line-item veto measure, an Internet gambling bill and several judicial nominations -- "would probably prove unrealistic," CongressDaily reports.
Frist said, "I realize we won't get to all of this during the four weeks we have in September" (Wodele, CongressDaily, 8/18).
In related news, President Bush on Tuesday is scheduled to host a panel discussion on "health transparency" in Minnetonka, Minn. (CongressDaily, 8/18). Bush plans to discuss his proposal for improving patient access to information about health care costs (Stassen-Berger, St. Paul Pioneer Press, 8/21).
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