Happy New Year! Three weeks into 2010, we find the health care debate in a new, but still unclear, place – especially with the win on Tuesday of Republican candidate Scott Brown in Massachusetts, who beat Democrat Martha Coakley in Tuesday’s special election for the former Senate seat of longtime statesman, Edward M. Kennedy.
We have to agree with the pundits. This marks a critical turning point in the year-long debate about health care reform.
Of course, no one knows exactly what will happen next because the issues are so complex and volatile – including the public option, how to pay for the reform, who pays for the reform, the question of abortion, exchanges, “big” personalities and potential backlash from voters.
From our point of view, it seems that the Democrats have isolated themselves from the Republicans in order to craft a compromise bill between the House and Senate. The hope was to have a bill to the President before the State of the Union address, but with the election of Scott Brown that seems highly unlikely.
What is likely is that the process will be delayed even more and eventually presented as a scaled down version of either bill that has been presented thus far. We will keep you posted as the debate continues.
For now, we invite you to read the interesting articles in this issue of our monthly newsletter:
- Four Ways to Slash Health Care Costs in 2010 by Scott Golden
- ARRA COBRA Subsidy Has Been Extended by Jack Cohen
- Keep those New Year’s Resolutions Injury-Free by Dr. Greg Swistak
- How to Successfully Manage Conflict in the Workplace by Anne Lee
- And in the second chapter of their new book, “You Gotta Laugh: Life in the Trenches of the Health Care Business,” Stephanie Cohen and Scott Golden discuss The Importance of Continuity of Care
From all of us at Golden & Cohen, here’s to your health in 2010!
Stephanie Cohen, CEO, stephanie@golden-cohen.com
Scott Golden, CFO, scott@golden-cohen.com
Jack Cohen, COO, jack@golden-cohen.com