Times Leader

Author: By Andrew M. Seder

Article Date: 9/4/2009

Nearly 100 residents and employees of Riverstreet Manor in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, yesterday signed a petition to be delivered to members of Congress in advance of the start of the fall session in Washington, D.C. next week.

Ron Patti, administrator at Riverstreet Manor, said that the “huge” and “devastating” cuts in Medicare funding would force facilities to scale back services and staff and some could close.
“Our voices can carry, with this petition, all the way through the halls of Congress,” Patti said.
Lisa Cantrell, president of The Coalition to Protect Senior Care, said that although the coalition “wholeheartedly supports”  health care reform, the group is “opposed to financing it through cutting the Medicare Part A funding.”

State/Province: Pennsylvania

The Hill

Author: Bolton

Article Date: 9/4/2009

The Gang of Six, a group comprised of Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT), Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME), GOP Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Mike Enzi (R-WY), Sens. Kent Conrad (D-ND) and Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), will be holding a teleconference this morning in a last ditch effort to reach a bipartisan compromise on health care reform. The group has been meeting regularly and requested a delay beyond the September 15 deadline set by President Obama. Recently Baucus has expressed that the pressure from the GOP may prove too much for the group to work through. “I talked to them and they all want to do healthcare reform,” said Baucus to The Associated Press in the last few days. “But the sad part is a lot of politics have crept in. They’re being told by the Republican Party not to participate.”

USA Today

Author: By John Fritze

Article Date: 9/4/2009

Over the August recess, lawmakers attended town hall meetings and addressed vocally oppositional crowds in many cases. Though lawmakers have been struggling to reach agreements over the terms of the health care bill in Washington, in front of home town crowds many have claimed that they will hold true to promises made to constituents. Unfortunately, if every lawmaker involved in health care reform stands his or her ground, it is unlikely agreements will be reached or that any bill could be passed. With so many town hall promises now immortalized on electronic venues like YouTube, lawmakers may worry about how any future compromise might be used against them when running for reelection.

New York Times

Author: By Robert Pear and Jackie Calmes

Article Date: 9/4/2009

Recent talks in Washington have resulted in a possible compromise over the public health plan. The suggestion has now been made that this government run health plan could be used as a back up plan in the event that private insurers refuse to offer plans affordable for those in the low-income bracket. Paramount to the talks is Senator Olympia J. Snowe (R-ME). Sen. Snowe is considered by many Democrats to be the most likely source for finding GOP reconciliation.