Source:
NY TimesSenator Jim DeMint, Republican of South Carolina, said, “If Senator Reid won’t slow down this debate, we will do it for him.”
Mr. Sanders was sputtering. “The best the Republicans can do is to try to bring the United States government to a halt,” he said. “It’s an outrage, a disgrace. It explains why so many people have contempt for Washington.”
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Senate Democratic leaders said they would probably accept two contentious proposals by Senator John D. Rockefeller IV, Democrat of West Virginia. One would increase the powers of a proposed new agency to limit the growth of health spending, including payments to hospitals.
The other proposal would require insurers to spend a specified share of premiums — at least 85 percent — on clinical services and activities that improve the quality of care. This would, in effect, limit the profits of insurers.
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http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/17/health/policy/17health.html