Latest Politics Headlines

All the headlines from our Politics Topic Page, ordered by recency.

U.S. Senate Panel Takes On Health Care Plan

Sep 22 2009 // The U.S. Senate Finance Committee opened consideration of its long-delayed health care reform bill Tuesday, with affordability topping the list of concerns for Democrats who control the panel.Committee members filed 564...

Wisconsin Democrats Promise Crackdown on Drunken-Drivers

Sep 17 2009 // Democrats who control the Wisconsin Legislature promise to focus on cracking down on drunken driving this fall, among other priorities.The state Senate began its fall session Tuesday and the Assembly starts Wednesday. The...

Critics Attacked Senate Health Bill Before Its Unveiling

Sep 16 2009 // Critics in both parties assailed the Senate Finance Committee’s healthcare reform plan Tuesday, the day before the panel publishes a long-awaited bill that could form the basis for compromise in Congress.Democratic...

Senate Panel’s 10-Year, $856 Billion Healthcare Plan Excludes Public Option

Sep 16 2009 // Senator Max Baucus unveiled his plan for a 10-year, $856 billion healthcare overhaul Wednesday that would revamp insurance rules but does not include a government-run option backed by liberal Democrats.Baucus, the chairman...

Text: Sen. Baucus Introduces to Senate Financial Committee Health Bill

Sep 16 2009 // The following announcment was released by the office of Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D,Mont.).Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D,Mont.) today introduced the America’s Healthy Future Act,...

Text: Senate Finance Committee’s America’s Healthy Future Act of 2009

Sep 16 2009 // Chairman’s Mark America’s Healthy Future Act of 2009 Scheduled for Markup By the Senate Committee on Finance On September 22, 2009 America’s Healthy Future Act of 2009 TITLE I—HEALTH CARE...

Senate Health Proposal Includes Insurer Tax, Co-ops; Excludes Public Option

Sep 9 2009 // Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus has circulated a healthcare reform proposal he hopes will win support from both Democrats and Republicans.The proposal is based on weeks of intense negotiations by a bipartisan...

New Hampshire GOP Asks Governor to Work on Budget Changes

Sep 4 2009 // New Hampshire Republican legislators want Gov. John Lynch to work with them on budget changes should the state lose its claim to $110 million in a medical malpractice fund.Republican legislators held a news conference...

Michigan Insurers Balk As Democrats Advance ‘Bad Faith’ Legislation

Aug 19 2009 // Michigan insurance companies say that so-called “bad faith” bills approved by the House Insurance Committee today are unnecessary and will open the floodgates for lawsuits against them, eventually costing...

North Carolina Senate Approves Beach Plan Insurance Reform Bill

Aug 6 2009 // A bill to rescue North Carolina’s coastal insurance plan handily passed the state Senate on Wednesday by a 42-5 vote, the same day it won approval from a Senate committee.Because the Senate version differs from the...

North Carolina House, Senate Agree on Beach Plan Insurance Bill

Aug 6 2009 // The North Carolina General Assembly has approved a bill to reform the state’s coastal insurance system that caps private insurers’ liability for any funding shortfall in the state-backed Beach Plan, reduces...

North Carolina Senate Panel Approves Beach Plan Rescue

Aug 5 2009 // The North Carolina Senate Commerce Committee today passed legislation (HB 1305) to rescue the state’s underfunded coastal insurer, the Beach Plan.The bill, which already passed the House, will now bypass the finance...

U.S. Senate May Drop Public Health Care Option

Jul 29 2009 // Lawmakers on both sides of the Capitol struggled to reach a health care deal Tuesday, with Senate Democrats near agreement with three Republicans on a plan that would not include a government-run insurance option backed by...

California Senate Passes Budget, Workers’ Comp Fund Assets for Sale

Jul 24 2009 // The California State Senate passed a package of bills early Friday morning, revising the 2009-10 budget, that was passed in February, with $24.2 billion in deficit reduction solutions and a $921 million reserve; in total...

First Senate Committee Approves Version of Health Care Reform

Jul 15 2009 // The Senate health committee Wednesday approved its version of legislation to overhaul the U.S. health industry, which is to be combined with a bill yet to be written in the Senate Finance Committee.The...

Michigan Democrats Target Insurers Over Bad Faith Claims Denials

Jul 14 2009 // Democrats in the Michigan House are pushing a dozen bills they say are needed to protect consumers from unfair claims practices by insurance companies.But insurers maintain the measures are unnecessary and will do more...

Surplus Lines, Reinsurance Streamlining Bills Introduced in Senate

Jun 26 2009 // Legislation aimed at streamlining and reducing barriers in state regulation of surplus lines insurance and reinsurance has been introduced in the U.S. Senate.The Nonadmitted and Reinsurance Reform Act (NRRA) of 2009, or S...

Ariz. Senate OKs ER Medical Malpractice Bill

Jun 26 2009 // The Arizona Senate has voted to make it harder to successfully sue emergency medical providers for alleged malpractice.The Senate’s 21-8 vote approving a bill to raise the required burden of proof for claims of...

Arizona Senate Considers Stricter Child Passenger Restraint System Laws

Jun 18 2009 // The Arizona Senate is considering beefing up the state’s child restraint system laws, to have older children ride in booster seats.According to SB 1050, existing law prohibits transporting children under five years...

Obama Administration White Paper Outlines Views on Insurance Sector

Jun 17 2009 // The U.S. Treasury department today issued a white paper entitled, Financial Regulatory Reform: A New Foundation. The following is an excerpt from the report on insurance: Enhance Oversight of the Insurance Sector Our...