Trending News Today: Healthcare Reform Uncertain Amid New Bill

In a meeting yesterday, Sen Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) criticized the Better Care Reconciliation Act (BCRA) for cutting Medicaid spending. Murkowski argued that the Affordable Care Act did not change traditional Medicaid and should not be included in the current legislation, according to Politico. Instead, Murkowski said that legislators should focus on more important and urgent aspects of healthcare reform. The senator’s position was supported by Sen John Hoeven (R-ND), according to the article. These opinions may suggest that passing the bill will be difficult since the GOP can only afford to lose 2 votes.

Results from a new study suggest that medication errors are on the rise due to in-home and dispensing mistakes. The number of serious medication errors doubled from 3065 in 2000 to 6855 in 2012, according to NPR. While a majority of the mistakes were preventable, more than 6700 errors occurred, with 414 resulting deaths. The true number of medication errors may also be significantly higher because not everyone calls poison control centers when they experience the errors, according to the article.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) is planning to roll out a new healthcare bill today. GOP leaders are aiming for a vote next week, despite signs that there is much to be done to gain enough support to pass the bill, The New York Times reported. Since no Democrats will vote for the bill, McConnell must receive 50 of 52 GOP votes. Thus far, conservative Sen Rand Paul (R-KY) has already said no to the bill and moderate Sen Susan Collins (R-ME) is fairly certain she will vote no, which shows that multiple factions within the GOP are facing issues with the legislation, according to the article.