First Edition: September 10, 2010

In this morning's news, the Obama administration takes a hard line against insurers -- warning them not to blame the new health law for their rate hikes. 

HHS To Insurers: Don't Blame Us For Your Rates
President Barack Obama's top health official on Thursday warned the insurance industry that the administration won't tolerate blaming premium hikes on the new health overhaul law (The Associated Press).

U.S. Rebukes Health Insurers
The Obama administration on Thursday told health insurers that it will track those who enact "unjustified" rate increases linked to the health overhaul and may block those companies from a new marketplace for insurance coverage (The Wall Street Journal).

Health Insurers Challenged For Blaming U.S. Premium Increases On Obama Law
Health insurers were criticized by U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius for "falsely blaming" premium increases on the health law signed in March by President Barack Obama (Bloomberg).

HHS Explicitly Threatens The Insurance Lobby
After claims from insurance companies that they plan to dramatically increase premiums this year because of the Affordable Care Act, the White House fired off a threat to the industry's main lobbying group today (TIME's Swampland Blog).

Doctors Group Sues Blue Shield Over Online Ratings
California Medical Assn. officials announced Thursday that they had sued Blue Shield of California alleging that the health insurer's new online doctor rating system is inaccurate and misleads consumers (Los Angeles Times).

For Whom Does The Health-Insurance Broker Work?
Largely tucked away from the view of the general public is an intense debate over the future role of health-insurance brokers in the United States. Traditionally brokers have played an important role in the highly fragmented market for health insurance sold to small groups or individuals. How they will be affected by the health-care overhaul remains unclear (The New York Times Economix).

Malpractice Reform No 'Silver Bullet' For Skyrocketing Healthcare Spending
The Republican chairman of the Congressional Healthcare Caucus this week said that medical liability reform is no cure for the nation's skyrocketing healthcare spending (The Hill's Healthwatch Blog).

Stem Cell Funding Gets Reprieve
An appeals court ruled Thursday that the federal government can resume funding human embryonic stem cell research while the court reviews a judge's order that had temporarily prohibited such funding (The Washington Post).

Ban On Stem-Cell Funds Lifted For Now
A federal appellate panel on Thursday temporarily lifted a lower court's ban on federal funding for embryonic stem-cell research, another twist in a battle with high stakes for science and the Obama administration (The Wall Street Journal).

US Funding For Stem Cells Gets Reprieve
A federal appeals court yesterday temporarily allowed federally funded human embryonic stem cell research to resume, the latest twist in a court case that has left the scientific community in limbo (The Boston Globe).