Funding, antitrust suit pose tests for health law

News outlets are reporting on various policy developments — whether it's the Senate's effort to fund the federal government, ongoing legal challenges to the overhaul or a Michigan antitrust suit — that create tests for the sweeping health law. Meanwhile, however, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius touts the law's benefits and warns against another challenge — that of repeal.

The Wall Street Journal: Funding Deal Snags Health Law
A Senate deal to fund the federal government until early March doesn't include money to enact the health-care overhaul or stepped up regulation of Wall Street, boosting Republican efforts to curb key elements of President Barack Obama's domestic agenda (Holzer, Mitchell and Adamy, 12/21).

The Hill's Healthwatch Blog: No Reform Law Funding Included In Newest Spending Proposal
Funding for the new healthcare reform law is noticeably absent from a bill to keep the government running through March 4, after Republicans objected to an earlier proposal because they said it funded reform (Millman, 12/20).

The New York Times: Antitrust Suit In Michigan Tests Health Law
When the Justice Department filed an antitrust lawsuit against Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan in October, the unusual action was widely seen as a warning shot to dominant health insurance carriers in many other states (Abelson, 12/20).

Kansas Health Institute News Service: Sebelius Touting Reform Law Ahead of Repeal Debate
U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius used a conference call with reporters today to extol the benefits of the health reform law and warn against its repeal (McLean, 12/20).

National Journal: Sebelius Expects Mixed Bag Of Legal Opinions as Law Moves Ahead
The nation's top health official hinted that the health care reform law would eventually wind up on the Supreme Court's docket and predicted that enrollment would grow next year in two of its signature programs (DoBias, 12/20).

PBS Newshour: Health Reform Law's Legal, Political Obstacles Continue to Mount
Jeffrey Brown discusses the political and legal challenges of mandating Americans to pay for health coverage with White House health reform director Nancy-Ann DeParle and Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, who filed a lawsuit against the federal mandate, which was later ruled unconstitutional by a judge there (12/20).

The Hill's Healthwatch Blog, in a separate story: Dems Prepare Defense Of Healthcare Law In Face Of Repeal Threats
Democrats are preparing a spirited defense of the healthcare law in the face of Republican efforts to dismantle it. Statements from lawmakers, advocates and the administration reveal a multi-pronged strategy as Democrats prepare to deal with a new Republican-controlled House that has made repealing the new law a top priority (Pecquet, 12/21).