Feb 1 2011
News outlets give status updates regarding some key provisions of the new law.
Politico: Jumping Into The High-Risk Pools
Health reform's high-risk pools, so far plagued with lackluster enrollment, are showing signs that they are starting to turn around - just as House Republicans are launching an investigation into the program (Kliff, 1/31).
The Sacramento Bee: Medical Checkups By Phone Ring Up Savings
A telephone chat with a nurse instead of an office visit with a doctor may seem impersonal, but good medicine sometimes means keeping patients away from doctors and hospitals. … Under the federal health care law, Medicare will begin rewarding hospitals with incentive payments meant to cut down on recurring - and expensive - hospital readmissions. The government expects to save $8 billion over the next decade if Medicare patients can remain healthy and avoid repeat visits to the hospital because of relapsing conditions. The approach is prompting doctors, hospitals and other medical care providers to look for ways to reap the higher Medicare payments (Calvan, 1/30).
Los Angeles Times: Buying Health Insurance For Children
If in the past you tried to buy health insurance for a child with a pre-existing health condition and were turned down, it's time to give it another shot (Zamosky, 1/31).
 This article was reprinted from kaiserhealthnews.org with permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. Kaiser Health News, an editorially independent news service, is a program of the Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonpartisan health care policy research organization unaffiliated with Kaiser Permanente.
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