Administration report finds 2.5 million young adults gain health insurance coverage

A report to be released today by the Obama administration finds that the number of people between the ages of 19 and 25 who have gained coverage exceeds earlier estimates.

The Associated Press: 2.5M Young Adults Gain Coverage
The number of young adults lacking medical coverage has shrunk by 2.5 million since the new health care overhaul law took effect, according to a new analysis the Obama administration is to release Wednesday. That drop is 2 1/2 times as large as the drop indicated by previous government and private estimates from earlier this year, which showed about 1 million Americans ages 19-25 had gained coverage (Alonso-Zaldivar, 12/14).

Politico: Report: 2.5M More Young Insured
President Obama's health care reforms have allowed 2.5 million young adults to get medical coverage, according to a new analysis that the Obama administration is set to release Wednesday. The Obama administration says the dramatic decrease in the number of uninsured young adults is due to the president's signature health care reforms, reports the AP, which obtained a copy of the analysis (Mak, 12/14).

Still, a new survey finds that physicians have mixed feelings about the health law -;  

The Wall Street Journal's Health Blog: Survey: Doctors Have Mixed Feelings About Health Law
Some 44 percent of doctors said the law was "a good start," according to a survey carried out by the Deloitte Center for Health Solutions consulting group. Another 44 percent agreed that the law was "a step in the wrong direction" (Radnofsky, 12/13).

In other news, media outlets report on health law regulatory developments -;

CQ HealthBeat: CMS May Offer 'Guidance' -; Not Proposed Rule -; This Year On Essential Benefits
The federal official who oversees the process of setting standards for the benefits health insurers will have to offer under the health care law on Tuesday declined to shoot down speculation that the question will be addressed this year through a "guidance" document, rather than through a proposed regulation as had been widely expected (Reichard, 12/13).

Politico Pro: Pioneer ACO Picks To Be Named Monday
CMS plans to announce the health systems that will become Medicare's first accountable care organizations on Monday, according to executives with organizations that will be named and other hospital industry sources. The announcement will kick off the ACO Pioneer program, a fast-track initiative that will run parallel to the main ACO program. CMS has been negotiating details of the program's operations with a group of prescreened health systems for more than two months (Feder, 12/13).

And on Capitol Hill, two lawmakers team up on a CLASS Act alternative -;

The Hill: CLASS Act Repeal Sponsor Teams Up With Pro-Reform Dem On Alternative
The Republican sponsor of legislation to repeal the health care reform law's CLASS Act is teaming up with a pro-reform Democrat to offer alternative long-term-care legislation, The Hill has learned. Rep. Charles Boustany (R-La.) and Richard Neal (D-Mass.) are expected to unveil their legislation as early as this week (Pecquet, 12/13).