Health law implementation efforts drawing praise from some critics

The LA Times reports that the Obama administration is taking steps to ease some of the requirements of the health law in an effort to "prevent further backlash." Also in the news, the latest on the essential benefits rule and more on the early retiree program.

Los Angeles Times: Obama Administration Wins Plaudits From Health Care Law Critics
As President Obama gears up his reelection campaign, his administration is laboring to soften the impact of last year's sweeping health care law in a bid to prevent further political backlash. The campaign to minimize disruptions -; by easing requirements for insurers, employers, doctors and others -; is winning cautious praise from some of the toughest critics of the law in the business community (Levey, 12/14).

Politico: 2012 Fallout For Benefits Ruling?
Try to solve this one: What do you put in a health insurance plan to make it just broad enough to cover most people's needs but not so broad that no one can afford it? That's what the Obama administration has to do with a new set of guidance, expected by the end of the year, that could define health benefits for nearly 70 million people -; and determine what much of the public will actually get out of President Barack Obama's health care law (Millman, 12/14).

The Hill: GOP Says Program For Retirees Shows Health Care Law Is Flawed
The health care law's program for early retirees is an example of the law's broader flaws, House Republicans charged Wednesday. Republicans on the Energy and Commerce Committee criticized the way the Obama administration handled the Early Retiree Reinsurance Program (EERP). The Health and Human Services Department announced last week that nearly all of the EERP's $5 billion budget had been spent and the program would shut down at the end of the year (Baker, 12/14).

Politico Pro: GOP: Early Retiree Program Shows ACA Flaws
House Republicans on the Energy and Commerce Committee said Wednesday that the premature death of the Early Retiree Reinsurance Program confirms their fears about health care reform. HHS announced on Friday that the program would stop paying claims for employers in the program at the end of 2011 -; two years ahead of its intended end date in Jan. 2014. A memo sent out Wednesday by Republicans on the Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations provided a link to the entities that received money from the program. According to the memo, about $2 billion of $5 billion total went to 20 recipients (Norman, 12/14).