Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations:
Kaiser Health News: 'Rest Of The Country Should Take A Good Look At The Situation In Texas'
Reporting for Kaiser Health News, Roni Caryn Rabin writes: "They say everything is bigger in Texas, and the problem of the uninsured is no exception. The Houston metropolitan area has one of the highest rates of uninsured people in America, and a health safety net imploding under the demands of too many people and too few resources. Almost one in three residents – more than a million people -- lack health insurance, and about 400 are turned away every day from the county hospital district's call center because they can't be accommodated at any of its 23 community or school-based centers" (Rabin, 6/21). Read the story.
Kaiser Health News: Health Law Is Mixed Bag For Employers
Kaiser Health News staff writer Julie Appleby reports: "A decision to invalidate the entire health care law would have vastly different effects on employers, depending on their size" (Appleby, 6/21). Read the story.
Kaiser Health News: New Consumer Protections Depend On High Court's Ruling
Kaiser Health News staff writer Julie Appleby reports: "Riding on the outcome are a host of popular consumer protections, many aimed at the estimated 18 million Americans who buy their own coverage and who face greater obstacles and costs than those who get coverage through their jobs" (Appleby, 6/21). Read the story.
Kaiser Health News: Capsules: Boehner Orders Members To Forget High Fives If Court Strikes Health Law
Now on Kaiser Health News' blog, Mary Agnes Carey writes: "Just in case House Republicans were planning a series of public chest-bumps, high-fives and keg parties if the Supreme Court decides to strike down all or parts of the health law, House Speaker John Boehner is shutting that down right now" (Carey, 6/21). Check out what else is on the blog.
Los Angeles Times: Obama Campaign Girds For Supreme Court Healthcare Ruling
The game plan likely mirrors the reelection team's strategy when the high court heard oral arguments on constitutional questions related to the Affordable Care Act in March -- highlighting some of the law's most popular elements to the constituency groups most affected by them (Memoli, 6/21).
The New York Times: Insurers Seek To Soften Their Image, No Matter How Court Rules On Health Act
Over the past year, many of the largest insurance companies in the country, including Aetna, Cigna and Humana, have introduced elaborate marketing campaigns to reposition themselves as consumer-friendly health care companies, not just insurance providers. The insurers have been preparing for the possibility that the court may uphold the most controversial provision in the legislation -; the individual mandate that would require people to buy health insurance or face a fine (Vega, 6/21).
The Wall Street Journal: Abbott Is Challenging Biotech Drug Copies
If the challenge succeeds, less-expensive versions of complex biologic drugs couldn't go on sale in the U.S. for years, and consumers may never have access to facsimiles of existing treatments such as Abbott's rheumatoid arthritis therapy Humira, which had $3.4 billion in U.S. sales last year and is projected to be the world's No. 1-selling drug this year (Rockoff, 6/21).