Implementation issues trigger action, analysis

News outlets examine health law issues ranging from how states are planning to market the health plans that will become available this fall to whether accountable care organizations will help control health care costs.

The Wall Street Journal: States Gear Up To Pitch Health Plans
Supporters of the 2010 health law are looking to draft sports teams, pharmacies and political ground operations for their biggest marketing campaign yet: persuading millions of uninsured, hard-to-reach and skeptical Americans to sign up for health plans this fall (Radnofsky and Dooren, 2/12).

HealthyCal: Can Accountable Care Organizations Reign In Health-Care Costs?
Coordination and effective use of existing resources can save money. That's the idea behind the push for innovations built into the health care reform law, like electronic health records, pay for performance and accountable care organizations. But it's unlikely that any of these innovations will be a silver bullet in the battle against rising health care costs, including accountable care organizations (Shanafelt, 2/13).

Kaiser Health News: $2 Billion Medicaid Program Helps Mostly Illegal Immigrants
During the debate over the 2010 federal health care overhaul, Democrats promised that illegal immigrants wouldn't be among the 27 million people who'd gain coverage. President Barack Obama repeated that pledge last month when he outlined his immigration plan (Galewitz, 2/12).

Medpage Today: Docs Must Take Active Role In Reform, HHS Says
The ongoing debate about payment and delivery reforms is a chance for physicians to take a seat at the table to dictate their design, a Medicare official said Tuesday. Doctors shouldn't sit idly by and take what comes to them as public and private payers ramp up alternative care models like accountable care organizations and bundled payments for episodes of care, Nancy Nielsen, MD, PhD, senior adviser at the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovations in Baltimore, said here at the American Medical Association's (AMA) National Advocacy Conference. Nielsen, who was president of the AMA from 2008 to 2009, said the practice of medicine faces a tipping point as leaders look for ways to bend the rising cost of care (Pittman, 2/12).