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From the legislatures: Calif. Assembly passes rate regulation bill; Wis. lawmakers vote to raise health costs for new firefighters, police

The state Assembly approved a bill Thursday that would give state regulators the power to reject or modify excessive health insurance premium increases similar to the way auto and homeowner insurance is regulated in California. Lawmakers voted 47-28 to approve the measure after Republican legislators walked off the floor in protest. AB52 now moves to the state Senate.

4 Jun 2011

Acos, medical loss ratio among health law elements drawing scrutiny

Hospitals and doctors are pushing back against an Obama administration initiative that urges them to create new organizations to coordinate the care of groups of Medicare patients.

4 Jun 2011

News highlights: Study finds reform didn't slow ER visits in Mass.; 2 ACOs take shape in Calif.; Md. hospitals report problems

Health care reform in Massachusetts only had a small impact on the number of trips residents took to the emergency room, according to a new study.

4 Jun 2011

Candidate Romney on differences in 'Romneycare' And 'Obamacare'

Former Mass. Gov. Mitt Romney, who now is seeking the GOP presidential nomination, continues to pledge to repeal the sweeping health measure signed into law by President Barack Obama. Meanwhile, fact-checkers focus on how different the federal health law is from the state reforms Romney signed into law five years ago.

3 Jun 2011

Message is key in debate over Medicaid block grant plans

Some congressional Democrats are concerned that Medicaid will become even more of a target for funding cuts and, as a result, are rallying the troops.

3 Jun 2011

First Edition: June 3, 2011

Reporting for Kaiser Health News, Marilyn Chase writes: "Memorial, a 278-bed hospital in this city 55 miles north of San Francisco, sued California to try to stop the payment reductions. Now it is part of a case before the U.S. Supreme Court that could redefine states' responsibilities on Medicaid services and ultimately determine whether Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown can go forward with cuts he says are vital to closing the state's budget gap.

3 Jun 2011

Health law gets mixed reception in Ohio federal appeals court

A panel of federal appellate judges heard oral arguments Wednesday regarding whether the Obama administration can — under the Constitution — require Americans to buy health insurance. A key issue for the judges to determine is whether the plaintiffs have legal standing to sue after one said she recently purchased coverage from her employer. The case was initially brought by the Michigan-based Thomas More Law Center.

3 Jun 2011

$White House budget meeting leads to Medicare fracas$

White House budget meeting leads to Medicare fracas

The White House meeting on Wednesday was expected to focus on the debt limit fight, but instead got caught up in the dispute over Medicare. Following the session, Representative Paul D. Ryan, the Wisconsin Republican who is chairman of the Budget Committee, said he asked Mr. Obama to not engage in demagogy about the Republicans' Medicare plan, which was under fierce attack from Democrats as essentially being a voucher program for older Americans.

3 Jun 2011

State roundup: Texas special session highlights health issues

States are slashing funding, and more cuts are expected. But in places like Reno, where police have teamed up with counselors to aid the mentally ill, the services don't seem expendable.

3 Jun 2011

First Edition: June 2, 2011

Today's health policy headlines cover a gamut of develoments, including reports about the latest Medicare dust up in the ongoing budget negotiations and about oral arguments in the latest round of appellate court action related to health law legal challenges.

2 Jun 2011

States and exchanges: A progress report

In today's Health on the Hill segment, Christine Vestal of Stateline joins KHN's Mary Agnes Carey and Jackie Judd to assess the progress - or lack thereof - states are making setting up insurance exchanges. They're required by the health law and they must be set up by 2014 to provide a online marketplace for people to buy insurance.

2 Jun 2011

HHS to reduce rates for high-risk insurance pools

The Obama administration on Tuesday took steps in the 18 states where the federal government runs high-risk insurance pools to make coverage more affordable to people with pre-existing conditions.

2 Jun 2011

Viewpoints: More on Medicare's 'hard choices'; elderly and anti-psychotics; Calif. insurance rate hikes

Unless we make hard decisions now, in less than a decade every dollar of federal revenue will go to covering the costs of Medicare, Social Security and interest payments on our debt. ... I admire Congressman Paul Ryan's honest attempt to save Medicare.

2 Jun 2011

First Edition: June 1, 2011

Kaiser Health News staff writer Phil Galewitz reports: "Trying to spur enrollment in a key new benefit of the 2010 health law, the Obama administration announced today it is slashing premiums for new high-risk insurance plans and no longer requiring applicants to submit a rejection letter from private insurers".

1 Jun 2011

Health law implementation issues: Challenges with exchanges, doc-owned hospitals

A small but growing number of prominent, Republican governors — including Mitch Daniels and Haley Barbour — are taking the lead to shape a key component of the health care overhaul their party fought so hard to kill. It's a delicate balancing act for Republicans who, on the one hand, oppose federal health reform, even challenging its constitutionality in federal court, and, on the other hand, are pragmatically trying to control as much of the implementation process as they can.

1 Jun 2011

Physicians brief Congressional staffers on patient-physician relationship

On May 26, three physicians, including Congressman Michael Burgess (R-TX), briefed Congressional staffers on the effects of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), sometimes called ObamaCare, on the patient-physician relationship and patient care.

1 Jun 2011

Government questions plantiff's standing in challenge to health law

The 6th Circuit Court of Appeals will hear oral arguments on the Thomas More Law Center case in Cincinnati tomorrow. Government lawyers say one of the plaintiffs lacks standing.

1 Jun 2011

HHS cutting high-risk pool premiums

The Health and Human Services Department (HHS) announced new steps Tuesday to bolster enrollment in insurance pools for sick people, which have come under fire from Republicans after falling short of their enrollment goals. The department announced that it is cutting premiums and easing eligibility criteria for the high-risk pools.

1 Jun 2011

State roundup: Texas budget cuts; Florida's 'F' in kids' teeth; new insurance programs for Conn., Maine

Texas lawmakers adopted a state budget Saturday night ... Facing a massive revenue shortfall, lawmakers crafted the $172 billion budget by making cuts and using deferrals rather than raising taxes or dipping into the $10 billion reserve fund.

1 Jun 2011

Queensland health director general quits

The director-general of Queensland Health will leave the department this week as the fallout from the failed payroll disaster continues. It was known that Mick Reid would vacate the director's chair after three years in the role. His contract expires later this month, however he will take leave from his position from Friday.

1 Jun 2011