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Survey finds employers 'pessimistic' about health law's costs

The Wall Street Journal reports on a survey that finds companies are increasingly "pessimistic" they can avoid health care cost increases they believe will stem from the overhaul. Politico reports that insurers are showing little interest in small business exchanges.

14 Jun 2013

First Edition: June 13, 2013

Today's headlines include reports about how employers are preparing for some parts of the health law to kick in.

13 Jun 2013

States consider rates, legislation on health insurance marketplaces

Rates for coverage offered through the online marketplaces make news in Minnesota and the District of Columbia, while bills in California could hold up the exchange's rollout.

12 Jun 2013

The enrollment push is on

During a Friday speech in California, President Barack Obama touted the health law's benefits -- highlighting the Golden State's progress so far -- in his effort to encourage young people and Latinos to sign up for coverage that will be available through new online insurance exchanges.

11 Jun 2013

Obama to tout California as health law model

President Barack Obama is slated to speak in San Jose, Calif., about the implementation of the health law and point to the coordination among public and private groups there as a model for the rest of the country. Latinos -- in California and across the nation -- will be one of his target audiences.

10 Jun 2013

Costs and coverage: Trying to discern who will experience health law gains or feel its pinch

The Wall Street Journal reports on how the law might impact small businesses that employ young and healthy workers as well as whether the measure's new coverage might be too expensive for low-paid employees. Also in the news, a report concludes that U.S. consumers who purchase health insurance on the individual market saved $2.1 billion last year due to the overhaul's rules.

10 Jun 2013

Obama touts early success for health law in California

President Obama on Friday highlighted a concentrated, localized strategy to encourage young Americans to enroll in the new health care exchanges. "Competition and choice are pushing down costs in the individual market, just like the law is designed to do," Obama said during remarks in San Jose, Calif. California is one of three states key to the 2010 health care law's expansion of health insurance to all Americans -- but especially young people (Kennedy, 6/7).

10 Jun 2013

State highlights: N.Y. hospital struggles to reopen post-Sandy; Aetna eyes acos in Ga., Fla.; doc-assisted suicide denied in Maine

Officials at the last hospital still closed because of damage from Superstorm Sandy are no longer predicting when they will be able to reopen.

7 Jun 2013

No easy answers about health law's impact on full-time jobs

CQ Health Beat parses conflicting data on whether the health law may be spurring employers to keep workers part-time. Meanwhile, Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, questions whether the projections of rising health insurance subsidy costs may be due to employers dumping coverage. News outlets also offer reports on health exchanges from Connecticut, Maryland, Colorado and California.

7 Jun 2013

Obama to tout health law in Calif. speech

As President Barack Obama prepares to highlight how the health law will help Californians in a speech he will deliver Friday, The New York Times reports that the measure's opponents are outspending supporters when it comes to television ads.

6 Jun 2013

Habilitative services face uncertain future under Affordable Care Act

Despite their inclusion as essential health benefits, habilitative services face an uncertain future under the Affordable Care Act, according to a new analysis done at the George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services.

6 Jun 2013

First Edition: June 5, 2013

Today's headlines include reports about the questions about fundraising phone calls faced by HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius during a Capitol Hill hearing.

5 Jun 2013

Medicaid expansion a good deal for states, study finds

The RAND Corp. study looks at 14 states refusing to expand the federal-state program for the poor under the health law and concludes their share of the costs would be lower than providing uncompensated care to uninsured residents.

5 Jun 2013

Viewpoints: Current insurance was made cheaper by turning away the sick; Even in Obama's Illinois, implementing changes is tough

Some people will find the new rules make insurance more expensive. That's in part because their health insurance was made cheap by turning away sick people. The new rules also won't allow for as much discrimination based on age or gender. The flip side of that, of course, is that many will suddenly find their health insurance is much cheaper, or they will find that, for the first time, they're not turned away when they try to buy health insurance (Ezra Klein, 6/1).

4 Jun 2013

Medicaid expansion deepens GOP intraparty rifts

The different positions taken by various Republican governors on the health law's Medicaid expansion underscore the political divisions in play.

4 Jun 2013

Court challenges, congressional charges and questions about key health law initiatives

The success of the healthcare law "depends on reaching everyone who is uninsured, but particularly young people who may feel like they don't need insurance," said Larry Levitt, a senior vice president at the Kaiser Family Foundation. Convincing them to spend money on insurance, he said, will be a "marketing challenge" (Gorman, 6/2).

4 Jun 2013

HHS limits Obamacare options for small businesses

A final rule released Friday confirms that a provision of the health law aimed at helping small businesses provide insurance to their employees will be limited until 2015.

4 Jun 2013

First Edition: June 3, 2013

Today's early morning highlights from major news organizations, including a number of stories detail health law implementation developments.

3 Jun 2013

Health law next steps: Transparency and 'compliance programs'

Doctors and others await the dissemination of better price and quality information and details of "compliance programs" that doctors will be required to roll out.

1 Jun 2013

Health care questions: Do medical homes improve outcomes? Is high tech worth the cost?

Joseph Ashwal, MD, knew a good deal when he saw one. … The program -- the Total Care and Cost Improvement Program -- has been a game-changer for Ashwal and his practice, Frederick Primary Care Associates, yielding more than a 20 percent increase in payments from CareFirst last summer for the group's success during 2011 in lowering spending by keeping patients out of the hospital and emergency departments.

1 Jun 2013