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GOP prepares to challenge health law on federal, state levels

Congressional Republicans said on Sunday they plan a full-scale assault against President Barack Obama's healthcare overhaul next year but acknowledged it could take until after the 2012 presidential election to repeal it. Representative Paul Ryan, expected to become chairman of the House Budget Committee chairman, said his fellow Republicans will try to deny funding for implementation of the healthcare legislation and hold hearings to point out its shortcomings when the new Congress convenes in January.

8 Nov 2010

Medicare Roundup: Courts widen coverage of skilled care; experts give enrollment advice

Two federal courts have ruled that the Obama administration is using overly strict standards to determine whether older Americans are entitled to Medicare coverage of skilled nursing home care and home health care.

3 Nov 2010

Health law implementation hitting snags

Despite pledges to leave employer-based health plans intact, benefits consultants say some firms are considering ending or reducing coverage for their workers, The Associated Press reports, adding: "That's just not going to happen, White House officials say." But an executive for the consulting firm Deloitte said, "What we are hearing in our meetings is, 'We don't want to be the first one to drop benefits, but we would be the fast second.' We are hearing that a lot."

25 Oct 2010

State officials adopt standards for insurers' expenses

The New York Times: "State insurance commissioners on Thursday unanimously endorsed tough new standards that would require many health insurance companies to spend more of each premium dollar for the benefit of consumers. The new federal health care law stipulates that at least 80 percent of premium revenue must be spent on medical care and 'activities that improve health care quality' for patients — not retained as profits or used to pay executive compensation and administrative expenses.

25 Oct 2010

DOJ sues Michigan Blue Cross Blue Shield over pricing deals

The U.S. Justice Department is suing Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and alleging that it violated antitrust laws by forcing hospitals to charge higher prices to rival insurers.

20 Oct 2010

HHS limits, but can't eliminate, child-only policy double-standards

The New York Times: "The Obama administration, aiming to encourage health insurance companies to offer child-only policies, said Wednesday that they could charge higher premiums for coverage of children with serious medical problems, if state law allowed it. ... Earlier this year, major insurers, faced with an unprofitable business, stopped issuing new child-only policies.

15 Oct 2010

Global study finds new set of genes associated with body fat distribution and obesity

Two major international studies looking at data from a quarter of a million people around the globe have found a new set of genes associated with body fat distribution and obesity. Researchers at 280 institutions worldwide, including Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University, conducted the studies. The research, published in the October 10 online edition of Nature Genetics, sheds light on the biological processes involved in body fat distribution, possibly leading to new ways of treating obesity.

12 Oct 2010

Drug companies accused of skirting requirement to submit prices

Drug makers frequently ignore a federal requirement that they submit "pricing data needed to calculate discounts on medications prescribed for poor people under Medicaid, federal investigators say in a new report," The New York Times reports.

4 Oct 2010

Report says drugmakers failing to give Medicaid adequate price data

Drug manufacturers often flout a federal law that requires them to provide the government with pricing data needed to calculate discounts on medications prescribed for poor people under Medicaid, federal investigators say in a new report.

4 Oct 2010

Critics say school lunch bill could damage food stamp program

The New York Times: "In her campaign to reduce childhood obesity and improve school nutrition, Michelle Obama has become entangled in a fight with White House allies, including liberal Democrats and advocates for the poor." The bill, which the House is expected to consider in the next few days, "would come up with some of the money by cutting future food stamp benefits. When the Senate passed the bill in early August, Mrs. Obama said she was thrilled. But anti-hunger groups were not.

24 Sep 2010

Insurers face barrage of challenges in overhaul's rollout

The first big wave of new rules under the federal health care law goes into effect on Thursday, leaving many insurers scrambling to get ahead of the changes. Insurers are cutting administrative staff to lower overhead costs, investing in big technology upgrades and training employees to field the expected influx of customer inquiries.

24 Sep 2010

Republicans plan to chip away at health law; Senators call for insurance rate hearings

The New York Times: Republicans are hopeful they can pick up enough seats in November's midterm elections to chip away at the new health law. "This goal, though not fleshed out in a detailed legislative proposal, is much more than a campaign slogan. That conclusion emerged from interviews with a wide range of Republican lawmakers, who said they were determined to chip away at the law if they could not dismantle it." Republicans are expected to release specifics of the plan Thursday.

22 Sep 2010

As overhaul unfolds, interest in at least one change spreads across aisle

At least one aspect of the GOP's health overhaul repeal push has become bipartisan: Objections to a provision requiring businesses that file 1099 tax forms to provide line-item detail of any purchases of $600 or more in a given year, The New York Times reports. Democrats, including Florida Sen. Bill Nelson, are saying they, too, would like to change the provision.

13 Sep 2010

Overhaul's effect on health spending minimal, government study says

The health overhaul and other recent legislative and regulatory changes will only modestly increase the nation's health tab through 2019, according to a government study published today, Kaiser Health News reports.

10 Sep 2010

Obama administration rewriting medical privacy rules

The Obama administration is rewriting new rules on medical privacy after an outpouring of criticism from consumer groups and members of Congress who say the rules do not adequately protect the rights of patients. Hospitals and insurance companies, seeking to maintain greater control over patient notification, generally support the rules.

23 Aug 2010

Recession led to cuts in health system use

The New York Times: The recession is causing d people in the United States to cut their use of the health care system "much deeper than in countries with universal health care systems," a new report says. "The study, published by the National Bureau of Economic Research, finds that 'Americans, who face higher out-of-pocket health care costs, have reduced their routine medical care' much more than people in Britain, Canada, France and Germany.

18 Aug 2010

States scrambling to ensure they comply with health reform law

The New York Times reports that some states are scrambling to ensure they can comply with the new federal health law. "Insurance commissioners in about half the states say they do not have clear authority to enforce consumer protection standards that take effect next month. Federal and state officials are searching for ways to plug the gap. Otherwise, they say, the ability of consumers to secure the benefits of the new law could vary widely, depending on where they live."

17 Aug 2010

Payment practices investigated; Texas docs team with hospitals on payment reform

The New York Times: The Obama administration is investigating widespread practices that don't pay nurses and other employees at hospitals and nursing homes properly for overtime they work. "Hospitals around the country have paid millions of dollars in back wages to settle claims by the government and their employees. And many more hospitals are fighting class-action lawsuits that raise the same issues." Settlements have been reached in St. Louis, Boston and California.

11 Aug 2010

Upbeat Medicare solvency report quickly finds doubters

The new health law will buttress Medicare for a dozen more years than previously expected, according a report issued Thursday by the program's trustees, The Washington Post reports. But, "[t]he relatively bright picture of Medicare's future triggered immediate debate over whether the forecast by the trustees, all members of President Obama's Cabinet, is realistic.

7 Aug 2010

New health law is uncharted terrain for administration, insurers

The White House pressured insurers to begin covering kids with pre-existing conditions as soon as the health overhaul law was enacted, The New York Times reports. But after a few months, some insurers decided to stop offering "child only" plans altogether to minimize their losses. The give-and-take resulted in the White House saying insurers could limit enrollment to specific periods last week.

4 Aug 2010