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Issa seeks answers about HHS waiver process

Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., the chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, is seeking information about the process used by the Department of Health and Human Services related to granting health law waivers. He also is asking questions about why the waivers will be ending.

12 Aug 2011

State roundup: Debt deal and states; Ariz. judge appoves Medicaid plan

Many expensive programs are exempt from the trigger cuts, including most that are considered "mandatory," which means that some of the largest joint state-federal programs aren't vulnerable. Those include Medicaid, the Children's Health Insurance Program, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (welfare) and the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program.

12 Aug 2011

Viewpoints: WSJ on 'super committee'; NEJM perspectives on medical devices

At bottom, the recent deal was meant to defer the bedrock choices that need another election or two to resolve while making incremental progress. So the current exercise is about rooting out $1.5 trillion in "savings," which will mean a hodgepodge of changes at the margin, not a rewrite of either entitlements or taxes. If bigger change were possible, Speaker John Boehner and President Obama would have agreed to it.

12 Aug 2011

$28 million awarded to help establish new community health centers

The funds, provided by the Department of Health and Human Services as a result of the health law, will help an estimated 286,000 people gain access to health care, according to HHS officials.

11 Aug 2011

Kansas rejects health law exchange grant

Kansas will send back its $31.5 million Early Innovator Grant to the Department of Health and Human Services, which would have helped pay for the development of the state's online insurance exchange. Gov. Sam Brownback said he was returning the money because of doubts that the federal government would be able to maintain its promised future payments.

11 Aug 2011

Outlook: The health law and its various battles

News outlets report on how timing issues could impact whether the challenges to the health law make it to the Supreme Court in the next term, how messages regarding efforts to overhaul the health care system are playing in presidential primary states and how opposition to "Obamacare" is motivating one Republican to consider joining the presidential contest fray.

11 Aug 2011

Walgreen to sell health insurance

Walgreen Co. is thinking of selling health insurance through a private exchange set up to help consumers find insurance coverage under the health reform law.

10 Aug 2011

First Edition: August 10, 2011

Today's headlines include reports about Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's picks for the debt panel and what Americans -- according to two new polls -- expect the 'super committee' to accomplish.

10 Aug 2011

Study finds demand continues for safety-net care in Massachusetts

Even though the state reduced the number of uninsured residents in its health care overhaul, many people still get treatments at community health centers and safety-net hospitals.

10 Aug 2011

Republicans stay quiet on new health law rules related to birth control coverage

Republicans who swept to power last year vowing to repeal President Barack Obama's health care law have been nearly silent about new rules that will force health insurance companies to cover birth control and other women's health services without co-pays.

10 Aug 2011

Roundup: Mass. Gov. remains committed to health payment changes; insurers fight Fla. decision on state workers' HMO

The Patrick administration is still angling to get the Legislature to pass a sweeping overhaul of the state's health care payment and delivery system by the end of 2011, Lieutenant Governor Timothy P. Murray said yesterday.

10 Aug 2011

Pawlenty campaigns hard on health care but his own record is complicated

The former Minnesota governor is an ardent foe of Obama's health plan and dismisses health reform efforts by Mitt Romney in Massachusetts. The Minnesota Star Tribune and Kaiser Health News explore how Pawlenty handled the issue.

9 Aug 2011

Medicaid changes rile advocacy groups in Calif., N.C. and Fla.

As states seek to find ways to curb costs in their Medicaid programs, many are getting opposition from patients and providers.

6 Aug 2011

Congressional heavy-hitters back Michigan's MLR waiver request

Michigan Republican lawmakers Dave Camp and Fred Upton endorsed their home state's request for a temporary waiver from the health law's medical-loss ratio requirement. Meanwhile, The Miami Herald asks if ACOs will be the next health care revolution.

6 Aug 2011

Research roundup: Hospitalists & health costs; treating substance abuse

This study looks at the effects hospitalists -- or physicians who specialize in hospital medicine and health care -- have on patient care, costs and use of medical services.

6 Aug 2011

Viewpoints: Birth control decision fallout; docs on Medi-Cal reimbursement; cutting out middlemen insurers

The most important financial matter for members of Congress when they return from their vacation is to figure out what is essential and what should be reduced or eliminated. … Medicare and Medicaid are absolutely justified for all of us at all ages.

6 Aug 2011

Appeals court tosses out health challenge brought by New Jersey docs

A U.S. appeals court rejected a bid by group of New Jersey doctors to reinstate their lawsuit challenging the federal health-insurance overhaul. New Jersey Physicians Inc., a nonprofit group, and an uninsured patient identified only as "Patient Roe" failed to adequately plead a concrete or actual injury, the U.S. Court of Appeals in Philadelphia ruled today.

5 Aug 2011

Speculation about essential benefits package takes spotlight

As the Department of Health and Human Services works toward setting the specifics of an essential health benefits package — the minimum coverage that would be offered by plans participating in the exchanges — stakeholders are offering actuarial models and suggestions of what they think would be the best approach.

5 Aug 2011

Viewpoints: 'Real' Medicare cuts?; HIV/AIDS prevention push; contraceptive coverage

Well, not really. A primer on the debt deal's health-care bookkeeping. All politicians—but these days especially Democrats—like to pretend they'll pay providers somewhat less in the future, despite knowing that is unlikely to happen in practice. Medicare's prospective payments are low enough that further reductions may jeopardize access to care and in many cases threaten the viability of hospitals and physician practices.

5 Aug 2011

New leadership at HHS insurance exchange office

Steve Larson, who oversees the office at the Department of Health and Human Services that includes planning for the exchanges, will join forces with another HHS official to take on this effort. Meanwhile, KHN's Julie Appleby provides an exchanges primer and from Minnesota, an update on the state's progress.

4 Aug 2011