Feb 3 2011
The Wall Street Journal reports on the many exemptions granted by the federal government. Meanwhile, Politico reports on the Obama administration's pick to head the HHS Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight, an office that will be key to the "reform effort."
The Wall Street Journal: Waivers From Rules Granted To Many
Hundreds of employers have received federal waivers from a new requirement in the health care overhaul law. Government figures show that 733 applicants, mainly employers and union-affiliated insurers, received an exemption from a requirement that puts their plans on the hook for up to $750,000 in eligible medical bills for each covered worker this year. Most of those plans now have reimbursement limits that are a fraction of that amount (Adamy, 2/2).
Politico: Larsen Tapped To Lead Reform Effort
HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced Tuesday that [Steve] Larsen would head the HHS Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight (CCIIO), according to an internal e-mail obtained by POLITICO. Until now, Larsen has served as CCIIO's director of the Division of Insurance Oversight. A former insurance commissioner in Maryland, Larsen was heavily involved in work in the medical loss ratio regulation (Kliff, 2/1).
 This article was reprinted from kaiserhealthnews.org with permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. Kaiser Health News, an editorially independent news service, is a program of the Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonpartisan health care policy research organization unaffiliated with Kaiser Permanente.
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