First Edition: August 8, 2011

In today's headlines, reports about the impact of Standard & Poor's downgrade on the challenge ahead for 'super committee' when it tries to take on entitlement spending.  

Kaiser Health News: Pawlenty Points To Minn. Health Law As Model For U.S.
Kaiser Health News staff writer Marilyn Werber Serafini reports: "GOP presidential hopeful Tim Pawlenty has scorned the health plans engineered by President Barack Obama and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, even linking them with the term Obamneycare. Instead, the former Minnesota governor is brandishing a health plan his state passed in 2008 as a model for the nation" (Werber Serafini, 8/8).

Kaiser Health News: States Face Challenges In Controlling Health Insurance Premiums
Kaiser Health News staff writer Julie Appleby, working in collaboration with The Washington Post, reports: "For many consumers, the ultimate test for the embattled health-care law is simple: Will it push down insurance premiums -- or at least slow their relentless rise? It's a pressing question for the Obama administration, which is hoping its signature domestic policy achievement doesn't end up as an election year albatross" (Appleby, 8/7).

Kaiser Health News: Capsules: Kids Health Coverage At Risk, Advocates Worry
Now on Capsules, KHN's news blog, Jenny Gold reports: "Lawmakers largely spared Medicaid and Medicare in the debt deal signed by President Barack Obama Tuesday. But activists say health programs aren't yet out of the woods, and low-income children may be at risk." Check out what else is on the blog.

The New York Times: S & P Downgrade Seen As Adding Urgency To Debt-Cutting Panel
The downgrade of the United States government's credit rating by Standard & Poor's is almost sure to increase pressure on a new Congressional "super committee" to mute ideological disagreements and recommend a package of deficit-reduction measures far exceeding its original goal of at least $1.5 trillion, lawmakers said Sunday (Pear, 8/7).

The Associated Press: More Spending Cuts On The Way: The Big Issues
Congressional Democrats successfully opposed cuts to Medicare benefits, but lawmakers didn't completely shield the program. Although there will be no initial reductions, there would be an automatic 2 percent cut to providers if the new joint committee cannot agree on a new deficit reduction package. The joint committee can include Medicare changes in its package (8/6).

The New York Times: U.S. Debt Drama Is Far From Over (Letter From Washington)
Whatever the merits of the downgrade decision, it was made easier by the phoniness of the deficit deal approved by Congress, which calls for $900 billion of spending cuts, one-third from defense. The agreement doesn't touch the two drivers of chronic deficits: out-of-control spending on entitlements, especially health care, and insufficient revenue. The super committee is being created to cut at least $1.2 trillion from the budget over the next decade or, if it fails, automatically trigger reductions from both defense and nondefense expenses. It is likely this bipartisan panel will split over whether to include revenue increases and cutbacks in entitlements such as Medicare and Social Security (Hunt, 8/7).

USA Today: Medicare Costs For Hospice Up 70%
Medicare costs for hospice care have increased more than in any other health care sector as for-profit companies continue to gain a larger share of the end-of-life medical market, government records show (Kennedy, 8/7).

The Wall Street Journal: Employment Report Shows Health Care Added 31,300 Jobs
The U.S. economy added more jobs than expected last month. And the health-care industry showed particular strength, with 31,300 new jobs — higher than the average monthly increase seen in 2007, before the recession hit (Hobson, 8/5).

The Associated Press: Religious Groups Object To Covering Birth Control
They defied the bishops to support President Barack Obama's health care overhaul. Now Catholic hospitals are dismayed the law may force them to cover birth control free of charge to their employees. A provision in the law expanded preventive health-care benefits for women, and the administration said last week that must include birth control with no copays (Alonso-Zaldivar, 8/7).

Politico: Tim Pawlenty Changed Tune On Health Care
Health care reform is supposed to be former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney's Achilles heel in the Republican primary, and it may very well turn out to be. But one dynamic that's helped Romney so far is that some of his highest-profile critics on health care — from former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman to Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) — have in the past had positive things to say about elements of both the Massachusetts health care law and the Affordable Care Act, including the individual mandate (Burns, 8/7).

Kaiser Health News also tracked weekend health policy headlines, including reports about a new round of attacks on the health law and the impact S & P's downgrade might have on the 'super committee's view of entitlement programs.