On Same Day as White House Visit, Christie Vetoes State Health Care Exchanges
ABC
December 6, 2012
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2012/12/on-same-day-as-white-house-visit-christie-vetoes-state-health-care-exchanges/
With his state still reeling from superstorm Sandy, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie paid a visit to the White House today to ask the president for more hurricane relief. That’s right, President Obama, whom he toured his state with in the days following the storm, the two looking for all the world like new BFFs. BFFs without the “forever,” perhaps: Today the Republican governor also vetoed state legislation to set up state health care exchanges, from which residents can select a health care plan. The exchanges are required by the Affordable Care Act, aka Obamacare.
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Federal agreement aims to increase access to health care for Native American veterans
The Washington Post
December 6, 2012
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/federal-agreement-aims-to-increase-access-to-health-care-for-native-american-veterans/2012/12/06/076ac7c2-3fea-11e2-8a5c-473797be602c_story.html
Native American military veterans will be able to access health care closer to home thanks to an agreement between the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs and the Indian Health Service. The agreement allows for Veterans Affairs to reimburse IHS for direct health care services provided to eligible American Indian and Alaska Native veterans.
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Health care reform: Insurance exchanges are the key to success
North County Times
December 6, 2012
http://www.nctimes.com/news/opinion/perspective/health-care-reform-insurance-exchanges-are-the-key-to-success/article_82e70b38-26d6-533c-aa37-7b058946e049.html
The re-election of President Barack Obama signals full-speed ahead for the implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (health care reform), including the creation of public health insurance exchanges. The act mandates that all U.S. states and territories establish and launch their own health insurance exchange by 2014, or default to a federal fallback program. While the numbers keeps moving, presently it is estimated that between 16 and 23 states plus Washington, D.C., plan to launch their own exchanges. Another 15 said that they would defer to the federal government, and the balance are still mulling over their options. One year from now, 12 million Americans are expected to begin purchasing health insurance through an exchange and ultimately that number is likely to more than double, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.
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Bill would require abortion to be an optional rider in health exchange
Detroit Free Press
December 6, 2012
http://www.freep.com/article/20121206/NEWS06/121206097/Bill-would-require-abortion-an-optional-rider-health-exchange
Michigan women who buy their insurance from state health care exchanges would have to buy separate riders to pay for elective abortions under a controversial measure passed by the Michigan Senate today. Under the national health care overhaul, often called Obamacare, the state health exchanges are to begin operating next year. But the Senate provision would not allow the exchanges to offer elective abortions as part of their core plans.
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Raising Medicare Age May Save U.S. More Than $100 Billion
Bloomberg Businessweek
December 6, 2012
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-12-06/raising-medicare-age-may-save-u-dot-s-dot-more-than-100-billion
A Republican proposal to raise the eligibility age for Medicare may save the federal government more than $100 billion while increasing health-care costs to senior citizens, states and employers. People age 65 and older could pay an extra $2,000 for health insurance if they’re excluded from Medicare, the federal health-care program for the elderly, according to the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation. Other government and private health plans would see costs rise as would-be Medicare recipients seek care elsewhere.
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Insurance officials say co-pays won’t reduce Medicare costs
The Washington Post
December 6, 2012
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/insurance-officials-say-co-pays-wont-reduce-medicare-costs/2012/12/06/2ef2a7ec-3e4b-11e2-bca3-aadc9b7e29c5_story.html
The nation’s insurance commissioners have some stern advice about proposals to shrink Medicare spending by asking seniors with supplemental Medigap policies to pay more out of pocket for their health care: Don’t do it. The health law requires the National Association of Insurance Commissioners to advise the administration about whether seniors would use fewer Medicare services — and therefore, cost the government less money — if the most popular Medigap plans were less generous.
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Highmark CEO: More time needed to implement new federal health care rules
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
December 6, 2012
http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/business/news/highmark-ceo-more-time-needed-to-implement-new-federal-health-care-rules-665220/
Despite the federal government's drive toward its 2014 health care reform goals, the chief executive of Pennsylvania's largest plan isn't sure there's enough time left on the clock.
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CMS, ONC propose tweaks to EHR regs
Modern Healthcare
December 5, 2012
http://www.modernhealthcare.com/article/20121205/NEWS/312059951/cms-onc-propose-tweaks-to-ehr-regs
A proposed federal rule nips and tucks previously issued regulations governing the testing, certification and use of electronic health-record systems. The proposed rule, issued jointly by the CMS and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, tweaks several of the meaningful-use criteria that healthcare providers must meet to qualify for payment under the federal EHR incentive program.
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Health care savings without Medicare cuts
Politico
December 5, 2012
http://www.politico.com/story/2012/12/health-care-savings-without-medicare-cuts-84579.html
As President Barack Obama and congressional leaders continue discussions to avert the so-called fiscal cliff — the mix of tax increases and spending cuts set to take effect automatically in January — we hear a troubling but familiar refrain in Washington: To fix our deficit, we must cut Medicare benefits. That is flat-out wrong. The fact is, we have a systemwide health care cost problem in America. Health care expenditures are nearly 18 percent of our gross domestic product. The next least-efficient developed country in the world spends 12 percent of its GDP on health care. Leaders of both parties have acknowledged this dilemma. As Republican vice presidential nominee and House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan has said, “If you want to be honest with the fiscal problem and the debt, it really is a health care problem.”
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The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the Fiscal Cliff
Western Free Press
December 5, 2012
http://www.westernfreepress.com/2012/12/05/the-patient-protection-and-affordable-care-act-and-the-fiscal-cliff/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-patient-protection-and-affordable-care-act-and-the-fiscal-cliff
It’s doubtful that the country will be popping bottles of champagne on January 1, 2013—we can’t afford it. But we will be throwing confetti printed by the Federal Reserve over a cliff. As of November 27, 2012, the country’s debt was $16.279 trillion—just $115 billion below the $16.394 trillion statutory ceiling. The Treasury predicts that borrowing will reach the current limit near the end of December 2012. Right around the Mayan calendar “end date” of 12-21-12.
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HHS, OPM Issue Proposed Rules On Multistate Plans, Risk Standard Expansion
Bloomberg BNA
December 5, 2012
http://www.bna.com/hhs-opm-issue-n17179871269/
The Department of Health and Human Services and the Office of Personnel Management each released a proposed rule Nov. 30, one to expand standards issued earlier aimed at reducing incentives for insurers to avoid enrolling sick people, and the other to establish a multistate insurance plan program for exchanges that start in 2014.
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Dennis Daugaard, South Dakota Governor, Rejects Obamacare Medicaid Expansion
The Huffington Post
December 5, 2012
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/05/dennis-daugaard-obamacare-rejects-medicaid_n_2244970.html
South Dakota Gov. Dennis Daugaard (R) opposes providing health benefits to more than 40,000 "able-bodied" poor people by expanding the state's Medicaid program under President Barack Obama's health care reform law, he told legislators Tuesday. Obama's health care law seeks to provide health care coverage to as many as 17 million uninsured people who earn up to 133 percent of the federal poverty level, which is $14,856 for a single person this year, by 2022. But when the Supreme Court upheld the law in June, it allowed states to opt out of expanding Medicaid. Including South Dakota, nine states with Republican governors have announced they wouldn't offer health benefits to poor people who would qualify.
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Study: Healthcare law's insurance tax will raise premium costs
The Hill
December 5, 2012
http://thehill.com/blogs/healthwatch/taxes-and-fees/271223-study-insurance-tax-will-raise-premium-costs-
Insurance premiums could increase by thousands of dollars because of a new tax in President Obama's healthcare law, according to a study commissioned by the insurance industry. The healthcare law imposes several new taxes, including a tax on the insurance industry. The amount the government will collect will rise each year, and is expected to raise $100 billion over 10 years.
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Health Care Programs A Clear Target In Deficit Reduction Efforts
Kaiser Health News
December 5, 2012
http://www.kaiserhealthnews.org/Daily-Reports/2012/December/05/fiscal-cliff-and-health-programs.aspx
As negotiators debate proposals to trim entitlement programs such as Medicare and Medicaid, stakeholders ranging from public hospitals to physician groups lobby to protect their interests.
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Forget Taxes, Health Care Is Where the Real Fiscal Cliff Action Lies
Mother Jones
December 5, 2012
http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2012/12/forget-taxes-healthcare-where-real-fiscal-cliff-action-lies
A couple of days ago John Boehner unveiled his fiscal cliff proposal, which included $800 billion in tax revenue that he refused to provide any detail about. That gave everyone a good chuckle. But if you ignore Boehner's pro forma insistence that we should lower tax rates on the rich, the truth is that his figure is at least plausible. A cap on deductions of about $40,000 would probably do the job. That's a big political lift, but it's not impossible and it's not mysterious.
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Study: Prescription drug coverage under Obama health care law could vary markedly by state
The Washington Post
December 4, 2012
http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/study-prescription-drug-coverage-under-obama-health-care-law-could-vary-markedly-by-state/2012/12/04/d0dc3826-3e2c-11e2-8a5c-473797be602c_story.html
A new study says basic prescription drug coverage could vary dramatically from state to state under President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul. That’s because states get to set benefits for private health plans that will be offered starting in 2014 through new insurance exchanges.
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Montana stakeholders address healthcare issues
KPAX
December 4, 2012
http://www.kpax.com/news/montana-stakeholders-address-healthcare-issues/
Montana's 63rd Legislature will convene next month, and in preparation, a group of healthcare stakeholders have been traveling the state hosting forums. They agree the most controversial healthcare issue will be whether or not the Legislature chooses to expand Medicaid to include more lower-income Montanans.
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Likely healthcare deficit targets come into view
Modern Healthcare
December 4, 2012
http://www.modernhealthcare.com/article/20121204/NEWS/312049961/likely-deficit-targets-come-into-view
As federal lawmakers remain stuck in negotiations to avert the fiscal cliff, healthcare experts say they're hearing the Medicaid provider tax, evaluation and management services and graduate medical education are payment areas lawmakers could cut to achieve entitlement-program savings as part of a deficit-reduction deal. White House Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer said in a statement that a letter from House Republicans on Monday—intended as a counteroffer to an administration proposal last week—“includes nothing new and provides no details on which deductions they would eliminate, which loopholes they will close or which Medicare savings they would achieve.”
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Hoyer: Entitlement benefit cuts on the table in talks with GOP on 'fiscal cliff'
The Hill
December 4, 12012
http://thehill.com/homenews/house/270853-hoyer-medicare-social-security-benefit-cuts-on-the-table
Entitlement cuts should remain on the table as party leaders seek to hash out an end-of-the-year budget deal, Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said Tuesday. A number of Democratic leaders — including Reps. Nancy Pelosi (Calif.), John Larson (Conn.) and Xavier Becerra (Calif.) — have said they would support some spending reductions in Medicare, but that cuts to direct benefits should not be a part of the negotiations. Along with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), they also maintain that Social Security reform has no place at all in the "fiscal cliff" talks.
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Obamacare is Not a Sure Thing
Townhall
December 4, 2012
http://townhall.com/columnists/phyllisschlafly/2012/12/04/obamacare_is_not_a_sure_thing
Those who thought ObamaCare was set in concrete by Chief Justice John Roberts' decision last June are in for a shock. December 14 is the new deadline (extended from November 16) for states to let the feds know, yea or nay, whether or not they will be setting up a health insurance exchange, which is the key to participating in the misnamed Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
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Kasich: Ohio won’t run health exchange
The Van Wert Independent
December 4, 2012
http://thevwindependent.com/?p=32295
Ohio Governor John Kasich has indicted that the state would not run a health exchange under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). The governor notified the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that Ohio would not run a health exchange, but instead leave that to the federal government to do. Kasich said the decision was made after investigating all options available to Ohio under the law, including commissioning a separate study to review possible effects of the law.
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Gov. Rick Scott, other GOP governors want meeting with President Barack Obama on health care
Miami Herald
December 4, 2012
http://miamiherald.typepad.com/nakedpolitics/2012/12/gov-rick-scott-other-gop-governors-want-meeting-with-president-barack-obama-on-health-care.html
Florida Gov. Rick Scott and 10 other Republican governors are asking to meet with President Barack Obama to discuss the impacts of the new health care law. The letter, sent via the Republican Governor's Association on Monday, was obtained exclusively by the Times/Herald and outlines the states' request for more control over their Medicaid programs.
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Opinion: Medicaid expansion may be more costly than advertised
Health Policy Solutions
December 4, 2012
http://www.healthpolicysolutions.org/2012/12/04/opinion-medicaid-expansion-may-be-more-costly-than-advertised/
The federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act has radically restructured federal subsidy programs for medical care. For the first time in decades, it makes it reasonable for Colorado to begin mending its structural fiscal imbalance by reversing the excessive growth in the state’s Medicaid and child health insurance programs.
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Health Care Community Helps PCORI Take The Next Step
Health Affairs
December 4, 2012
http://healthaffairs.org/blog/2012/12/04/health-care-community-helps-pcori-take-the-next-step/
Earlier this year, the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) satisfied one of its foundational requirements mandated in the Affordable Care Act. With public input, we established national research priorities to guide our work and support our mission of improving health by producing trustworthy information that will help patients make better-informed decisions about their care. We are implementing those priorities through an ambitious research agenda, expecting to commit up to $96 million in contracts by the end of the year in response to funding announcements we issued in May. That’s on top of $31 million in funding we announced this past spring for our Pilot Projects Program.
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Health Care Professionals Descend on Washington
Roll Call
December 4, 2012
http://www.rollcall.com/news/health_care_professionals_descend_on_washington-219660-1.html?pos=oplyh
From now through the end of the year, lawmakers can look forward to hearing from physicians, family practitioners, nurses, home health workers and anyone else who provides care to patients. On Nov. 29, four hospital executives held a briefing in the Rayburn House Office Building, while members of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons visited Capitol Hill. More such events by a variety of medical professionals are planned in the coming weeks.
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How The 'Fiscal Cliff' Affects Health Care: Six Questions
Kaiser Health News
December 4, 2012
http://www.kaiserhealthnews.org/Stories/2012/December/05/fiscal-cliff.aspx
The impending "fiscal cliff" is a package of automatic spending cuts and tax hikes set to kick in next month unless President Barack Obama and Capitol Hill agree on a way to stop them. Negotiations to avert the cuts are ongoing and both sides have exchanged offers. The president and congressional Democrats have said they will reduce spending on entitlements, including Medicare, if Republicans will agree to increase tax rates on the highest earners. While Republicans have agreed to more revenue, they oppose increasing tax rates, preferring to focus on closing loopholes and eliminating some deductions.
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Will Increased Competition in Health Care Exchanges Actually Raise Costs?
National Journal
December 4, 2012
http://www.nationaljournal.com/political-landscape-podcast/will-increased-competition-in-health-care-exchanges-actually-raise-costs-20121201
With President Obama's reelection, it became a near certainty that the major components of the Affordable Care Act, more commonly known as Obamacare, would be going into effect on Jan. 1, 2014. Primarily, by then each state is expected to have what's called a healthcare exchange. Essentially, these exchanges are an online marketplace for those who don't receive insurance through an employer or for those who work at a very small business. Various insurers will be required to provide information about their different plans on this online marketplace, and individuals can go there and, in theory, easily compare plans by price, range of coverage, etc.
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IRS aims to clarify investment income tax under healthcare law
Reuters
December 3, 2012
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/12/03/us-usa-tax-irs-idUSBRE8B21HA20121203
The Internal Revenue Service has released new rules for investment income taxes on capital gains and dividends earned by high-income individuals that passed Congress as part of the 2010 healthcare reform law.
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Roe, Gingrey To Lead GOP Doctors Caucus
Kaiser Health News
December 3, 2012
http://www.kaiserhealthnews.org/Daily-Reports/2012/December/03/cap-hill-watch.aspx
Meanwhile, The Hill reports that House Republicans are likely to embrace the same Medicare cuts that GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney had assailed President Barack Obama over, but which are likely to be included again in the House Republican budget. And Rep. Jack Kingston, R-Ga., is getting encouragement to head the House Appropriations Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies Subcommittee.
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Mich. program to train doctors for places that need more
Modern Healthcare
December 3, 2012
http://www.modernhealthcare.com/article/20121203/INFO/312039990/mich-program-to-train-doctors-for-places-that-need-more
At least 85 physicians will be trained at five health centers, clinics and hospitals over the next four years under a new program to expand primary care in underserved areas. The program has been developed by the Detroit Wayne County Health Authority and the Michigan State University College of Osteopathic Medicine. The program was made possible through a $21 million, three-year grant funded by the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act also will provide funding for the physicians.
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House GOP makes a $2.2 trillion debt counteroffer to Obama on cliff
The Hill
December 3, 2012
http://thehill.com/homenews/house/270649-house-republicans-make-22t-counter-offer-to-obama-in-debt-talksklj
House Republican leaders have made a counteroffer to President Obama in the fiscal cliff negotiations, proposing to cut $2.2 trillion with a combination of spending cuts, entitlement reforms and $800 billion in new tax revenue. The leaders delivered the offer to the White House on Monday with a three-page letter signed by Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.), and four other senior Republicans, including Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), the party’s just-defeated vice presidential nominee.
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Officials negotiate sale of D.C. health plan’s assets
The Washington Post
December 3, 2012
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/dc-politics/officials-negotiate-sale-of-dc-health-plans-assets/2012/12/03/8577d706-3d9a-11e2-ae43-cf491b837f7b_story.html
City officials said Monday they are in final negotiations to sell Chartered Health Plan, a longtime provider of government-paid health care for the needy that became entangled in investigations of political corruption, to a Philadelphia firm. The prospective buyer, AmeriHealth Mercy, confirmed the talks. D.C. Insurance Commissioner William P. White, who has control of Chartered as a court-appointed receiver, said a “letter of intent” has been signed between the parties.
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Missouri Governor Supports Medicaid Expansion
Becker’s Hospital Review
December 3, 2012
http://www.beckershospitalreview.com/racs-/-icd-9-/-icd-10/missouri-governor-supports-medicaid-expansion.html
Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon (D) announced last week the state planned to expand the Medicaid program, under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which will provide healthcare coverage to an additional 300,000 state residents. "My consistent position on expanding Medicaid has been to carefully study the options and then determine what [the best fit is] for Missouri," Gov. Nixon said in a news release. "That is why the budget I plan to submit to the legislature for fiscal year 2014 will include federal funding to provide healthcare for an estimated additional 300,000 Missourians — men, women and children — who currently have no health insurance. It's the smart thing to do, and it's the right thing to do."
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HHS health rules no balm for states
Politico
December 3, 2012
http://www.politico.com/story/2012/12/states-still-jittery-after-hhs-issues-regulations-84489.html
Sure, the Obama administration is dumping piles of Affordable Care Act rules in everyone’s laps now. The danger, though, is that the rules have been held up so long that the states’ insurance commissioners — even the ones that want to implement the law — may have trouble making up for lost time. That’s the word from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners meeting near Washington, D.C., last week, where commissioners from around the country told POLITICO that the Department of Health and Human Services has left large holes in its guidance for states building insurance exchanges — online marketplaces for individuals to access subsidized insurance plans.
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NextGen Healthcare, Microsoft Launch MedicineCabinet Mobile App
Information Week
December 3, 2012
http://www.informationweek.com/healthcare/mobile-wireless/nextgen-healthcare-microsoft-launch-medi/240143070
NextGen Healthcare and Microsoft have teamed to create the NextGen MedicineCabinet, a mobile app for Windows 8 and Windows RT devices. The app is available through the Microsoft app store and lets patients create and update a list of medications, and store, track, and share medical data.
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Health insurers learn how to woo
USA Today
December 3, 2012
http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2012/12/03/health-insurers-scramble-to-market-themselves/1744147/
As the health care overhaul moves ahead, the nation's health insurers are scrambling to reinvent themselves, hoping to boost their image and entice millions of Americans to enroll, some for the first time. The new customers will mostly shop for and buy their own insurance — a different and harder-to-reach group than the industry's traditional employer clients. So insurers are seeking novel ways to reach them — online, in shopping centers, even when they're preparing their taxes.
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Healthcare law will have new California Legislature scrambling
Los Angeles Times
December 2, 2012
http://www.latimes.com/health/la-me-legislature-20121203,0,910460.story
When state lawmakers are sworn in Monday for the new legislative session, they will have little time to enjoy the pomp and circumstance. Facing a federal deadline, the Legislature must move quickly to pass measures to implement President Obama's healthcare law and revamp the state's insurance market. New legislation will help extend coverage to millions of uninsured Californians and solidify the state's reputation as a key laboratory for the federal law.
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The health care debate is coming to state capitals
Fox
December 2, 2012
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/12/02/health-care-debate-is-coming-to-state-capitals/
The issue is whether or not to expand Medicaid, the federal-state health program for low-income people. More than 15 million uninsured people are expected to gain coverage through Medicaid under President Barack Obama's health care law.
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Insurance Surcharges Will Fund Most Online Exchanges Created Under Health Law
Kaiser Health News
December 1, 2012
http://www.kaiserhealthnews.org/Stories/2012/December/01/health-insurance-exchanges-states-fees.aspx
Republican governors in Florida, Virginia, Texas and several other states say they’re reluctant to build the online insurance markets required by the federal health law because they’re worried about getting stuck with the bills. "That’s not a good value proposition for the people of Virginia or any other state," Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell told Fox News last month.
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Face the facts of the Affordable Care Act
Delaware Online
December 1, 2012
http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20121202/OPINION1805/312020003/Face-facts-Affordable-Care-Act?odyssey=mod%7Cnewswell%7Ctext%7COpinion%7Cp&nclick_check=1
The Supreme Court upheld it in June and the American people re-elected the man most responsible for it in November. As Speaker of the House John Boehner said last month, “Obamacare is now the law of the land.” After years of heated and often inaccurate debate, this is a good time to take a deep breath and review some actual facts about the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010.
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Walmart's New Health Care Policy Shifts Burden To Medicaid, Obamacare
The Huffington Post
December 1, 2012
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/01/walmart-health-care-policy-medicaid-obamacare_n_2220152.html
Walmart, the nation’s largest private employer, plans to begin denying health insurance to newly hired employees who work fewer than 30 hours a week, according to a copy of the company’s policy obtained by The Huffington Post. Under the policy, slated to take effect in January, Walmart also reserves the right to eliminate health care coverage for certain workers if their average workweek dips below 30 hours -- something that happens with regularity and at the direction of company managers.
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State health plan faces new future
Star Tribune
December 1, 2012
http://www.startribune.com/business/181586251.html
MinnesotaCare was a pioneering effort to expand coverage but will need changes to fit the federal health care law. It was a gutsy piece of legislation when it passed in 1992, born of bitter battles and a bipartisan belief that Minnesota families shouldn't have to be on welfare to get affordable health care. The result was the birth of MinnesotaCare, a state-subsidized health insurance program for working families who earned too much to qualify for Medicaid yet couldn't afford private coverage
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Debates Over Medicaid Expansion Fuel Next Round of Political Battles
Reason
November 30, 2012
http://reason.com/24-7/2012/11/30/debates-over-medicaid-expansion-fuel-nex
A battle is shaping up next year on the Medicaid expansion of the health care act, pitting state Democrats against Republicans. Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon embarked on a statewide tour Thursday to publicly support increasing the number of Missouri residents who can join the Medicaid rolls.
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Feds propose fee on health insurers in new market
AP
November 30, 2012
http://news.yahoo.com/feds-propose-fee-health-insurers-market-215018783.html;_ylt=A2KJ3CWuM7pQzCMAuirQtDMD
Health insurance companies will have to pay to play in new health insurance markets coming under President Barack Obama's health care law, the administration said in a regulatory notice issued Friday. The Health and Human Services department is proposing a "user fee" amounting to 3.5 percent of premiums for health insurers who want to offer policies in new federal exchanges coming in 2014. The fee is to cover administrative costs of the new markets, which were designed to be self-supporting.
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Want to sell insurance on the Obamacare exchanges? There’s a (3.5%) fee for that.
The Washington Post
November 30, 2012
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2012/11/30/want-to-sell-insurance-on-the-obamacare-exchanges-theres-a-3-5-fee-for-that/
The Obama administration is proposing a new way to finance the health law’s insurance exchanges: A fee levied on the insurers who sell in the marketplace. Health and Human Services will operate a health insurance exchange in all states that decline to set up the marketplace themselves. In order to finance the exchange’s operations, new draft regulations released Friday envision health plans paying a “user fee” if they want to sell in that space.
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AHIP sees insurer user fee boosting coverage costs
Modern Healthcare
November 30, 2012
http://www.modernhealthcare.com/article/20121130/NEWS/311309964/ahip-sees-insurer-user-fee-boosting-coverage-costs
The nation’s health plans cautioned Friday that a proposal from the CMS to charge a monthly user fee to insurers offering plans through a federally operated exchange starting in 2014 will result in rising healthcare coverage costs. That warning came not long after the CMS issued a proposed rule on insurance provisions in the health reform law, including one that gave HHS the authority to assess and collect user fees from issuers that offer plans through a federally facilitated health insurance exchange to help the federal government support operation costs. That fee could end up applying to plans in many states throughout the country, as just 17 states and Washington, D.C., have said they will run a state-based exchange, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.
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Legal Considerations With Accountable Care Organizations
Onc Live
November 30, 2012
http://www.onclive.com/publications/obtn/2012/November-2012/Legal-Considerations-With-Accountable-Care-Organizations
Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) are groups of doctors, hospitals, and other providers tied together to provide care to a cohort of Medicare patients, according to the the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). ACOs are an important part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and have also been gaining ground among private payers. Oncologists should be aware that the need to refer patients between ACO members can raise legal issues for practices.
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A Healthcare Plan That's Failing
Forbes
November 30, 2012
http://www.forbes.com/sites/leahbinder/2012/11/30/a-healthcare-plan-thats-failing/
A troubling study in the Annals of Internal Medicine analyzes patient-centered medical homes (PCMH), and shows essentially no cost savings and minimal if any impact on clinical outcomes. This is the latest in a series of analyses notable for their consistent conclusions that the financial impact of PCMH is – at best — nonexistent or inconclusive.
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Bloomberg Article Warns that Health Care Coverage May Not be Affordable
America’s Health Insurance Plans Coverage
November 30, 2012
http://www.ahipcoverage.com/2012/11/30/bloomberg-article-warns-that-health-care-coverage-may-not-be-affordable/
An article in Bloomberg examines the affordability of health care coverage as the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is implemented. While the ACA will help many uninsured Americans get coverage for the first time, the article warns that the new coverage may “come at a potentially unaffordable cost.” AHIP has been focused on raising awareness of factors driving premium increases, including soaring medical costs and provisions in the ACA, such as the new health insurance tax, costly benefit requirements, and age rating restrictions, which will significantly add to the cost of coverage.
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Pay a penalty? Small business owners face health care dilemma
Mercury News
November 30, 2012
http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_22100658/pay-penalty-small-business-owners-face-health-care
Rose Wang looks at her staff of 70 employees and wonders if she'll have to lay off some of them to comply with the health care law. The owner of Binary Group Inc., an information technology firm based in Alexandria, Va., is one of many small business owners who will be required to provide health insurance for her staffers under a provision of the law that goes into effect on Jan. 1, 2014. Wang already provides insurance, but she has struggled with premiums that have soared as much as 60 percent annually, so she requires employees to contribute to their coverage. She's worried because she doesn't know how much she'll have to pay under the Affordable Care Act.
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Small Employers Weigh Impact of Providing Health Insurance
The New York Times
November 30, 2012
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/01/business/small-employers-weigh-impact-of-providing-health-insurance.html?adxnnl=1&pagewanted=all&adxnnlx=1354648114-N2ueBWJC4v/Eov9n+eEUrA
Like many franchisees, Robert U. Mayfield, who owns five Dairy Queens in and around Austin, Tex., is always eager to expand and — no surprise — has had his eyes on opening a sixth DQ. But he said concerns about the new federal health care law had persuaded him to hold off.
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GAO: CMS needs to do more to combat healthcare fraud
iHealthBeat
November 30, 2012
http://www.ihealthbeat.org/articles/2012/11/30/gao-says-cms-should-do-more-to-prevent-health-care-fraud.aspx
In testimony released Wednesday, Government Accountability Office Health Care Director Kathleen King told a House panel that CMS has not followed GAO's recommendations to curb health care fraud through the use of health IT and other measures, MedPage Today reports (Pittman, MedPage Today, 11/29).
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Feds propose 3.5 percent fee on insurers who want to participate in new health care markets
The Washington Post
November 30, 2012
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/feds-propose-35-percent-fee-on-insurers-who-want-to-participate-in-new-health-care-markets/2012/11/30/31e36dc6-3b38-11e2-9258-ac7c78d5c680_story.html
Health insurance companies will have to pay to play in new health insurance markets coming under President Barack Obama’s health care law, the administration said in a regulatory notice issued Friday. The Health and Human Services department is proposing a “user fee” amounting to 3.5 percent of premiums for health insurers who want to offer policies in new federal exchanges coming in 2014. The fee is to cover administrative costs of the new markets, which were designed to be self-supporting.
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Michigan will not have state-run health insurance exchange
Crain’s Detroit Business
November 29, 2012
http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20121129/FREE/121129856/house-panel-rejects-health-insurance-exchange
Michigan will not have its own state-based health exchange after House Republicans shot down one last attempt to create one Thursday, paving the way for the federal government to come in and control it, with much less state oversight and involvement. After the state House Health Policy Committee voted down a bill that would have created a state-based health insurance exchange, some committee members held out hope a deal could be worked out.
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Health insurance rates could shoot up
San Francisco Chronicle
November 29, 2012
http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Health-insurance-rates-could-shoot-up-4079244.php
California health insurers are proposing double-digit rate increases for hundreds of thousands of policyholders, drawing criticism that health insurers are padding their profits as the nation prepares to carry out the federal health care law. Anthem Blue Cross, the state's largest for-profit health insurer, wants to raise rates an average of 17.5 percent for 744,000 members in February, with some Anthem policyholders seeing increases as high as 25 percent.
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CMS readies IT, analytics for waves of health reform data
Government Health IT
November 29, 2012
http://www.govhealthit.com/news/cms-readies-it-analytics-waves-health-reform-data
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services will have to manage and analyze double the volume of Medicare data and triple the terabytes of Medicaid data after health reform is fully in place. By 2015, the waves of Medicare claims data will explode from 370 terabytes to 700 terabytes. For Medicaid, 30 terabytes of data will multiply to 100 terabytes, according to a CMS official.
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Iowa's part-time workers face cut in hours
Des Moines Register
November 29, 2012
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20121129/NEWS/311290068/-1/ENT05/Iowa-s-part-time-workers-face-cut-hours
More than 50 uninsured part-time workers for the city of Cedar Falls will see their hours cut this week so the city can avoid paying for their health insurance under President Barack Obama’s signature health care law. The move comes as a 12-month “look back” period begins under the new Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. During the 12 months leading up to 2014, employees working more than an average of 30 hours a week must be offered health care insurance in January 2014.
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AHA chief doubts all states will expand Medicaid
Modern Healthcare
November 29, 2012
http://www.modernhealthcare.com/article/20121129/NEWS/311299966/aha-chief-doubts-all-states-will-expand-medicaid
The head of the leading hospital advocacy group is pessimistic that states will undertake the voluntary Medicaid expansion called for by the 2010 healthcare overhaul. Richard Umbdenstock, president and CEO of the American Hospital Association, at a Thursday policy breakfast sponsored by a Washington politics publication, gave little chance that all states would expand their Medicaid programs after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down penalties for not doing so.
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Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi blasts health care law at insurance summit
Tampa Bay Times
November 29, 2012
http://www.tampabay.com/news/health/florida-attorney-general-pam-bondi-blasts-health-care-law-at-insurance/1263727
Florida Gov. Rick Scott and legislative leaders may have toned down their criticism of the federal health care law since President Barack Obama was re-elected, but not Attorney General Pam Bondi.
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Mo. Gov. Nixon backs expanded Medicaid; GOPs don't
San Francisco Chronicle
November 29, 2012
http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Mo-Gov-Nixon-backs-expanded-Medicaid-GOPs-don-t-4077223.php
Breaking months of silence on the subject, Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon on Thursday embraced a broad expansion of Medicaid health care coverage for working adults, but his support was met with immediate criticism by Republican legislative leaders.
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Experts: Governors won’t resist Medicaid expansion for long
Politico
November 29, 2012
http://www.politico.com/story/2012/11/experts-governors-wont-resist-medicaid-expansion-for-long-84391.html
Governors will eventually succumb to pressure to expand their Medicaid programs, a pair of health care experts predicted Thursday, arguing that the prospect of medical practices going out of business will force their hands. “The governor gets to decide whether these providers are going to go out of business,” Dan Mendelson, president of Avalere Health, said at a POLITICO Pro health policy breakfast. “If you frame it up like that, it begins to look different from a political standpoint.”
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Blog: Not exactly a ringing endorsement
Modern Healthcare
November 29, 2012
http://www.modernhealthcare.com/article/20121128/BLOGS04/311289995/blog-not-exactly-a-ringing-endorsement
Although Democrats and their allied organizations have spent the weeks since the Nov. 6 election crowing that President Barack Obama's re-election decisively endorsed his approach to healthcare policy, some polls might cloud that picture. For instance, a new Gallup poll taken after the election found a first-time outright majority opposing the federal government ensuring all Americans have health insurance. Fifty-four percent of Americans opposed such a government role, while 44% supported it.
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Healthcare CIOs Could Face Heat In Electronic Health Record Backlash
The Wall Street Journal
November 29, 2012
http://blogs.wsj.com/cio/2012/11/29/healthcare-cios-could-face-heat-in-electronic-health-record-backlash/
Healthcare CIOs may find their rollout of electronic health records facing greater scrutiny after a report from federal investigators called for closer government monitoring. The report calls for government to conduct audits on documentation that health record systems meet federal standards before doling out incentives to doctors and hospitals–a compliance job likely to fall on CIOs and their staff.
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Brewer: Feds should run Ariz. insurance exchange
USA Today
November 28, 2012
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2012/11/28/brewer-arizona-insurance-exchange/1733543/
Jan Brewer on Wednesday rejected a key part of the nation's new health care law and declared that the federal government should take control of an Internet-based marketplace for Arizona consumers and small businesses to purchase health insurance.
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Gaetz announces committee to review federal health care law
North Walton Florida Daily News
November 28, 2012
http://www.nwfdailynews.com/local-news/gaetz-announces-committee-to-review-federal-health-care-law-1.56400
Florida Senate President Don Gaetz on Tuesday made good on a promise from last week when he announced the creation of a committee that will analyze the federal health care law.
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The Select Committee on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act will study the law and regulations related to it, Gaetz, R-Niceville, said in a news release.Sen. Dick Durbin: Medicare, Medicaid Reforms Needed, But Not For Fiscal Cliff
Becker’s Hospital Review
November 28, 2012
http://www.beckershospitalreview.com/news-analysis/sen-dick-durbin-medicare-medicaid-reforms-needed-but-not-for-fiscal-cliff.html
Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) told other liberal policymakers yesterday that Medicare and Medicaid reforms are needed to ensure their long-term health, but those two programs should not be part of the immediate fiscal cliff talks, according to a Chicago Tribune/Reuters report. Sen. Durbin spoke at the liberal think tank Center for American Progress, digging into what is needed to shore up Medicare and Medicaid for future generations.
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Obamacare's many contraception lawsuits
Politico
November 28, 2012
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1112/84302.html?hp=r3
War on women — meet war on religious employers. The first battle played out in the voting booth. The second is unfolding in the courts — and the Supreme Court may eventually weigh in on questions about constitutionally protected religious freedom, the public good and whether secular corporations can be, as one judge put it, the “alter ego” of their religious owners.
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