More states get insurance exchange grants
The Department of Health and Human Services has awarded grants totaling $229 million to 10 states to establish health insurance exchanges, authorized under the Affordable Care Act.
Healthcare reform
Insurance eligibility extension improves medical care for young adults
A new study suggests young adults are more likely to get care and see a doctor when states extend the time they can stay on their parents' health insurance — a measure also mandated by the 2010 federal health care law.
Supreme Court may wait until 2014 to rule on individual mandate
This summer, the Supreme Court is set to rule on the constitutionality of a provision in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act that requires individuals to buy health insurance or pay a tax penalty. Tuesday, the Supreme Court increased the time for next months oral arguments from 5.5 hours to six hours, allowing an extra half hour to discuss the Tax Anti-Injunction Act, a law that says courts may not halt a tax that isnt yet being collected.
Insurers see costs in Obama birth control rule
The Obama administration maintains that its plan to have health insurers pay for birth control offered to employees of religious groups won't end up costing the industry. But insurers aren't so confident.
Health insurers question Obama birth control plan
U.S. health insurers said on Friday they feared President Barack Obama had set a new precedent by making them responsible for providing free birth control to employees of religious groups as he sought to defuse an election-year landmine.
Health care reform requires insurers to use plain language in describing health plan benefits, coverage
People in the market for health insurance will soon have clear, understandable and straightforward information on what health plans will cover, what limitations or conditions will apply, and what they will pay for services, thanks to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act according to final regulations published last week.
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News Reports
Rule to ease consumer understanding of health insurance policies
Six federal agencies have issued a final rule requiring insurers to provide to consumers at the time of enrollment a plain-English summary of benefits and coverage, and a uniform glossary of terms.
Obama shift on birth control seeks to satisfy Catholics
President Barack Obama, in an abrupt policy shift aimed at quelling an election-year firestorm, announced on Friday that religious employers would not be required to offer free birth control to workers and that the onus would instead be put on insurers.
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Reuters
Senate panel approves bill to televise high court
Proceedings of the Supreme Court, long kept out of the view of most Americans, would be televised under a bipartisan bill approved on Thursday by the Senate Judiciary Committee.
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Reuters
Survey reveals high demand for health information technology workers
The federal government estimates that the health care system may need upwards of 50,000 additional employees to develop, implement and maintain health information technology in the near future. In light of this projection, results from the survey of 196 health information exchange initiatives show a growing need for workers proficient in health IT.
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News Reports
White House open to compromise over contraception
The Obama administration is willing to work with Catholic universities and hospitals in implementing new rules that require health insurance to cover birth control, a top adviser to the president's re-election campaign said on Tuesday.
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Reuters
Catholics urged to write Congress on birth control rule
American Catholic clergy called on the faithful to write Congress to protest new birth control rules from President Barack Obama's administration, stepping up a campaign that began a week ago with denunciations from the pulpit at Masses across the country.
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Greg McCune
Lawmakers push for employer engagement with health IT and payment reform
Tuesday morning, the 2012 Employer Health and Human Capitol Congress kicked off in Washington, D.C., with Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Rep. Ron Kind (D-Wis.) emphasizing the role of employers in pushing for payment reform in the health care system and advancing health information technology, which could drastically change health care spending and costs to both employees and employees.
Health plan ID, insurance exchange rules coming soon
The Department of Health and Human Services expects soon to publish a final rule to govern establishment of state insurance exchanges to provide one-stop shopping for health coverage, and a proposed rule to establish the long-delayed unique identifier for health plans.
Senate MLR bill tweaks House legislation, has industry optimistic
A Senate bill introduced Friday as a companion to legislation in the House that would exclude agent compensation from the Medical Loss Ratio formula has industry organizations optimistic about a permanent fix.
House repeals CLASS Act, part of PPACA
The House of Representatives voted Wednesday to officially repeal the CLASS Act, the long-term care provision of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
Treading carefully on EAPs
Employee assistance programs provide employees with support when they need it – from helping them through relationship difficulties to coordinating treatment for substance abuse. And while 69% of employers offer EAPs through external organizations, the potential still exists for them to be caught in legal entanglements. What are employers' potential liabilities and what can advisers do to help them mitigate risks?
In retiree-heavy Florida, health care reform not a popular topic
There's one small-government idea that Republican presidential candidates are reluctant to discuss in this retiree-heavy state: their plans to rein in health care costs for the elderly.
Obama lawyers argue bulk of health law can survive
The Obama administration told the Supreme Court on Friday that nearly all of the health care overhaul can survive if the court declares unconstitutional the law's centerpiece provision requiring health coverage.
By
James Vicini
Catholics hear protests of Obama health ruling at Mass
U.S. Catholic bishops and priests across the country read out letters at Mass on Sunday protesting plans by President Barack Obama's administration to force religiously-affiliated nonprofit groups to offer birth-control coverage to women employees.
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Reuters