Health Care Reform March 15 2010

Week of March 15, 2010

The White House last week, continued to rail against the rise in premiums to help build public support for his health care reform package. However, efforts to focus blame for the rising cost of insurance is the issue, particularly by state insurance experts and economists quoted in the New York Times story last week. Insurance Commissioner has said that trying to hold down premiums before costs are under control will be very risky. This approach could mean solvency issues in some cases, the Times said. To educate Americans about the real drivers of rising health care costs, America's Health Insurance Plans, the industry association, said last week launched a new national ad kampanju.Oglas shows that health insurance costs represent a small portion of overall costs of health care pie.

federal

With a cadre of staff operatives looking for true reform provisions among those who were previously rejected by the House, Senate and the president's proposal, the Democratic leadership has relentlessly carried out every possible way to pass the final račun.Očekuje process is to: 1) House pass the Senate approved the reform-account (which most members of the House of hatred), 2) House passes bill to "fix" everything that he hates using reconciliation legislative vehicle, followed by 3) the Senate passes the same reconciliation bill - requires only 51 votes in Senatu.Kuća Budget and rules committees are expected to begin review, hearing and mark-up process of reconciliation legislation this tjedan.Senat commitment to using reconciliation was made ​​official in a sharp letter to the leader Harry Reid to the minority leader. Along the way the two chambers will have to see the latest CBO "scores" on the account prior to the vote and 216 House Democrats will have to resolve disagreements over abortion policy, the federal health insurance rate review and authority, and other substantive issues. In addition, the House would have to believe that the Senate could pass the reconciliation measure without changing a comma. Partisanship has blossomed into outright hostility over health care reform. Whether Congress can overcome this policy, process and political minefields remain murky as ever, but the Democrats have decided to try to push for resolution by the Easter recess.

The Senate passed the Jobs Bill II and sent off home, where the passage is not certain. In the account of the two health items in mind. First, the COBRA subsidy eligibility and the program will be extended until the end of 2010. (These provisions will expire in late March.) Second, the law includes a suspension to 30 September 2010 from the cut in Medicare physician fees for the current calendar year. (This provision is also set to expire at the end of March). Aetna urged Congress to implement the "doc fix" to the next benefit year, as well, since the insurers' Medicare rates are based on what doctors are paid, but at the end of the Congress failed to make these changes. Aetna and the industry will continue to find ways to establish a lasting, if not permanently fix the doc and to devise a legislative solution to the disconnect between physicians and Medicare Advantage fee rates for 2011 and beyond.

States

Arizona: Budget issues remain front and center as the governor and the Republican leadership proposed a plan they hope will close the $ 700 million deficit this year and reduce the expected $ 2.6 billion deficit in 2011. Correcting the state fiscal ship has become a partisan exercise, supported by Republicans to reduce Medicaid and KidsCare, and removal of full-day kindergarten. As a special session of the Budget was launched simultaneously with the regular session, no other law hearings održano.Oralne chemotherapy parity law may be dead for this year as the applicants did not meet the deadline for filing amendatory language.