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Health Care Law

February 17, 2012 by · Comments Off on Health Care Law 

Health Care Law, States are grappling to implement aspects of the Affordable Care Act.

Minneapolis Star Tribune: Bipartisan House Bill Outlines State Health Insurance Exchange
In a rare display of bipartisanship, three powerful Republican House committee chairmen have signed on to a DFL bill to establish a health insurance exchange for Minnesota, a required but controversial piece of the Obama administration’s health care law. … While still lacking much detail, the bill begins to “put some meat on the bones” of a recommendation earlier this month by a task force appointed by Gov. Mark Dayton. It would be enough to meet a year-end federal deadline to show that Minnesota can have an exchange in operation by 2014, he said (Warren Wolfe, 2/16).

(St. Paul) Pioneer Press: At The Capitol: Health Care Exchange Bill Faces Long Odds
[The bill] featured bipartisan support in the form of co-sponsorship from Rep. Greg Davids, R-Preston, and two other Republicans. But Davids was clear in saying he thinks the federal legislation is a “scourge,” adding that he hopes it will be overturned this year by the U.S. Supreme Court. More broadly, Davids said he wasn’t aware of any broad change of heart among Republicans who last year blocked legislation on the subject (Snowbeck, 2/16).

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Legislators Seek Action On Georgia Insurance Exchange
Sen. Nan Orrock, D-Atlanta, and Rep. Pat Gardner, D-Atlanta, urged the General Assembly on Thursday to take action on legislation (House Bill 801 and Senate Bill 418) that would establish a new health insurance marketplace in Georgia. … Gov. Nathan Deal has said he doesn’t want Georgia to move forward with planning for a state-based exchange until the Supreme Court decides whether the health law is constitutional. But Orrock and Gardner said Georgians need the marketplace now (Teegardin, 2/16).

CQ HealthBeat: Health Officials Deny Wisconsin Medical Loss Ratio Waiver Request, Give North Carolina Partial Reprieve
Federal health officials on Thursday denied Wisconsin’s request for a waiver from a health care law requirement that insurers spend 80 percent of premium dollars on benefits. They required North Carolina insurers to meet that threshold beginning this year, but said that those who paid out at least 75 percent of premiums last year won’t be penalized (Adams, 2/16).

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: U.S. Rejects Waiver For State On Health Insurer Rule
The Obama administration has rejected Wisconsin’s request to exempt health insurers from a new federal requirement that they spend 80 cents of every dollar in premiums on medical care. … The Office of the Commissioner of Insurance contended the requirement could force companies to leave the Wisconsin market, potentially harming consumers. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services found that the state did not provide data to support that contention (Boulton, 2/16).

Stateline: Illinois Tightens Medicaid Without Federal Approval
The 2010 federal health law has a so-called “maintenance of effort” requirement, which expressly prohibits states from doing anything that would reduce the number of people who qualify for Medicaid. But it’s not clear whether the ban includes measures aimed at winnowing out people whose incomes are too high or who don’t actually live within the state’s borders (Vestal, 2/17).

Health Care Law

November 15, 2011 by · Comments Off on Health Care Law 

Health Care Law, The Obama administration today rolled out a new billion-dollar initiative that will reward the “most compelling new ideas” for lowering costs and improving care of Medicare and Medicaid patients with lucrative federal grants.

The Health Care Innovation Challenge, to be run by the Department of Health and Human Services, will provide between $1 million and $30 million over three years to individual organizations or coalitions that develop sustainable, new approaches to boosting health care quality and efficiency.

Funding for the program was included as part of the 2010 Affordable Care Act, parts of which are now slated for a review by the Supreme Court.

Officials cast the announcement as part of President Obama’s “We Can’t Wait” campaign to help the economy, independent of congressional action, since special consideration will be given to proposals that “rapidly hire, train and deploy health care workers.”

“We’ve taken incredible steps to reduce health care costs and improve care, but we can’t wait to do more,” said HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius in a statement. “Both public and private community organizations around the country are finding innovative solutions to improve our health care system, and the Health Care Innovation Challenge will help jump-start these efforts.”

Sebelius said only projects that can begin within six months will be eligible to receive funds. A final list of sponsored projects will be announced in March.

While the agency says it will closely monitor grantees’ progress on improving care and measure overall savings yielded to taxpayers, Republican critics of the program called it a “$1 billion experiment.”

“On the day the Supreme Court decided to review the constitutionality of ‘Obamacare,’ the president is asking for another $1 billion in taxpayer dollars to pay for another health care experiment that will continue taking us in the wrong direction,” said RNC spokeswoman Kirsten Kukowski in a statement. “We already spent $2.6 trillion on his job-killing health care bill. Another $1 billion Executive Order is just more words for a president more interested in campaign talking points than creating jobs.”

Health Care Law

August 14, 2011 by · Comments Off on Health Care Law 

Health Care LawHealth Care Law, Isakson Statement on the 11th Circuit ruling of the Health Act Knock individual mandate requiring Americans to purchase insurance fines or face U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson, Republican of Georgia, praised the ruling of the Court on 11 U.S. Circuit of Appeals said the individual mandate included in the law of President Obama health care unconstitutional.

 The judges declared that the individual mandate is “potentially unlimited assertion of congressional authority” by requiring Americans to buy a product.

“Americans across the country are outraged by the individual mandate in the law of President Obama’s health care, because the concept of government to force people to buy a product or pay a fine and unprecedented evil. Now 11th Circuit Court has declared it unconstitutional, “said Isakson. “This ruling is a step in the right direction, but the fight is not over. The individual mandate is just one of many problems with this terribly flawed health law, and I will continue fighting to repeal the law in its entirety all days. ”

Isakson has strongly opposed the health law was passed by Congress and signed by the President last year and has co-sponsored legislation in the Senate to repeal the entire law. Isakson was also one of 44 senators to file an amicus curiae on May 11, 2011, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals U.S. on behalf of both parties in several states challenging the law on health care Obama.

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