Health Law Components, Specifics And Challenges Take Shape
News outlets focus on various elements of the health law's implementation that are currently in play, including the court challenges to the individual mandate, what the "essential benefits" package might look like, accountable care organization antitrust issues and the future of the CLASS program.
Politico Pro: If The Mandate Goes, Will The Health Law Stay?
While the impending Supreme Court debate over President Barack Obama's health law is steeped in politics, a ruling striking down a piece of the health care law would have significant policy implications, too. If the mandate is struck the justices would have to decide how much of the law would have to come down with it — a complicated calculus at the intersection of law and health policy. "It would create some very serious policy challenges," said former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, now a senior policy adviser at DLA Piper and a strong supporter of the law. (Haberkorn, 10/5).
Kaiser Health News: Health On The Hill: Forecasting What 'Essential Benefits' Recommendations Influential Panel Will Make
Kaiser Health News staff writer Julie Appleby talks with Jackie Judd about recommendations an Institute of Medicine panel will make to help the Department of Health and Human Services determine just what "essential benefits" insurers will have to cover in health law-mandated marketplaces (10/4). Watch the video or read the transcript.
Politico Pro: Insurers Worry About ACO Antitrust Guidelines
Health insurers and providers are keeping a close eye on the proposed guidelines meant to prevent accountable care organizations from running afoul of antitrust laws — and they're already bracing for the prospect that the guidelines could be streamlined or stripped out of a final rule altogether. The issue centers on a proposal by the FTC and the Department of Justice to proactively alert potential ACOs if their proposed size and market share would trigger additional antitrust scrutiny. Sources in both camps say they're getting hints from government agencies that a pared-back version of the provision is in the works. Both the Justice Department and the FTC declined to comment, citing a long-held policy not to discuss proposed rules. Even so, the mere possibility of a more watered-down provision has the insurance sector concerned that if left unchecked, ACOs could grow so big that they can effectively set prices, raising health care costs for families and businesses (Dobias, 10/4).
Kaiser Health News: FAQ: What Factors Affect The Future Of CLASS – The Community Living Assistance Services And Supports Act
The future is increasingly uncertain for the CLASS Act, a controversial long-term care insurance program created by the 2010 federal health law and championed by the late Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass (Barr, 10/4).