Government Helping Reimburse Companies For Early Retiree Health Costs.

Coverage of the Administration's releasing the list of almost 2,000 business, unions, and governments that will receive reimbursements for early retiree healthcare costs tended to focus on either the government program itself or how some states seeking to overturn the healthcare reform law are now reaping its benefits.

        The Washington Post (9/1, Aizenman) reports, "Nearly 2,000 employers and unions have been approved to seek federal reimbursement for the health claims of their...retired workers aged 55 or older who are too young to get Medicare." The program reimburses up to 80 percent of covered individuals' medical costs over $15,000 and up to $90,000. "Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said the principal goal was to halt the steady decline of employers offering coverage to early retirees." However, isn't clear that the $5 billion allocated for the program will last until 2014, when federally subsidized health insurance exchanges will be established. Meanwhile, opponents of the healthcare overhaul are taking advantage of the subsidy, including "Koch Industries, one of whose principal owners, billionaire David Koch, has been a major funder of groups that lobbied heavily to defeat the healthcare law," and "many state governments that are party to a lawsuit contesting the healthcare law's constitutionality."

        The Los Angles Times (9/1, Levey) reports, "Several states that are suing to overturn the healthcare law are among those that plan to seek the aid, including Alaska, Arizona, Idaho, Indiana, Louisiana, Michigan, Nebraska and Nevada." The AP (9/1, Alonso-Zaldivar) and the New Orleans Times-Picayune (9/1, Alpert) also focus on those states' actions.

        Bloomberg News (9/1, Armstrong) reports that Sebelius said, "In these tough economic times, it is difficult for employers to keep up with skyrocketing healthcare costs for employees and retirees," adding, "The Affordable Care Act's Early Retiree Reinsurance Program will make it a little easier for employers to provide high-quality health benefits to their retirees as we work to put in place market reforms to lower costs for all." According to the Administration, "about half of the companies in the Fortune 500 applied for" the funds.

Poll Finds Diminished Support For Healthcare Reform Law.

Politico (8/31, Haberkorn) reported that a Kaiser Health Tracking Poll of 1,203 adults conducted August 16-22 (+ / -3%) found "that public support for healthcare reform dropped sharply in August," down seven percentage points "to 43 percent -- while opposition rose 10 points to 45 percent." Politico characterized the results as "a dagger in Democrats' hopes that their landmark legislation will help them in November's midterm." Some of the law's insurance industry reforms will go into effect next month, and "while many of these provisions have proved popular in polls, the popularity of the overhaul on the whole hasn't improved."

        The "Healthwatch" blog on The Hill (8/31, Lillis) reported, "Respondents' views are largely colored by their own partisan leanings, according to Kaiser," with "a vast majority of Democrats (68 percent)" supporting the law and most Republicans (77 percent) opposing it. "Democratic leaders, who were quick to trumpet the results of the July survey, have so far been silent on this month's report -- a reaction that hasn't been overlooked by Capitol Hill Republicans, some of whom are blasting the August figures out to reporters' inboxes Tuesday."

        ABC News (8/31, Khan) reports, "Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said the numbers are reflective of the misinformation that has been spread about the healthcare bill, and that the administration has 'a lot of reeducation to do' to reverse the trend." PBS NewsHour's (8/31, Jacobson) "The Rundown" blog also covers this story.

        House Democratic Leader Says Health Reform Might Have Seemed A Distraction From The Economy. The "Blog Briefing Room" of The Hill (8/31, O'Brien) reports that Rep. Gerry Connolly, "the leader of first-term House Democrats," said that his party's "focus on healthcare reform might have seemed like a distraction to voters whose top concern was the economy." Despite this, "Connolly said he thought that he would win reelection, and that enough of his colleagues in the House would win reelection to ensure Democrats would remain in the majority come next year."

Pawlenty Will Not Seek Funds From Health Reform Law.

According to the Wall Street Journal (9/1, Adamy, Merrick, subscription required), Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty formally restricted his state from tapping funds under the health reform law. However, his executive order doesn't apply to money the legislature already planned to seek. Additionally, the state will still participate in the expanded Medicaid program and tax credits to help low earners afford health insurance when they take effect.

        The Minneapolis Star-Tribune (9/1, Marcotty, Stassen-Berger) repots that Pawlenty's order "could cost the state $1 billion or more in federal healthcare funds." In response, "state healthcare leaders and DFL officials immediately blasted the decision," and "Democrats said it was a crass political move designed to further Pawlenty's ambitions for the 2012 presidential race." The "Healthwatch" blog of The Hill (8/31, Pecquet) and Modern Healthcare (8/31, Carlson) also cover Pawlenty's order.

        The "Healthwatch" blog of The Hill (8/31, Pecquet) and the Detroit Free Press (9/1, Ansetett) also cover the program.

        Paper Criticizes Pawlenty's Decision To Not Seek Funds. The Bemidji (MN) Pioneer (9/1) editorializes that Pawlenty's move "is perhaps the clearest signal yet that he plans on seeking the 2012 presidential nomination," as it "can be explained in no other way than in being a totally partisan decision, intended to shore up his conservatism." The paper called the decision "unilateral...clearly partisan and unwarranted." It adds, "The governor has often said that Minnesota doesn't receive its share of federal funding back for residents' tax dollars sent to Washington, D.C. His executive order just made that worse."

Sen. Nelson Criticizes Nebraska Governor For Urging State Educators To Back Repeal Of Healthcare Reform.

The Hill (9/1, Lillis) reports Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE) "this week lashed out at Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman after the Republican lawmaker urged state educators to back a repeal of healthcare reform - or risk losing their jobs." Heineman, "Nelson said in a statement issued Monday, is using 'misinformation to intimidate groups involved in all aspects of our children's health, safety and education, pitting one against the other.'"

        Nebraska Education Board Expected To Vote On Health Reform Repeal. The AP (9/1) reports the "Nebraska State Board of Education is expected to vote on whether to support repeal of federal healthcare reform." Board member "Bob Evnen of Lincoln has put a resolution calling for repeal on the board's agenda and a vote is expected on Wednesday. A vote to support repeal would be symbolic because the state must follow federal law." Evnen's resolution "follows a letter Gov. Dave Heineman sent to education groups urging them to support the repeal of federal healthcare reform."

Docs4PatientCare Head Announces Waiting Room Campaign Against Health Law.

Dr. Hal Scherz, a pediatric urological surgeon at Georgia Urology and Children's Healthcare of Atlanta who also serves on the faculty of Emory University Medical School and is president and cofounder of Docs4PatientCare, writes in the Wall Street Journal (9/1, subscription required) that Democratic candidates are under fire for their support of the President's health reform bill are now vowing to fix it -- not repeal it. Scherz casts that position as a political ploy to escape the voters' wrath, and announces that Doc4PatientCare physicians have decided to post a letter in their waiting rooms which charges that the new law will result in worse care, higher premiums, higher taxes and more government intrusion into patients' lives. The letter also urges voters to reject Democratic candidates who pledge to fix the new law – as opposed to repealing it.

Heritage Foundation Sets Up "Action Arm" In Push To Repeal Healthcare Reform Law.

Kaiser Health News (9/1, Villegas) reports the Heritage Foundation, a "conservative Washington think tank," as part of its efforts to repeal the healthcare reform law, has "established an 'action arm.'" The effort, "which is being led by Michael Needham," is aimed at getting "lawmakers vote up or down on repealing the health reform law." Despite "the long odds against repealing the law anytime soon," Needham says "the prospects of success are good, even if it takes another four years and a new Congress," reports KHN.

Florida Supreme Court Rejects Ballot Amendment On Declining Mandatory Health Insurance.

The Christian Science Monitor (8/31, Richey) reported that the Florida Supreme Court voted 5 to 2 on Tuesday to reject "a ballot initiative that sought to amend the state's constitution to establish that Florida residents have a right to refuse to purchase mandatory health insurance." Florida "was slated to be one of four states voting in November on constitutional amendments barring forced participation in a health insurance program. The three remaining states are Arizona, Oklahoma, and Colorado." The Florida justices said the initiative's language was "misleading and ambiguous," leaving their "only recourse...to strike the proposed constitutional amendment from the ballot." The dissenting opinion urged following a 2004 decision on a similar ballot matter, which resulted in rejected language and the publication instead of "the full text of the amendment."

NAIC Nearly Ready To Begin Drafting MLR Regulations.

The Hill (9/1, Pecquet) "Healthwatch" blog reports that the NAIC said it is "close to resolving dozens of issues" regarding the ACA's medical-loss-ratio; and the Commission "expects to start drafting regulations in the coming weeks." Notably, concerns on how to measure "reinsured business" have been resolved. A preliminary resolution would require the MLR to be calculated "before consideration of private reinsurance purchased from other insurance companies." The NAIC had "worried that allowing private reinsurance in the rebate calculation could lead health plans to abuse the risk-management tool." However, the resolution states that if a "block of business that was subject to an assumption-reinsurance transaction" prior to ACA's effective date, "transferred 100 percent of the block to a second company," then the second company "should report the assumed premiums and claims as part of its MLR" calculations.

Premiums For California's Safety-Net Health Insurance Have Risen Substantially.

The Los Angeles Times (9/1, Helfand) reports that "Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's (R) administration has quietly allowed hefty increases for thousands of sick or jobless Californians who must rely on expensive safety-net coverage." In fact, "state regulators have given insurance companies permission to raise maximum premiums for most of the 20,000 Californians who depend on the coverage of last resort," making it so that "some who buy the insurance will have to pay an extra $7,500 annually, pushing their bills to nearly $25,000." For their part, officials with the California Department of Managed Health Care "say the increases are the result of a move to correct a much-criticized system for calculating maximum premiums that had led to unpredictable cost fluctuations."

Mississippi May Stash Stimulus Funding For Medicaid For "Bigger Need" Of 2012.

The AP (9/1, Wagster-Pettus) reports that "a bipartisan group of Mississippi lawmakers are considering saving, rather than spending," some $130 million to $150 million in federal stimulus funding for Medicaid that Congress approved. "Several lawmakers say Mississippi will have a bigger need for the Medicaid stimulus money next year than it does now because most other federal stimulus funds are set to disappear next year," so "attorneys are researching whether the state is allowed to sock away the Medicaid stimulus money and spend it during fiscal 2012, which begins next July 1."

Consulting Firm Survey Shows COBRA Costs "Too High" For Many.

The Kansas City Star (8/31, Stafford) reported that Aon's newly released "2010 Benefits Survey" showed that "COBRA costs are too high for lots of Americans to afford," with a median monthly premium of $449 for individuals in a preferred provider plan and $1,310 the corresponding cost for families. Aon's survey also showed that "nearly two-thirds of employers surveyed plan to increase employee cost-sharing with their 2011 health insurance plan years."

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