Senate Rejects Repeal Of Tax Requirement In Healthcare Law.

The Hill (9/15, Bolton) reports, "The Senate on Tuesday defeated an effort to strip a controversial tax-reporting provision from the sweeping healthcare law Congress passed earlier this year. In a 46-52 vote, lawmakers killed an amendment sponsored by Sen. Mike Johanns (R-Neb.) that would have saved businesses and nonprofit groups from having to report an array of small and medium-sized purchases to the IRS." The Senate also rejected "by a vote of 56-42" a proposal from Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) which "would have increased the reporting threshold to $5,000 and eliminated the requirement for businesses with fewer than 25 employees."

        CQ Today (9/15, Lesniewski, subscription required) noted that Johanns' "amendment would have repealed the requirement and generated $19.2 billion in revenue to offset the cost by limiting the reach of the individual mandate in the 2010 healthcare law and reducing funding allocated by the law for preventative-care programs." But, "many Democrats who support repealing the '1099 provision' (named for the associated IRS form) panned the offset." Meanwhile, Nelson had "proposed paying for the $10.1 billion cost of his amendment by preventing the largest oil companies from obtaining a 6 percent tax deduction designed to aid domestic manufacturing."

        The Wall Street Journal (9/15, Boles, Vaughan, subscription required) also reports on the votes, and says that according to Gene Sperling, a counselor to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, the Obama Administration is already seeking ways to deal with concerns expressed by small businesses about the tax provision in the healthcare law. Sperling stated, "We are willing to support legislative steps as well as long as they are fiscally responsible and are not attacking the integrity of the healthcare bill."

        The AP (9/15) reports, "Business groups say" that the requirement "would create a paperwork nightmare for more than 40 million companies as they struggle to keep going in a weak economy," and "even [President] Obama wants this provision changed." That is why the "White House is backing" Nelson's proposal.

Judge Expected To Allow Legal Challenge Of Healthcare Law To Advance.

Politico (9/15, Haberkorn) reports, "A federal judge said Tuesday he is likely to let 20 states proceed with at least a portion of their lawsuit challenging the heart of the Democrats' healthcare overhaul." US District Judge Roger Vinson "scheduled oral arguments to begin Dec. 16 in Pensacola, Fla., but did not say which parts of the lawsuit he will approve. Vinson said he plans to issue a complete ruling by Oct. 14." Notably, "Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum, 19 other states, the National Federation of Independent Business and two individuals filed the high-profile lawsuit challenging whether the Constitution allows the federal government to require nearly all Americans to buy health insurance and expand the Medicaid program."

        The AP (9/15, Nelson) reports, "The Obama administration had asked US District Judge Roger Vinson to dismiss the entire lawsuit. The states and the administration disagree over whether people should be required to have health insurance, and whether states should pay additional Medicaid costs not covered by the federal government." In the event that "Vinson upholds the states' challenge, he would overturn decades of law enforcing the federal government's power to regulate interstate commerce, said Ian Heath Gershengorn, deputy assistant attorney general."

        The Washington Post (9/15, Aizenman) notes, "In addition to Florida, the states part of the suit are South Carolina, Nebraska, Texas, Utah, Louisiana, Alabama, Michigan, Colorado, Pennsylvania, Washington, Idaho, South Dakota, Indiana, North Dakota, Mississippi, Arizona, Nevada, Georgia, and Alaska." The Florida lawsuit, "along with the one filed by Virginia...appears to be the most promising among 15 to 20 lawsuits challenging some aspect of the healthcare law, according to a Justice Department estimate." To date, "the other suits don't appear to have fared as well, with judges in California and Maryland dismissing two of them."

        The New York Times (9/15, A20, Sack), the Miami Herald (9/15, Laing), Bloomberg News (9/15, McQuillen, Escobedo), and Reuters (9/15, Peltier) also report the story.

Healthcare Law Will Eliminate Limits On Lifetime Benefits.

NPR (9/14) reported in its Shots blog, "Among the new provisions of the health law that take effect later this month is a ban on something most people don't even know they have -- a lifetime limit on benefits covered by their health insurance." As of "late next week, new health plans or plans that are renewed, won't be able to cap the dollar amount of benefits they cover. No more yearly caps either, though those limits will be phased out over three years, disappearing entirely in 2014." Karen Pollitz, "head of an office at the Department of Health and Human Services to help consumers navigate overhaul, says it's a big change."

GOP Lawmakers Want Berwick To Request Senate Hearing.

CQ HealthBeat (9/15, Ethridge, subscription required) reports, "Republicans are trying a new tactic to bring the head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in front of a Senate committee: they're asking him to request the hearing himself." Senate Finance Ranking Member Charles E. Grassley (R-IA) and Orrin G. Hatch (R-UT) "sent the request to Donald M. Berwick in a letter Monday after previous attempts to get him to appear in front of Congress have failed." CQ says that "Republican lawmakers have criticized Berwick's July 7 recess appointment," and accused him of being "proponent of rationing healthcare, as a result of his praise of the British healthcare system and his comments supporting comparative effectiveness research to identify the best approach to treating different conditions."

Christie Releases Proposal To Reduce New Jersey's Pension, Health-Benefit Costs.

The Morris County (NJ) Daily Record (9/15, Method) reports that Gov. Chris Christie "unveiled one of the more aggressive pension and health benefit reform efforts in the nation on Tuesday." The governor called for "pension cuts, increased retirement ages and healthcare contributions well in excess of what unions had bitterly fought against only months ago." Among other changes, Christie's proposal would require most workers to "contribute 3 percentage points more toward their pension"; eliminate "annual cost-of-living adjustments" for retirees; and require workers "to pay 30 percent" of their healthcare costs. The AP (9/15, Evans) notes that the higher healthcare contributions "would be phased in over four years." Retirees' medical benefits "cost the state $850 million this year," Christie said.

Survey: Insurers' PPO Claim Costs May Increase More Than 10% This Year.

The AP (9/15, Murphy) reports that the costs dictating "employer-provided health insurance plans will climb more than 10 percent within the next 12 months, and financially pressured companies may pass more of this increase along to their workers," according to a survey by Aon Consulting. The poll of "about 60 health organizations" found that insurers expect to "pay out 10.7-percent more" in claims for PPO plans. However, Tom Lerche, Aon Consulting's healthcare practice leader, said the premiums that workers pay "may not grow at the same clip" as the cost of claims. Premiums can be influenced "by geography, an insurance plan's design, the health of the people covered and insurer profitability," Lerche said. Notably, Aon estimates that the healthcare reform law "could increase costs by between 2 percent and 5 percent over the next three years."

Some Connecticut Plans Requesting Immediate Premium Hikes, Citing Healthcare Law.

The Hartford Courant (9/15) reports, "Health insurers are asking for immediate rate hikes of more than 20 percent in Connecticut for some plans, citing rising medical costs and federal health reform laws as reasons." These "issues -- the new federal healthcare reform and rising medical costs -- are significant drivers of the increases, according to filings by insurers with state regulators that were reviewed by The Courant." The Courant says that "it remains to be seen how much of the requests will be approved. Many people might not see an increase before Jan. 1, and these proposed changes would largely affect new business, mostly in the individual market."

Three ACA Provisions To Impact CalPERS' Annual Open Enrollment.

The Sacramento Business Journal (9/15, Robertson) reports that "more than 623,000 state and local government workers" covered by CalPERS began open enrollment this week; and "thanks to federal healthcare reform," three changes will affect this year's enrollment: Members may "extend their health coverage to adult children up to age 26"; CalPERS will "remove lifetime coverage limits"; and the program will "participate in the Early Retirement Reinsurance Program." The annual open-enrollment period "started Monday and runs through Oct. 8." CalPERS offers a "variety of HMO and PPO options, but the majority of members are enrolled in plans offered by Kaiser Permanente and BlueShield of California."

WellPoint CFO Predicts Increased Insurance Industry Consolidation.

The Indianapolis Star (9/15, Lee) reports that, faced with "looming profit pressures" and a possible industry overhaul stemming from healthcare reform, Indianapolis-based health insurer WellPoint "may be ready to start gobbling up rivals again." The company is "already is a behemoth;" providing coverage "to 33.5 million people, the most of any US for-profit insurer," and operating Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans across 14 states. Speaking earlier this week, WellPoint CFO Wayne DeVeydt said the company was "well positioned for (mergers and acquisitions)," as he predicted an increase in industry consolidation. Yet, "some healthcare providers, however, are cool to the idea." Daniel Evans, chief executive officer of Indianapolis-based hospital system Clarian Health, worries that insurance industry consolidation "may increase insurance company profits, but at the expense of patients and healthcare providers."

Humana Adding Staff To Chronic-Care Management Division.

The AP (9/15) reports, Humana on Tuesday announced it is "adding 270 new positions" to its St. Petersburg, Florida-based "Humana Cares unit" -- the company's "complex care management division," which focuses on patients with "chronic disease." The hiring comes ahead of Humana's "January launch of its new program, 'Humana Cares Chronic Condition Management.'" The new workers will "serve 60,000 Humana commercial health plan and Medicare Advantage members across the nation."

Anthem BCBS To Move Connecticut Headquarters To Wallingford.

The Hartford Courant (9/15, Gosselin) reports that Anthem BlueCross and BlueShield announced it has signed a "lease for nearly three-quarters" of the former Mortgage Lenders Network complex in Wallingford, Connecticut, and will "begin moving its headquarters" there from North Haven "next fall." A year's time is "needed to complete the building, which remains an empty shell." The now defunct MLN "began construction in 2006, but never occupied the site." Anthem said it "couldn't provide an estimate of how much it will cost to finish off the 217,000 square feet it will occupy, plus the landscaping on the surrounding 106 acres." But one industry estimate "pegged the cost at more than $10 million."

        According to the New Haven Register (9/15, Carter), Anthem signed "a 10-year lease with Workstage-Connecticut LLC" for the building "known as Campus at Greenhill." The relocation will "occur in two phases, with the first beginning in September 2011 and the second following in September 2012." Anthem Communications Director Sarah Yeager said the company has "approximately 1,400 employees and all will be moving to the new location." The Hartford Business News (9/15, Bordonaro) adds that Quinnipiac University "plans to open a medical school" on the North Haven campus.

HealthNow Wins Contract For Third-Party Services In California.

Buffalo Business First (9/14, Drury) reported that HealthNow New York Inc., parent of BlueCross BlueShield of western New York, got a "big win" for a contract to administer California's 25,000-member high-risk pool, and the company will add staff in Pennsylvania to handle the work. HealthNow Administrative Services will provide "third party administration services. The division, based in King of Prussia, Pa., will add 80 employees in Pennsylvania and at offices in California over the next two to three years. Currently the company employs 250 in Pennsylvania."

Honolulu Public School Teachers Sue To Block Hawaii From Transferring Health Insurance Plan.

The Honolulu Star-Advertiser (9/15) reports that public school teachers are "suing to prevent changes in their health insurance coverage." The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in "Circuit Court against the state, seeks to prevent the state from transferring health insurance coverage for 15,000 current and retired teachers from the union's Voluntary Employees Beneficiary Association trust to the state Employer-Union Benefits Trust Fund." The teachers in the class action lawsuit "say the employer's trust fund is 'teetering and financially insolvent,'" while the VEBA plan "is solvent and less costly to operate." The lawsuit also "seeks the return of about $3.9 million that was allegedly wrongfully taken from the VEBA trust by the state."

Partner In Florida CHIP Program Launches New Website.

The Orlando Business Journal (9/15) reports that "Florida Healthy Kids Corp. has launched a revamped website at www.healthykids.org aimed at being more user-friendly and accessible for families signing up for the state's low-cost children's health coverage." Users can "fill out an online application" and get "details about benefits, health tips, health event listings and social media links." The organization "is one of four partners with Florida KidCare," the state's CHIP program.

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