In 2010, Employers Shifted Healthcare Costs To Workers.

McClatchy (9/3, Pugh) reports, "An annual survey released Thursday finds that workers are paying, on average, about $482 more for job-based family health insurance this year as companies force employees to shoulder more of the burden of healthcare costs." In fact, "employers' contributions to family coverage showed no increase at all in 2010, according to the Employer Health Benefits Survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Health Research & Educational Trust." Adds McClatchy, "Drew Altman, the president and CEO of the Kaiser Family Foundation, said it was the first time he could remember employers moving so boldly to shift health costs to workers."

        The Hill 's Mike Lillis (9/3) reports that in addition, "health insurance costs for the nation's workers skyrocketed...even as the quality of many plans deteriorated." Adds Lillis, "Megan McHugh, research director at HRET, noted another 'troubling' trend: Very few employers are considering the quality of benefits when they choose their healthcare plans. Indeed, just 34 percent of large firms, and 5 percent of smaller companies, say they review performance indicators when selecting plans."

        The Washington Post (9/3, Hilzenrath) reports, "Thirty percent of employers offering health benefits reported that this year, as a result of the economic downturn, they reduced the scope of benefits or increased cost-sharing -- the amounts employees pay for medical services in co-payments, deductibles and the like." The survey "covered public and private employers with three or more workers," and "was conducted by phone from January through May."

        The Los Angeles Times (9/3, Levey) reports, "Overall, premium growth slowed slightly this year to 3%, with the average annual cost of a family health plan reaching $13,770. Workers picked up 30% of that bill. The average plan for an individual cost $5,049." The Times adds that "the squeeze...could further complicate the Obama administration's efforts to rally support for the law, which is expected to do relatively little in the short term to contain rising medical bills."

        Similarly, the NPR (9/2, Rovner) "Shots" blog reported, "Employers' health insurance premiums haven't actually gone up very much for 2010." Bloomberg News (9/2, Armstrong) reports, "This year's survey didn't take in any of the effects of the healthcare law," and Nick Papas, spokesman for the White House Office of Health Reform, said, "The study only highlights the importance of implementing health reform."

        The Wall Street Journal (9/3, Johnson, subscription required), the AP (9/2, Murphy), the Columbus Dispatch (9/2, Hoholik), the St. Paul Pioneer-Press (9/3, Snowbeck), and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (9/2, Boulton) also report the story.

        More Commentary. Under the headline "Shifting The Health Cost Burden," the New York Times (9/3) editorializes, "Republicans routinely chastise President Obama for failing to guarantee that you can keep your current health plan if you like it. But the president has little power over the choices your boss has been making." While "the long-term solution -- a goal of the new healthcare reforms -- is to restrain rising healthcare costs...for now, the nation's economic woes and high unemployment rate suggest that burden-shifting will continue. Workers have little clout to demand cheaper or better coverage. Their out-of-work brethren are even more hard pressed to pay for healthcare."

        The St. Louis Post-Dispatch (9/2) editorializes that, despite healthcare-reform opponents' predicting spikes in the cost of healthcare, "the average cost of employer-provided health insurance rose just 3 percent this year." While healthcare remains "staggeringly expensive," the paper attributes that not to healthcare reform, but "the problems healthcare reform is designed to address."

CMS Administrator Contests Leavitt's Criticisms Of Affordable Care Act.

In an op-ed in the Washington Post (9/3), Donald M. Berwick, administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, takes issue with former HHS secretary Michael Leavitt's op-ed, which called "the Affordable Care Act's Medicare reforms an 'illusion'." Berwick asserts that "under the act, Medicare is stronger than it has been in years, and seniors will get new benefits." Due to it, seniors and people with disabilities "will pay less for prescription drugs," Medicare beneficiaries "will have preventive care and check-ups covered without paying co-pays," and "people...will be protected from fraud and abuse." Additionally, the act has been independently projected to reduce costs for the government. Berwick also touts that the Act helps address the problem of paying for volume, not quality, of service through "innovative tools such as bundled payments, incentives for hospitals that prevent readmissions, and accountable care organizations."

Rand Study Predicts Health Reform Increases Private, Non-Government Health Coverage.

The Palm Beach Post (9/3, Singer) reports, "The oft-repeated GOP warning that the Affordable Care Act will lead to a government takeover of healthcare does not materialize under computer simulations run by the Rand Corp. that were released on Thursday." A Rand study published in The New England Journal of Medicine found that, "instead, health reform leads to a large increase in the number of workers offered private coverage through their employer, from 84.6 percent of all workers today to 94.6 percent by 2016." However, "a key uncertainty is how states will set up their insurance exchanges, and which businesses will be allowed to use them."

Columnist Says Some Employers May Terminate Insurance Under Healthcare Reform.

In his column in the Knoxville News Sentinel (TN) (9/3), Greg Johnson says the "mantra" of healthcare reform, 'If you like what you've got, you can keep it' is a "myth." A report from the US Chamber of Commerce, quoting chief actuary from CMS, said, "The CMS Actuary estimates an additional 13 million workers and family members would be covered as a result of expanded employer coverage under the law." But "this increase is more than wiped away by 14 million workers and their families losing employer coverage, according to the Actuary." The Chamber report "noted that some employees will likely opt for Medicaid or plans offered through insurance exchanges," while some "smaller employers will likely terminate their plans to qualify for more generous subsidies through those exchanges."

WSJournal Says Wyden Has Changed Positions On Healthcare Overhaul.

The Wall Street Journal (9/3, A16, subscription required) editorializes that Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden (D) has broken with the Democratic party on healthcare reform by encouraging his state to seek and exemption from the individual coverage mandate, which the Journal says he once championed. The Journal adds that this shows Democratic second thoughts about healthcare reform, and heralds its possible repeal.

Rumors About Healthcare Reform "Well Outside Reality."

NPR (9/2, Rovner) reports, "People are still a little confused about" what's in the healthcare reform law, "but some things being said or circulated on the Internet about the health law are well outside the realm of reality." The law doesn't requires that people who get public health insurance be implanted with a microchip. The new "'ready reserve' within the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps" is not a private army for the President. The IRS will not be hire of 16,500 new, armed agents to enforce the law. Health insurance won't start being taxed next year. The law won't have HHS saying what you can eat. CMS will not require hospitals to fire obese employees.

California Groups To Educate Residents About Healthcare Reform Provisions.

The Los Angeles Times (9/3, Hennessy-Fiske) "LA Now" blog reports "a coalition of California community groups announced a new statewide effort Thursday to educate residents -- particularly Latinos, business owners and youth -- about provisions of the national healthcare overhaul scheduled to take effect later this month." The "goal of the campaign is to raise awareness among those most likely to benefit from the new law, including Latino small-business owners." A recent survey by the California Endowment "showed they were unaware of the provisions," said Daniel Zingale, the endowment's senior vice president.

Nebraska Educators Asked To Resist Governor's Push To Repeal Healthcare Reform.

The Hill (9/2, Lillis), in its "Healthwatch" blog, reports that Bruce Lesley, head of First Focus, "is calling on Nebraska education leaders to resist an appeal from Gov. Dave Heineman (R) to help Republicans repeal the new healthcare reform law," arguing that the request "would pit the educational and healthcare needs of children against one another" and "could ultimately damage both." Heineman has warned "that the reform law's Medicaid expansion would erode funding for education programs." However, Lesley noted "that the federal government, under the reform law, will pick up the entire tab of the Medicaid expansion through 2016 - a timeline leading to the question of how the provision could pose an immediate threat to the state budget."

Wisconsin Candidate For Governor Derides Health Reform But Applies For His County's Benefits.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (9/2, Marley, Bergquist) reported, "Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker repeatedly has said he opposes recent federal healthcare reform, but that isn't stopping the Republican candidate for governor from having the county try to cash in on part of the law" through a federal program to "help pay for healthcare for early retirees, their spouses and dependents." The county "did not have an estimate of the total they would get from the Early Retiree Reinsurance Program, which can pay up to 80% of the annual healthcare costs of $15,000 and $90,000 for each eligible person...ages 55 to 64 who are not eligible for Medicare." A county spokeswoman said, "The county executive does not agree with the federal healthcare mandate, but it is the law and the county will seek relief under the current law for its taxpayers."

Paper Lauds California For Moving Towards Implementing Healthcare Reform.

The San Jose Mercury News (9/3) editorializes that if California becomes "the first to establish a health insurance exchange specifically designed to implement the federal reforms that will go into effect in 2014," it will "move to the front of the line for billions of federal dollars attached to those reforms. And it would set an example of how to make a smooth transition to the new world of medical care: States that try to ramp up at the last minute will be courting disaster." The paper adds, "It's great to see California seizing the day rather than dithering, as it seems to do on most important issues these days."

Sen. Cardin "Committed" To Make Sure Planned Medicare Cut "Never Takes Place."

The Baltimore Business Journal (9/3, Mullin) reports that "if US Sen. Benjamin Cardin gets his way in Congress, physicians, especially those in primary care, could get a bigger paycheck." While "the healthcare reform law will widen access to healthcare coverage for 98 percent of Americans," Cardin, a Maryland Democrat, said "the law doesn't address major issues like Medicare reimbursement rates, which are slated to be cut by 21 percent in December." Cardin told a group of healthcare providers at Mercy Medical Center on Thursday: "I am committed to making sure this cut never takes place."

Anesthesiologists Protest Colorado Move Towards Opting Out Of Medicare Anesthesia Rule.

The Denver Post (9/3, Brown) reports, "Gov. Bill Ritter is moving toward" opting out of a federal Medicare rule that requires physician supervision for certified registered nurse anesthetists, "a step that has raised the ire of anesthesiologists." While "supporters of the change say few rural hospitals have anesthesiologists on staff," anesthesiologists say that doesn't mean there should be a lower standard of care. They also "fear that by giving nurse anesthetists independence, those nurses will become less likely to discuss patients' surgery preparation with doctors."

Ohio Governor Reveals How Some New Medicaid Money Will Be Spent.

The AP (9/2) reports that Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland (D) said that of the $519 million that Ohio is getting in new federal Medicaid money, $150 million will go "to hospitals to help offset state fees," $33 million will go "to preserve jobs in the mental health system," and "$13 million will go toward a program that offers drug assistance to Ohioans living with HIV or AIDS." The Governor added that "he's holding off deciding how to spend about $235 million until he gets comments from state lawmakers and healthcare providers." The Columbus Dispatch (9/2, Candisky) also covers the story.

Texas Regional Medical Center, BCBS Of Texas Sign Managed Care Contract.

The Dallas Morning News (9/2, Roberson) reported, "Texas Regional Medical Center at Sunnyvale and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas signed a managed care contract that will allow Blue Cross members to access the hospital's facilities and programs. The agreement will provide in-network access to hospital services, which will mean fewer out-of-pocket costs for Blue Cross members who use Texas Regional Medical Center facilities."

Study Finds Millions Of Kids Eligible For Medicaid, CHIP Aren't Enrolled.

Reuters (9/2) reports that a study by the Urban Institute Health Policy Center published in the journal "Health Affairs" found that about five million uninsured children in the United States are eligible for Medicaid or the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) were not enrolled in either. Thirty-nine percent of those children live in California, Texas, or Florida. HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said in a statement, "This new data will help us to focus our efforts and our grant funding where they are most needed," adding, "We now have a much better sense of where most uninsured children live, and which communities may need more help."

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