First Edition: May 5, 2010

May 5 2010

Today's health policy news ranges from additional analysis of specific provisions of the health overhaul bill to Capitol Hill action and developments in the insurance market.

Studies: When Doctors Take More Responsibility, Care Becomes Cheaper And BetterKaiser Health News staff writer Andrew Villegas writes about findings related to medical homes — where primary care doctors are held responsible for coordinating care for individual patients - and how these models are seen as a means for lowering costs without sacrificing quality (Kaiser Health News).

Sebelius: Hotline Coming SoonIn this Kaiser Health News short take, staff writer Mary Agnes Carey reports: "Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said Tuesday that "within a couple months we will have a very robust call center operation" to answer consumers' questions about the new health overhaul law" (Kaiser Health News).

Book Excerpt -- Landmark: The Inside Story Of America'' New Health Care law And What It Means For Us AllKaiser Health News provides an excerpt of a new book, Landmark: The Inside Story of America's New Health Care Law and What It Means for Us All, in which the staff of The Washington Post writes about various provisions of the new health law. Here are specific passages: Why A Mandate Matters and How The Individual Health Insurance Mandate Will Work.

Some Retirees Will Receive Aid To Pay Health BillsThe White House announced Tuesday that it would help pay medical bills for early retirees who have health insurance provided by their former employers (The New York Times).

A Move To Keep Early Retirees Put: $5 Billion Will Be Set Aside For Companies' Health InsuranceTrying to entice employers to keep early retirees on their medical plans, the Obama administration announced Tuesday that it will make $5 billion available until the safety net of the new health-care law is in place (The Associated Press/Washington Post).

Quicker Coverage Sought For Federal Workers' Adult ChildrenLawmakers introduced a measure Tuesday that would allow the Office of Personnel Management to extend health-care coverage to the adult children of federal workers before the new federal health-care law takes effect next year (The Washington Post).

Dem Lawmaker Embraces GOP Health ProposalA centrist Democrat on the Energy and Commerce Committee has endorsed two Republican proposals requiring hospitals to disclose their prices, pitting him against other Democrats on the panel who are pushing a much broader bill (The Hill).

Consumer Groups Call For Reviews Of Insurers' Pending Rate HikesAfter serious errors led health insurer Anthem Blue Cross to cancel a massive increase in health insurance premiums last week, consumer advocates are calling for a review of pending rate hikes by other big insurers in California (Los Angeles Times).

For WellPoint, Math Error Spurs More ScrutinyThe Obama administration's top health official is urging state regulators and lawmakers to investigate whether WellPoint Inc. made mathematical errors in justifying sharp rate increases around the country (The Wall Street Journal).

Healthcare Is A Headache For GOP Candidates In CaliforniaRepublican candidates across the nation are confident that opposition to President Obama's healthcare law will deliver them electoral victories. But in California, the three GOP Senate candidates vying to take on Sen. Barbara Boxer face a much more daunting task: convincing a majority of Californians who support the bill that they are wrong (Los Angeles Times).