First Edition: June 27, 2012

Jun 27 2012

Today's headlines include stories previewing the market, policy and political implications of the Supreme Court' health ruling, which is due out on Thursday.

Kaiser Health News: New Rules Will Ban ER Debt Collections At Charitable Hospitals
Kaiser Health News staff writer Jenny Gold, working in collaboration with NPR, reports: "On Friday, the U.S. Treasury Department released new proposed rules to protect patients from abusive debt collection practices at nonprofit hospitals. The rules were required by the 2010 federal health law. In releasing the rules, the Obama administration alluded to stories like Waldin's, which have come to light in the course of an investigation of Accretive Health launched by the Minnesota attorney general" (Gold, 6/27).

Kaiser Health News: FDA Seeks To Tame Exploding Medical App Market
Kaiser Health News staff writer Jenny Gold, working in collaboration with USA Today, reports: "In fact, there are 40,000 medical applications available for download on smartphones and tablets-;and the market is still in its infancy. But that growth is in the crosshairs of new regulatory efforts from the Food and Drug Administration" (Gold, 6/26). Read the story or check out the related sidebar.

Reuters/Chicago Tribune: The Immigration Ruling: A Hint On Healthcare?
The Supreme Court's decision in the Arizona immigration case on Monday showed a conciliatory streak within a divided court that could emerge again when the justices issue their climactic healthcare decision on Thursday (Biskupic, 6/26).

The Wall Street Journal: Americans Divided On Health Law
With the court's decision on the law set for Thursday, nearly four in 10 Americans told a new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll that they would have "mixed feelings" if the justices struck down the whole law. Just over a quarter said they would be very pleased, while 17% said they would be very disappointed by that outcome (King and Lippman, 6/26).

Politico: GOP In No Rush To Legislate If ACA Goes Down
Republicans still have only one thing in mind when it comes to President Barack Obama's health care law: full repeal. If the Supreme Court wholly or partially strikes down the law on Thursday, House Republicans won't rush to pass a bill that allows young adults under 26 to stay on their parents' insurance. They won't pass legislation forcing insurance companies to cover people with pre-existing conditions. And the gap in drug coverage that requires seniors to pay more out of pocket -; the so-called donut hole -; won't immediately be closed (Sherman, 6/27).

The Associated Press/Washington Post: Q & A: Supreme Court's Decision On Obama's Health Care Law Unlikely To Be The Last Word
Saving its biggest case for last, the Supreme Court is expected to announce its verdict Thursday on President Barack Obama's health care law. The outcome is likely to be a factor in the presidential campaign and help define John Roberts' legacy as chief justice. But the court's ruling almost certainly will not be the last word on America's tangled efforts to address health care woes. The problems of high medical costs, widespread waste and tens of millions of people without insurance will require Congress and the president to keep looking for answers, whether or not the Affordable Care Act passes the test of constitutionality (updated 6/27).

Los Angeles Times: Romney And Obama Preview Reactions To Healthcare Ruling
In dueling Southern campaign stops Tuesday, President Obama and Mitt Romney previewed their likely responses to the Supreme Court's highly anticipated healthcare ruling, with the Democratic incumbent warning against refighting the reform battle and the Republican deeming the question one of states' rights and personal responsibility (West and Memoli, 6/27).

The New York Times' The Caucus: Romney Previews His Response To The Supreme Court's Health Ruling
Mitt Romney's campaign is eagerly awaiting the Supreme Court's decision on President Obama's health care law, which is expected on Thursday morning. But on Tuesday, at a machinery company here, Mr. Romney offered a preview of the possible responses he has been readying for when the ruling finally comes (Parker, 6/26).

The Associated Press/Washington Post: Romney Attacks 'Obamacare,' Says President's Time In Office Wasted If SCOTUS Strikes It Down
The presumptive Republican presidential nominee previewed his health care strategy while speaking to supporters outside a Virginia machine manufacturer just two days before the Supreme Court was expected to rule on the constitutionality of Obama's signature domestic achievement (6/26).

The Wall Street Journal's Washington Wire: Romney Blasts President's Obamacare Legacy
Foreshadowing a Supreme Court ruling on health care this week, Mitt Romney said President Barack Obama will have wasted his term if the legislation is struck down. The Supreme Court is expected to rule on Mr. Obama's health-care law, the signature accomplishment of his presidency, Thursday. Experts have gamed out the possible rulings  from the court:  to uphold the law entirely, strike it down entirely or overturn the individual mandate (and possibly related provisions) while upholding the rest of the law, among other possibilities (Murray, 6/26).

Los Angeles Times: Obama: We Don't Need to Re-Fight Healthcare Battle
President Obama has no interest in re-fighting a battle over healthcare reform. The Supreme Court, of course, may force his hand. Days before the high court is set to rule on his signature first-term accomplishment, the president sidestepped what the justices might decide and instead underlined the consequences if Republicans followed through on a pledge to repeal the Affordable Care Act (Memoli, 6/26).

The Wall Street Journal's Washington Wire: Obama Defends Record In Florida Visit
Mr. Obama also delivered, as he did in every speech through four states, a lengthy defense of his record, including his controversial health-care reform law. In doing so he challenged his audiences, saying whether these accomplishments are maintained depends on them (Lee, 6/26).

Los Angeles Times: Romney Tells Virginians Healthcare Is 'States' Rights Issue
Previewing his response to this week's expected decision on the nation's healthcare law, Mitt Romney told supporters in southwestern Virginia on Tuesday that healthcare is a matter of "states' rights" and "personal responsibility" and that he'd block the federal plan if the Supreme Court doesn't. Romney, whose individual health insurance mandate in Massachusetts was a model for the provision at the heart of  the current debate, said that if the court strikes down the federal law later this week, "then the first three-and-a-half years of this president's term will have been wasted on something that has not helped the American people" (West, 6/26).

The New York Times' The Caucus: Political Pitfalls In A Hasty Reaction To The Health Care Ruling
Shortly after 10 a.m. on Thursday, the world will get its first reports from the United States Supreme Court about the fate of President Obama's health care law. And if Monday was any indication, the initial result will be total confusion (Shear, 6/26).

Politico: Supreme Court Health Care Ruling: For Health Industry, 'Every Man For Himself'
Cable TV hosts are talking nonstop about the Supreme Court's decision on President Barack Obama's health care law. Politicians are waiting anxiously for it. And the health industry is plotting to win the aftermath. In corporate suites, K Street conference rooms, and Wall Street investment shops, industry players haven't all been content to wait and see what the court does (Allen and Haberkorn, 6/26).

The Wall Street Journal: Health Ruling Drives Options Game
A Supreme Court ruling Thursday on the president's health-care plan has the potential to spur big moves for insurers' stocks. But with considerable uncertainty surrounding a verdict, some investors brave enough to trade have sought cheaper, safer ways to play the outcome. Wall Street's consensus view, according to analysts and investors, is that the Supreme Court will throw out the individual mandate, which requires citizens to buy health insurance, and toss some other provisions that might increase expenses (Scaggs, 6/26).

USA Today: Supreme Court Health Care Ruling Watched By Investors
Investors are almost as interested in what the Supreme Court does with health care reform Thursday as patients and doctors (Krantz, 6/26).

The Wall Street Journal: Health Deals Going Strong
Despite uncertainty tied to the Supreme Court's coming health-care decision, the industry is moving forward with acquisitions, with several deals unveiled recently, and others actively in the works. The deals reflect strategies linked to the federal health overhaul, the sweeping 2010 law that could be struck down by the Supreme Court, in whole or in part, in a ruling expected on Thursday (Mathews, 6/26).

The Wall Street Journal: Wal-Mart Lags In Clinic Race
Five years after Wal-Mart Stores Inc. WMT +0.59%promised to open thousands of health-care clinics in its sprawling supercenters, it has fallen far behind its industry rivals in what has become a race to provide basic medical care in stores (Banjo, 6/26).

The Washington  Post: Measure To Increase FDA Funds Through New Company Fees Goes To Obama
A measure that would generate $6 billion in fees over five years for the Food and Drug Administration is headed to President Obama for his signature after passing the Senate on Tuesday, a rare moment of bipartisan cooperation in a divided Congress (ElBoghdady, 6/26).

Politico: FDA User Fee Bill Passes Senate, 92-4
The Senate voted Tuesday to send the Food and Drug Administration Safety and Innovation Act to President Barack Obama, in what's almost certain to be the last major health care legislation before the fall elections. The vote was 92-4 (Norman, 6/27).

The Associated Press/Washington Post: Mass. Officials OK $56.8 Million In Health Insurance Rebates For Small Businesses, Residents
State officials say Massachusetts residents and small employers will benefit from $56.8 million in health insurance rebates. Insurance commissioner Joseph Murphy said on Tuesday that the rebates, from five of the state's largest insurers, will be delivered to some 50,000 individual policy holders and another 50,000 small businesses in Massachusetts (6/26).

The Associated Press/Washington Post: Gov. Jerry Brown Faces Wednesday Deadline For Acting On State's Budget To Deal With $15.7B Gap
The governor and Democratic leaders had announced an agreement last week to restructure the state's welfare program, streamline health insurance for low-income children and reduce child care coverage and college aid. But Democrats who control the Legislature have been scrambling to draft companion legislation needed to implement the budget (6/27).

The New York Times: Hatch Overcomes Challenge In Republican Primary In Utah
Mr. Hatch campaigned heavily on his seniority. He argued that he would be positioned to lead the Finance Committee should Republicans take control of the Senate, giving him a powerful perch to attack deficit spending and the ballooning costs of Medicaid and Social Security (Healy, 6/26).

Politico: 2010 Dem Losers: No Regrets On Health Care Vote
Fifty-two Democrats lost in 2010, and public outrage over the health care law played a huge role in those losses, which handed the House to Republicans and put the Obama presidency on the defensive. But interviews with half a dozen of those 2010 Democratic losers reveal virtually no second-guessing and hardly any regrets (Nocera, 6/27).