Administration delays health law's limit on some out-of-pocket consumer costs

Aug 14 2013

The New York Times reports that the change was included in a Department of Labor rule issued in February. Also in the news, KHN details the complex choices the overhaul presents for people with disabilities and Bloomberg notes a ruling by a U.S. District Court judge allowing Oklahoma's legal challenge to the law to proceed.

The New York Times: A Limit On Consumer Costs Is Delayed In Health Care Law
In another setback for President Obama's health care initiative, the administration has delayed until 2015 a significant consumer protection in the law that limits how much people may have to spend on their own health care (Pear, 8/12).

KHN's earlier, related coverage: Consumer Groups Fear Patients Could Be Hit With Large Out-Of-Pocket Costs (Appleby, 4/9) and Federal Rule Allows Higher Out-Of-Pocket Spending For One Year (Andrews, 6/11).

Kaiser Health News: Obamacare Presents Complex Choices For People With Disabilities
The Affordable Care Act has set new standards -; called essential health benefits -; outlining what health insurance companies must now cover. But there's a catch: Insurance firms can still pick and choose to some degree which specific therapies they'll cover within some categories of benefit. And the way insurers interpret the rules could turn out to be a big deal for people with disabilities who need ongoing therapy to improve their day-to-day lives (Whitney, 8/13).

Bloomberg: Oklahoma's Challenge to Obama Health-Care Law To Proceed
Oklahoma can proceed with a federal lawsuit challenging tax aspects of President Barack Obama's 2010 health care legislation, a judge ruled. U.S. District Judge Ronald A. White in Muskogee, Oklahoma, today denied the federal government's request for complete dismissal of a lawsuit first filed in 2011 over the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Harris, 8/12).