HC Reform Update by Mark Sanna: Kathleen Sebelius, the secretary of HHS, said Thursday that employers should immediately offer or continue health insurance coverage for workers’ children up to the age of 26, at little or no additional cost. At the request of the Obama administration, more than 65 insurers have already agreed to allow young adults to stay on their parents’ policies before the insurers are required to do so, under the new law, later this year or early next year.

HC Reform Update by Mark Sanna: The new health care law does not allocate nearly enough money to cover the estimated 5.6 million to 7 million Americans with pre-existing medical conditions who will qualify for temporary high-risk insurance pools. According to a report by the Center for Studying Health System Change the $5 billion earmarked for the pools might cover as few as 200,000 people a year.

HC Reform Update by Mark Sanna: A provision in the new health law allows adult children to stay on their parents’ health plans applies until they turn age 26. They don’t have to be full-time students, nor financially dependent on their parents. They can live out of state and have a job. If the adult child is offered health insurance on the job, he or she can no longer remain on the parents’ policy.

HC Reform Update by Mark Sanna: According to a report from the Commonwealth Fund, a private health policy foundation, most of the 13.7 million uninsured young adults could gain coverage in 2014 — either through public programs like Medicaid or by buying private policies on competitive insurance exchanges established by the new health care law.

HC Reform Update by Mark Sanna: According to a study of the new health care law by Mercer, 33% of employers with 50 or more employees may face tax penalties because they offer health insurance considered unaffordable to some employees. Coverage is deemed unaffordable if the workers’ share of premiums consumes more than 9.5% of their household income.

HC Reform Update by Mark Sanna: There are several ways that the new health law will trim Medicare over the next 10 years. A reduction in payments to the Medicare Advantage plans that about a quarter of Medicare beneficiaries belong to will mean a savings of $136 billion over 10 years. Some plans will likely shut down entirely, while others may no longer offer some of the extras, like gym memberships or vision and dental coverage.

HC Reform Update by Mark Sanna: The number of states jointly suing to overturn the new health care reform law on constitutional grounds swelled to 20 last week. It is the latest reminder that politicians will continue to posture and demagogue the issue through the November elections and beyond.

HC Reform Update by Mark Sanna: Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, and the soda industry, are trying to defeat a soda tax now before the District of Columbia Council. The industry has succeeded recently in beating back similar taxes in NY and PA and in keeping one out of the federal health overhaul bill. Washington Council members are set to vote on the issue next week.

HC Reform Update by Mark Sanna: Starting in 2014, insurers will be required to offer a clearly defined package of essential health benefits. Consumers will be able to choose from four different levels of color-coded coverage — platinum (which will pay 90% of the cost of services), gold (80%), silver (70%) or bronze (60%). Young adults can opt for even less coverage. Policies will be priced accordingly.

HC Reform Update from Mark Sanna: Today Dartmouth College announced that it is poised to keep the country moving forward on health care reform. An anonymous donation of $35 million will establish the Dartmouth Center for Health Care Delivery Science. Its goal will be to find and teach ways to improve health care quality while lowering costs.

HC Reform Update by Mark Sanna: Health insurance companies are lobbying federal and state officials in an effort to shape regulations that will define “unreasonable” premium increases and require them to pay rebates to consumers if the companies do not spend enough on patient care.

HC Reform Update by Mark Sanna: With the aim of depoliticizing a largely Republican assault, the leading lobbying group for small businesses, the National Federation of Independent Business, has joined officials from 20 states in their legal challenge to the new health care law.

HC Reform Update by Mark Sanna: Hospice benefits won’t change under the new law. The House provision that would have required plans to offer voluntary end-of-life counseling — which led to the infamous “death panel” claims that government bureaucrats would be empowered to give the thumbs up or thumbs down to care for the critically ill — was dropped.

HC Reform Update by Mark Sanna: Since the new legislation passed, a dozen lawsuits have been filed in federal courts by states who challenge it. They question whether Congress can regulate inactivity — by levying a tax penalty on those who do not obtain health insurance. If so, what would prevent the government from mandating all manner of acts in the national interest, say regular exercise or buying an American car?

HC Reform Update from Mark Sanna: Starting in 2014 the new health care law will allow employers to offer premium discounts and other incentives of up to 30% of the cost of employees’ health coverage (and up to 50% in some instances) if workers participate in wellness programs and meet health targets.

HC Reform Update by Mark Sanna: The Community Living Assistance Services and Supports Act, or Class Act, the first national plan to help the great majority of Americans who have no insurance for long-term care, became law in March. Even though there was little fanfare. To be eligible, participants must pay premiums for a vesting period of 5 years before they can receive benefits, and they have to continue working for 3 of those years.

HC Reform Update by Mark Sanna: The White House announced Tuesday that it would help pay medical bills for early retirees who have health insurance provided by their former employers. The purpose of the temporary $5 billion program, authorized by the new health care law, is to reverse the erosion of employer-sponsored insurance. Under the program, the federal government can reimburse employers for 80% of the cost of claims from $15,000 to $90,000 a year for a retired worker who is 55 or older and not eligible for Medicare. The program will run from June 1 of this year to Jan. 1, 2014, when many early retirees, like millions of other Americans, will be able to enroll in health plans offered through new state-based markets known as insurance exchanges.

HC Reform Update from Mark Sanna: By 2020, the new health law will close the “doughnut hole,” that gap in Medicare Part D prescription drug coverage during which beneficiaries are responsible for paying 100 percent of their costs. In 2010, the doughnut hole generally occurs when total drug costs are between $2,830 and $6,440. Once spending surpasses that amount, catastrophic coverage kicks in and beneficiaries pay 5 percent of the cost.

HC Reform Update by Mark Sanna: Americans are already starting to see the benefits of health care reform. The new law requires health insurance companies — starting in September — to end their most indefensible practice: rescinding coverage after a policyholder gets sick. In recent days insurers have rushed to announce that they will end rescissions immediately.

HC Reform Update by Mark Sanna: Athenahealth, a provider of Internet-based business services for medical offices, released the results of a national survey of 1,000 physicians. Nearly 2/3 of doctors felt that the current health care environment was detrimental to the delivery of care, and more than half believed that the care quality would decline over the next 5 years. Less than 1/5 of doctors felt they could make clinical decisions based on what was best for the patient rather than on what payers were willing to cover. And an overwhelming majority believed that getting reimbursed was becoming increasingly complex and burdensome.

HC Reform Update by Mark Sanna: Anthem Blue Cross, the insurance giant that was criticized by President Obama when it proposed increasing rates for Californians by as much as 39%, withdrew plans for the proposed increase this week. Anthem made the decision following an independent audit, which decided that the company’s justification for increasing rates was based on flawed data.