HC Reform Update by Mark Sanna: Of all the changes wrought by the new health care law, none is more sweeping than the transformation of Medicaid. Of the 32 million uninsured Americans expected to gain health coverage under the new law, as many as 20 million will be insured by Medicaid, experts estimate. Asset tests will be largely eliminated, so workers who lose their jobs can get health coverage even if they own their homes or have money saved for retirement. (Illegal immigrants will not be eligible.)

HC Reform Update by Mark Sanna: When major companies declared that a provision of the new health care law would hurt earnings, Democrats were skeptical. But after investigating, House Democrats have concluded that the companies were right to tell investors and the government about the expected adverse effects of the law on their financial results. At issue is a section of the law that eliminates a tax break available to companies that provide drug benefits to retirees as part of their insurance coverage. The tax change, expected to generate $4.5 billion of revenue over the next 10 years, will help offset the cost of providing coverage to the uninsured.

HC Reform Update by Mark Sanna: A government analysis of the new health care law says it will not slow the overall growth of health spending because the expansion of insurance and services to 34 million people will offset cost reductions in Medicare and other programs. The study, by the chief Medicare actuary, Richard S. Foster, said, “Overall national health expenditures under the health reform act would increase by a total of $311 billion compared with the amounts that would otherwise be spent from 2010 to 2019.”

HC Reform by Mark Sanna: The new health law did not overturn the insurance industry's exemption from antitrust law, but a separate bill passed by the House may yet do so.After the health law was signed, the House overwhelmingly passed another freestanding bill that would eliminate the insurer antitrust exemption.

HC Reform Update by Mark Sanna: Fearing that health insurance premiums may shoot up in the next few years, Senate Democrats laid a foundation for federal regulation of rates that would “provide an important check on unjustified premiums. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) introduced a bill that would give the secretary of health and human services the power to review premiums and block “any rate increase found to be unreasonable.”

4/21/10 HC Reform Update by Mark Sanna: It’s likely that your insurer will be able to continue to limit physical therapy and mental health benefits under the new health law. Existing health plans won’t ever have to provide the “essential health benefits” that will be mandatory in the health insurance exchanges and for individual and small group plans starting in 2014.

4/20/10 HC Reform Update by Mark Sanna: A combination of rising health insurance premiums and falling wages has hit middle-income people especially hard, causing them to lose health insurance coverage faster than workers both poorer and richer than they are, according to a recent report from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

4/19/10 HC Reform Update by Mark Sanna: The success of the new health care law depends to a large degree on a handful of Obama administration officials, who are scrambling to make the transition from waging political war on Capitol Hill to managing one of the most profound changes in social policy in generations. Jay Angoff, a longtime consumer advocate and nemesis of the insurance industry, will lead efforts to regulate insurers and insurance markets. Jeanne M. Lambrew, an idealistic veteran of the Clinton White House, is carrying out provisions of the law aimed at expanding coverage. Phyllis C. Borzi, a top Labor Department official, will police the conduct of employers, who provide health benefits to more than 150 million Americans.

4/18/10 HC Reform Update by Mark Sanna: Mindful that the new health care law’s ability to slow rising medical costs will depend to a great extent on how it is put in effect, President Obama is assembling a high-level team to carry out key elements of the overhaul and is considering moving faster than the law requires to put them into action. The president has tapped Pete Rouse to oversee what one insider described as an “elaborate implementation plan.

4/16/10 HC Reform Update by Mark Sanna: President Obama on Thursday ordered his health secretary to issue new rules aimed at granting hospital visiting rights to same-sex partners. The rule changes, which will also make it easier for gay men and lesbians to make medical decisions on behalf of their partners. The new rules affect any hospital that participates in Medicare or Medicaid.

4/15/10 HC Reform Update by Mark Sanna: Starting in September, adult children younger than 26 can be added to their parent’s health policy. Some plans already extend coverage to adult dependents as long as they are full-time students. Health and Human Services still must announce the exact eligibility requirements.

4/14/10 HC Reform Update by Mark Sanna: The insurance commissioner of Georgia has chosen not to comply with a federal request to create a state pool for high-risk insurance plans, opening a new front in the resistance by state Republican officials to the new federal health care law. The commissioner, John W. Oxendine, who is a Republican candidate for governor, appears to be one of the first politicians in the country to take that stance

4/13/10 HC Reform Update by Mark Sanna: In a new report, the Congressional Research Service says the law may have significant unintended consequences for the “personal health insurance coverage” of senators, representatives and their staff members. The law may “remove members of Congress and Congressional staff” from their current coverage, in the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program, before any alternatives are available. In addition, Congress did not designate anyone to resolve these “ambiguities” or to help arrange health insurance for members of Congress in the future.

4/12/10 HC Reform Update by Mark Sanna: Although one potential improvement in preventive medicine coverage will not take effect until 2014, it could be worth a few thousand dollars to you and your family when it happens. Beginning that year, the new law will let employers offer wellness incentives to their workers of up to 30% (raised from 20% currently) of a plan’s total premium — both the employer’s and worker’s portions. That would be up from the current limit of 20% of the total premium.

4/10/10 HC Reform Update by Mark Sanna: Representative Bart Stupak of Michigan, who played a central role with fellow anti-abortion Democrats in negotiating a compromise in the final hours of the health care debate, intends to announce today that he will not seek re-election, a senior party official confirmed. Mr. Stupak, a nine-term incumbent, has been under intense pressure from anti-abortion groups since the health care bill passed last month.

4/8/10 HC Reform Update by Mark Sanna: The new health care legislation created a high-risk insurance program will act as a temporary stopgap until 2014 for people who cannot get coverage because of pre-existing medical conditions. After that time, insurers will be required to take all comers, and who will sign up for coverage through a state or regional insurance exchange. The new program should be available in July.

4/7/10 HC Reform Update by Mark Sanna: The secretary of health and human services, Kathleen Sebelius, wrote to state officials on Tuesday to urge that they take action against “scam artists” reportedly marketing fake insurance policies to exploit the new law overhauling the health care system. She described reports of people setting up toll-free telephone numbers and going door-to-door peddling phony policies, in some cases falsely claiming that the new law established a limited enrollment period for buying government-subsidized insurance.

4/6/10 HC Reform Update by Mark Sanna: On Friday, the secretary of health and human services, Kathleen Sebelius, sent a letter to governors and state insurance commissioners asking whether they were interested in creating high-risk insurance pools to help cover the uninsured from now to 2014 when new government-regulated insurance exchanges begin to operate and regulations take effect.

4/5/10 HC Reform Update by Mark Sanna: Congress tucked several provisions into the new health care legislation designed to reduce the huge toll of preventable diseases. Chain restaurants will have to provide nutrition information on their menus. Employers must provide “reasonable break time” for nursing mothers. Health insurance companies will have to cover all recommended screenings, preventive care and vaccines, without charging co-payments or deductibles. Medicare beneficiaries will get free annual physicals. Medicaid will cover drugs and counseling to help pregnant women stop smoking. And a new federal trust fund will pay for more bicycle paths, playgrounds, sidewalks and hiking trails.

4/3/10 HC Reform Update by Mark Sanna: In one of its first steps to carry out the new health care law, the Obama administration announced Friday that it was establishing a temporary insurance pool where uninsured people with medical problems could buy coverage at reduced rates. Federal health officials said the program would be available from late June of this year to Jan. 1, 2014.