Archive | May, 2012

New Law Speeds Up VA’s Beleaguered Budget Process

President Obama signed a law Thursday to grease the Veterans Affairs Department’s troubled budgeting process by changing the schedule to allocate funds a year in advance, the Washington Post reports. The Veterans Health Care and Budget Reform and Transparency Act “means timely, sufficient and predictable funding from year to year.

Chasm Between Insurers And Reform Supporters Grows

Although “[h]ealth insurers insist they’re still committed to getting a health care overhaul bill passed this year,” many people in Washington are “wondering if – or when – the industry will change its mind and try to kill it,” The Associated Press reports.

Senate Leaders Close To Including A Version Of Public Option In Health Bill

The New York Times: “In pushing to include a government-run health insurance plan in the health care bill, the Senate majority leader, Harry Reid, is taking a calculated gamble that the 60 members of his caucus could support the plan if it included a way for states to opt out.

Today’s Opinions And Editorials

Why Doctors Are Worried Forbes Increasing government oversight will not only hurt doctors in the pocketbook, as reimbursements are inevitably cut. It will also lead to greater bureaucratic inefficiencies (Marc Siegel, 10/22).

Wellness And Prevention Mostly Absent In Health Reform Bills

“Despite Americans’ poor lifestyle choices and the chronic problems they spawn, the health-care reform proposals being considered in Congress contain relatively little to promote wellness,” The Tennessean reports. While “more than one-fourth of all adults in the U.S.

The Evolution Of Employer-Sponsored Insurance

A couple stories Friday examine just how Americans ended up with a system where employers pick up the tab for health insurance and which groups will end up paying more for health reform. NPR on the history of the employer-based system: “The evolution of the American health care system began in the 1920s, when choices boiled down to which crazy cure you preferred.

Senate Negotiators Wrestle With Employer Mandate, Unemployed Have Mixed Feelings On Health Bills

News reports reflect how current reform plans are likely to affect employers as well as people who are unemployed. The Wall Street Journal reports on the status of the employer mandate.

No U.S. Consumer Agency Insurer Oversight, House Panel Votes

WASHINGTON—A House committee has voted to totally exempt insurance companies and their products from oversight by a proposed U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Agency.
The exemption was approved late yesterday by the House Financial Services Committee in a voice vote on an amendment to the legislation (H.R. 3126), that would create the …

Progress on Drunken Driving

An enlightened measure signed this month by California’s Republican governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, will require those convicted of drunken driving — including first-time offenders — to install special devices that prevent cars from operating if the driver is drunk. The large pilot program, which covers the 14 million people living in …

Recession Creates Employer Practices Liability Insurance Demand

Demand has been rising for employment practices liability (EPLI) insurance protection as layoff activity has increased employee claims, an insurance brokerage expert said.
 Speakers during a Marsh Webinar said in 2008 the Equal Employment Opportunities Commission (EEOC) reported discrimination claims were up 15 percent compared to 2007. Laid off workers have …