Government News of the Week: Latest Issue

May 14, 2012

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(1) Fifteen health insurers that do business in New York have collectively been fined $2.7 million for failing to adequately notify small employers that they were eligible to purchase supplemental mental health coverage along with medical benefits, according to the New York Dept. of Financial Services (DFS).... (more)

(2) The Arkansas Legislative Council on April 20 approved a measure that would allow the state’s Dept. of Insurance to use a $7.7 million federal grant to build an insurance exchange.... (more)

A new AHIP report shows high proportions of minority groups and very low incomes among seniors who enroll in MA plans. In putting this new face on MA beneficiaries, is the industry likely to be effective in convincing policymakers not to cut MA plan payments further, by showing such cuts would disproportionately affect already disadvantaged seniors? Join the conversation at the AIS Blogs.

(3) HHS proposed a rule on May 9 to implement the Affordable Care Act’s requirement that Medicaid reimburse family medicine, general internal medicine, pediatric medicine and related care at Medicare levels for calendar years 2013 and 2014. States would receive $11 billion in federal funds to pay for the increase from established state-level Medicaid payment rates to the Medicare rates, HHS Sec. Kathleen Sebelius said. The rule specifies which services and types of physicians qualify for the minimum payment level and the method for calculating the payment amount. (Reprinted from AIS’s Health Reform Week's e-News Alert)

(4) HHS is requesting comment on an interim strategy that would allow state exchanges to verify an applicant’s access to employer-sponsored coverage, according to a bulletin released April 26 by the Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight (CCIIO).... (more)

(5) New Hampshire’s Republican-led Senate is considering barring New Hampshire officials from planning, creating or participating in a state health care exchange... (more)

(6) HHS Sec. Kathleen Sebelius on May 9 announced the availability of up to $75 million from the health reform law’s School-Based Health Center Capital program to pay for the construction or renovation of school-based health centers. Such centers enable children with acute or chronic illnesses to attend school and also are used for health screenings and sickness prevention activities for the general school population. (Reprinted from AIS’s Health Reform Week's e-News Alert)

(7) Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback (R) agreed to delay for a year the state’s plans to move about 7,800 developmentally disabled individuals into managed Medicaid... (more)

(8) UnitedHealth Group on April 23 was granted a request to intervene in a case in which a rival insurer alleges the state Republican party chairman intervened in the state government’s award of an employee insurance contract to UnitedHealth.... (more)

(9) Premera Blue Cross has dropped a health plan that serves individuals and small groups in Washington state after regulators denied a request to eliminate prescription drug coverage... (more)

Have breaking news or an editorial question? E-mail BJ Taylor, editor of GOVERNMENT NEWS OF THE WEEK, at bjtaylor@aishealth.com. If you are interested in sponsoring GOVERNMENT NEWS OF THE WEEK please contact Bailey Sterrett at bsterrett@aishealth.com.

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