Health Plan & Provider Report Index Summary

LABOR DEPARTMENT (DOL)

– 2008 ERISA Advisory Council, new members named, 420

LEAVE

– College students, health coverage continuation

See LEGISLATION, FEDERAL, HR 2851

– Disability, no health benefits for worker laid off upon return where premiums were not paid (D.N.J.), 127

LEGISLATION, FEDERAL

– Ed. Note: This heading covers bills with assigned numbers. For information on measures not yet assigned numbers, see specific subject headings.
– House

– – HConRes 312, FY2009 budget resolution, approved measure includes Medicare physician payments fix and Medicaid rules implementation delay, 323
– – HR 493, Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act, Bush likely to sign Senate-passed bill, 462; House passes, 491; new law, 568; scope and employer restrictions discussed, BNA Analysis, 592; correction, 606; educating providers and public key to implementation, report, 831
– – HR 758, Breast Cancer Patient Protection Act, ERISA amendment bill introduced to bar hospital stay benefit restrictions, 996; panel approves, 1021
– – HR 971, Community Pharmacy Fairness Act, CBO estimates cost of bill to exempt independent firms from antitrust laws and allow price negotiation with plans, 87
– – HR 1424, Paul Wellstone Mental Health and Addiction Equity Act, business groups urge support of more limited S 558, 169; House approves, 281; cautious optimism for compromise, Special Reports, 306; Kennedy (D-Mass) and Domenici (R-NM) compromise offered, 341; compromise workable, Kennedy (D-RI) says, 391; House counteroffer ends comprehensive coverage, 569; compromise reached, 693; language of compromise measure included in S 3335 but not in companion HR 6049, 829
– – HR 2764, FY2008 HHS funding, House approves omnibus spending bill, 7; signed, In Brief, 33
– – HR 2851, Michelle's Law, panel approves bill requiring group health plans to continue coverage for seriously ill college students who take necessary leave, 772; committee passes, 801; full House approves by voice vote, 860
– – HR 3800, Wired for Health Care Quality Act, funding provisions included, 200; governors deem state efforts futile absent federal action, 258
– – HR 3997, Defenders of Freedom Tax Relief Act, Senate approves provision to extend current mental health parity law, 5
– – HR 4296, Medicare Electronic Medication and Safety Protection Act, provider incentives key to e-prescribing adoption, meeting, 575
– – HR 4848, Mental health parity temporary extension of current law, approved by voice vote, 169
– – HR 5480, Medicare Fund Warning Response Act, savings possible but budget goal would not be reached, CBO analysis, 322
– – HR 5613, Protecting the Medicaid Safety Net Act, impact of contested rules on school-based services and provider taxes outlined, reports, 520
– – HR 6049, Job, Energy, Families, and Disaster Relief Act, mental health parity compromise bill language of companion S 3335 not included, 829; Sept. 23 vote planned, 1021
– – HR 6331, Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act, House passes S 3101 companion, 693; AMA criticizes Senate for not canceling physician pay cut, 721; GOP senators under pressure to approve, 745; vetoed, 771; veto override, 797; changes to Part D and MA described, BNA Analysis, 815
– – HR 6357, Protecting Records, Optimizing Treatment, and Easing Communication Through Health Technology Act, panel approves bill addressing provider security concerns, 723; committee approves, 834; physicians express support, hearing, 859; panel approves, 992
– – HR 6582, CHOICE Act, bill introduced to provide tax incentives to small businesses to form health insurance cooperatives, 1022

– Senate

– – SConRes 70, FY2009 budget resolution, approved measure includes Medicare physician payments fix and Medicaid rules implementation delay, 323
– – S 334, Healthy Americans Act, projected budget neutrality by 2014 under bipartisan health care reform bill, 494
– – S 459, Breast Cancer Patient Protection Act, ERISA amendment bill introduced to bar hospital stay benefit restrictions, 996
– – S 558, Mental Health Parity Act, business groups urge support in lieu of broader HR 1424, 169; compromise possible, 281; cautious optimism, Special Reports, 306; Kennedy (D-Mass) and Domenici (R-NM) compromise offered, 341; compromise workable, Kennedy (D-RI) says, 391; House counterproposal prepared, 463; House counteroffer ends comprehensive coverage, 569; compromise reached, 693; language of compromise measure included in S 3335 but not in companion HR 6049, 829
– – S 1693, Wired for Health Care Quality Act, privacy concerns delay floor vote, 200; governors deem state efforts futile absent federal action, 258; lawmakers and business groups urge passage, 392; privacy issues agreement prompts hope for passage, 547; stalled, 992
– – S 2408, Medicare Electronic Medication and Safety Protection Act, provider incentives key to e-prescribing adoption, meeting, 575
– – S 2499, Medicare, Medicaid, and SCHIP Extension Act, new law cuts MA slightly and gives physicians 6-month pay increase, 5
– – S 2662, Medicare Fund Warning Response Act, savings possible but budget goal would not be reached, CBO analysis, 322
– – S 2785, Save Medicare Act, AMA supports bill to cancel Medicare physician pay cuts set for July, 342; Baucus (D-Mont) seeks raise for primary care physicians and Medicare medical home pilot funding, 421
– – S 2795, Small Business Health Options Program, bipartisan bill allowing risk pools introduced, 394
– – S 2819, Economic Recovery in Health Care Act, bipartisan bill would boost Medicaid funding and halt contested CMS rules, 418
– – S 3101, Medicare Improvements for Patients and Provider Act, bill introduced to cut payments by $12 billion over 5 years, 636; allowable low-income assets eligibility would double, 637; bill defeated, 669; House passes companion HR 6331, 693
– – S 3118, Preserving Access to Medicare Act, bill introduced to cancel physician pay cut, 669
– – S 3335, Job, Energy, Families, and Disaster Relief Act, mental health parity compromise bill included but consideration before Sept. unlikely, 829
– – S 3343, Medicare Imaging Disclosure Sunshine Act, Grassley (R-Iowa) bill would require physicians to reveal financial ties, 859
– – S 3408, Comparative Effectiveness Research Act, bill proposed to establish nonprofit for study, 860

LICENSES AND LICENSING

– Prescription drugs for chronic diseases, annual license fee payment proposed to cut out-of-pocket costs, study, 124

LIMITED SERVICE CLINICS (LSCs)

– Expansion probable despite state legislation, FTC workshop, 474
– Growth to meet consumer demands, Special Reports, 218
– Ill., proposed regulatory bill may have negative impact on competition, FTC analysis, 642
– Mass. pharmacies, regulatory structure approved allowing CVS Minute Clinics, 60
– Oversight, Joint Comm'n and Urgent Care Ass'n of Am. team, 777

LOCAL GOVERNMENT

See STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

LONG-TERM CARE

– Federal benefit, proposal requires private contributions, 124
– Fla. insurance contracts, new law, 729
– Pharmacists and pharmacies, groups seeking Part D payment information lack standing to sue HHS (D.D.C.), 98
– State oversight

– – Inconsistencies unfair to consumers, GAO report, 831
– – Policies, standards needed to protect buyers, hearing, 835

– Tenn. policies, new law limits, 651
– Wash. Medicaid, new law regulates resident discharges, 423

LOUISIANA

– Plan administrator misrepresented participant coverage, hospital's motion to remand granted (E.D. La.), 557; detrimental reliance claim proceeds, 868; remanded to state court, 980
– Subrogation, ERISA no bar to state insurance commissioner directive on make whole doctrine application (5th Cir.), 330
– Unapproved health insurance policies, La. firm to stop marketing to Mass. residents, 10

LOW-INCOME PERSONS

– Access expansion, Pa. house passes premium subsidies bill, 345
– Coverage gap increasing with income disparity, report, 501
– Health insurance, most without group coverage do not buy individual policies, study, 179
– Massachusetts working poor

– – Reform law coverage expansion considered, 526
– – Subsidized care, half a million employed individuals received, report, 647

– Part D

– – Allowable eligibility assets doubled

See LEGISLATION, FEDERAL, HR 6331, S 3101

– – Assignment based on need, researchers recommended to MedPAC, 960
– – Plan reassignment, final CMS rule bars, 371
– – Premiums, plans may cut, 31
– – Subsidies qualification

– – – Assets test eliminated from N.Y. budget bill, 425
– – – Denial basis, income not assets, GAO report, 993

LSCs

See LIMITED SERVICE CLINICS (LSCs)