Selected stories from the daily newsletter CQ HealthBeat from the week of December 13, 2010. Provided as a service under rights licensed by The Commonwealth Fund. The full-text version of this newsletter is available in the
Health Reform section of commonwealthfund.org.
The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) has recommended a standard form to the federal government that insurers would fill out to justify "unreasonable" increases in health insurance premiums. Read more »
The first of a two-day, closed-door, HHS meeting with representatives from 44 states suggested that in many cases states will delay passing laws to create health insurance exchanges until 2012, according to one attendee. Read more »
Running any enterprise is an exercise in finding the right balance between being firm and being flexible. If you're not firm enough, the enterprise won't move forward; if you're too firm, it will break down. For Joel Ario, the enterprise is carrying out the health care law requirement that insurance exchanges be up and running in every state by 2014. Read more »
White House officials are holding a meeting with health care providers—apparently mostly physicians—to "exchange ideas on areas in need of attention" in connection with the health care law, according to a letter sent out to invitees that was circulated by Republicans on the Hill. Read more »
The rise in the average per capita cost of health care services has slowed marginally over the past year due to a moderation of prices and less use of health care, says the Standard & Poor's analyst in charge of the data released. Read more »
A U.S. District Court judge in Virginia struck down the centerpiece of President Obama's health care law, saying that the requirement that all Americans have health insurance coverage "exceeds the constitutional boundaries of congressional power." Read more »