“Writing a new menu labeling law ‘has gotten extremely thorny,’ says the head of the Food and Drug Administration, as the agency tries to figure out who should be covered by it. The 2010 health care law charged the FDA with requiring chain restaurants and other establishments that serve food to put calorie counts on menus and in vending machines.”
“Applying for benefits under President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul could be as daunting as doing your taxes.
The government’s draft application runs 15 pages for a three-person family. An outline of the online version has 21 steps, some with additional questions. Seven months before the Oct. 1 start of enrollment season for millions of uninsured Americans, the idea that getting health insurance could be as easy as shopping online at Amazon or Travelocity is starting to look like wishful thinking.”
“After 2018, the future of ObamaCare’s exchanges will be all downhill. At least that’s how it looks to the Congressional Budget Office. Its projections imply that the number of people getting subsidized coverage will ramp up from the 2014 start to peak at 22.3 million in 2018, but then fall by 1.8 million over the next five years.”
“The Obama team’s few remaining economic moderates – the ones who have a lot of experience in healthcare — all seem to be sitting out the details of Obamacare implementation and issuance of the law’s many regulations.”
“A newly unveiled component of President Obama’s healthcare law forcing insurers to pay annual fees is sowing angst in state capitols, where officials view the provision as a $15 billion tax that could disrupt Medicaid programs and other services. The health insurance providers fee, included in the healthcare reform law over the objections of congressional Republicans, is designed to raise tens of billions of dollars in the coming years.”
“Wellness programs do not appear to lower overall healthcare costs, a new study shows, leading researchers to conclude the Affordable Care Act’s wellness program incentives won’t significantly reduce healthcare spending. The study, published Monday in the journal Health Affairs, looked at a wellness program launched in 2005 by the St. Louis-based BJC Healthcare hospital system, which required employees wanting access to the system’s most generous health plan to participate in the program.”
“Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) said Wednesday that he will object to a government spending bill if it does not cut off funds for President Obama’s signature healthcare law. Cruz, a staunchly conservative freshman, said he will offer an amendment to delay the flow of funds to implement the healthcare law when the Senate takes up a continuing resolution to fund the federal government.”
“House GOP leaders asked President Obama Tuesday to make funds available in support of a temporary insurance plan for people with pre-existing conditions. The plan, known as PCIP, has struggled to get off the ground since it was enacted as part of the healthcare law. Last month, the Obama administration announced that it would close enrollment due to concerns that the program would be too costly.”
“House Speaker Will Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel, said today he agrees with the decision by his chamber’s select committee on the Affordable Care Act that voted 10-5 _ along party lines _ to reject the expansion of Medicaid in the state under the federal health care law. Here is Weatherford’s statement:”
“Under the Affordable Care Act, insurance plans are required to give new mothers equipment and services to enable them to breast feed. What that means in practical terms for most moms is that insurers have to cover the cost of a breast pump – either a rental or a new one. What the law doesn’t say, however, is what kind of pump has to be provided. It is left to the insurance companies, following doctors’ recommendations, to decide whether to cover the cost of an electric or a manual pump.”