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The whole point of the nation's conversation about health reform has been to find ways to spend differently so that the result is a higher quality, more humane health care system.
In a response to the August 23 opinion column by Douglas Holtz-Eakin and Michael Ramlet, Timothy Jost, a National Association of Insurance Commissioners consumer representative, says the NAIC has been meticulously transparent and participatory in its processes to implement the medical loss ratio requirement.
In the past, many patients who opted for experimental treatments for cancer and other life-threatening illnesses found that their insurance companies stop covering all routine care for their illness. The health overhaul mandates that insurers continue to pay for doctor visits, hospital stays, test and other routine treatments.
The health law's shortcomings in controlling health care costs and damage to the federal budget outlook are understood. But the economic consequences of greater uncertainty and reduced innovation are only now becoming clear.
The National Association of Insurance Commissioners met in Seattle and pushed through a much debated recommendation on how federal officials should judge insurance company expenses.
Colleges and universities are warning federal officials that they may not be able to offer student health plans in the future unless the government clarifies certain provisions of the new health overhaul law.
Many homeless people are uninsured and ineligible for Medicaid. But that will change beginning in 2014, when Medicaid greatly expands under the new health law.
The new "high-risk pools" - the federally-subsidized program for uninsured people with health problems - are one of the first benefits of the health overhaul law passed this year, but not many people have applied and been enrolled in the plans springing up around the country.
When a program subsidizing health insurance for people who lose their jobs ended this year, it created a costly problem as the recession continues to throw workers off the payroll. COBRA coverage, which employees of many businesses can obtain after being laid off, typically is very expensive.
Cigna Corp. has geared up with a high-powered team of executives to find new business under the health law while also preserving current benefits for customers and for the company.
Insurers, lawmakers and state insurance regulators continue to debate what may and may not be included in a calculation of the medical loss ratio. Separately, debate is also ongoing over how much power individual states have to enforce provisions of the health care law.
The new health overhaul law aims to end all annual dollar limits on health insurance policies by 2014, but insurers that offer limited-benefit plans can seek waivers so they can continue to offer them. Many employers want to keep the plans, criticized by consumer advocates as skimpy.
House leaders are taking the unusual step this week of interrupting the August recess to call members back to consider state aid legislation that includes $16 billion in federal Medicaid assistance. The Senate approved this funding package last week.
It takes some work, but patients can help control health care costs by avoiding unneeded care and negotiating prices, among other things.
This week, HHS issued rules on high-risk health insurance pools as well as guidance on children's coverage issues. Two new polls focused on seniors and health reform, and both political parties continued to position themselves for the fall elections.
During the health reform debate, people with pre-existing conditions lobbied for affordable health insurance. Now, HHS has issued new rules on how high-risk pools will work.
Deficit and debt drive cuts in jobs and services
A look at the new health law's long-term-care program and the plan to close the Medicare drug doughnut hole.
This week's health policy news was marked by new administration rules regarding the appeals process for denied health insurance claims and continuing state-level efforts to implement high risk pools.
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