Health reform implementation

The House will keep voting on piecemeal bills to repeal parts of President Obama's healthcare law before the Supreme Court decides whether the law is unconstitutional.

Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) said in a planning memo that the House will vote on two partial repeal bills as early as June 4. One would repeal the health law's tax on medical devices, and the other would relax the law's restrictions on the use of tax-preferred health savings accounts (HSAs).

The medical-device industry has long opposed the new excise tax imposed under the Affordable Care Act, and Republicans have recently trained their focus on the HSAs policy. The law bans the use of HSAs to pay for nonprescription drugs unless a doctor writes a prescription anyway.

Cantor also said the House is likely to vote Wednesday on a bipartisan Food and Drug Administration bill. The Senate has passed its version, and leaders want to get a final bill to Obama's desk by July 4.

Medical specialists are urging regulators to slow implementation of an initiative funded by the 2010 healthcare law that aims to streamline care for some low-income elderly and disabled patients.

In a letter, the Alliance of Speciality Medicine asked the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) for a one-year delay on the grounds that the current "direction and speed" of the project's implementation would jeopardize payments to medical professionals as well as the care of so-called dual eligibles — people enrolled in both Medicare and Medicaid.

"While the goal of the program is to eliminate duplication of services for these patients," the group wrote, "we are deeply concerned about unintended consequences."

Healthcare cost containment will pose a challenge to Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick (D) this year as the state's "RomneyCare" program continues to be seen as a bellwether for the national healthcare law. The Boston Globe has more.

A new bill in Pennsylvania would defund Planned Parenthood and other organizations that provide abortions in addition to women's healthcare services. The Post-Gazette has more.

Lawmakers in Illinois passed $1.6 billion in budget cuts, many of which will hit Medicaid, the Chicago Tribune reports.

Budget cuts around the country mean fewer nurses in schools, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Hotels and health clubs will have until early next year to comply with rules regarding pool access for disabled people, The Associated Press reports.

The Health and Human Services Department (HHS) announced roughly $5 million in grants Wednesday for health centers that serve children with special needs and their families.

The money, provided by the Affordable Care Act, will support Family-to-Family Health Information Centers. The centers are run by the families of special-needs children and provide counseling to other families, HHS said in a release.

The grants will fund health centers in all 50 states as well as Washington, D.C.

“These centers provide the information that families need to make health care decisions that are right for their children,” HHS Secretary Kathleen Secretary Sebelius said in a statement. “Family-to-Family Health Information Centers are a good investment, and have a measurable and positive impact on families, and communities.”

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) criticized President Obama for spending "taxpayer money" to promote the administration's healthcare reform law.

"My guess is they prevail," Sen. Roy Blunt said of the lawsuits challenging the healthcare law's contraception mandate.

HHS signed a contract with PR firm Porter Novelli to raise awareness about preventive benefits in the Affordable Care Act.

Dolan called the White House accommodation on the mandate "so strangling and so narrow."

The House Majority Whip had a loaded question for the director of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention on Monday.

CDC Director Tom Frieden answered questions for a live chat through Twitter in the afternoon, and Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) did not miss his opportunity to ask a question about stimulus money being used to fund public health programs under the healthcare reform legislation.

Frieden answered the GOP Whip's question, but he and McCarthy seemed to be talking past each other in their exchange.

According to McCarthy's office, his concern was that federal money is being used to push companies into making decisions that work with the CDC's agenda. Frieden defended the results that companies can see by making healthier options available to employees.

.@GOPWhip Healthier employees save businesses $, are more productive, live longer & reduce healthcare costs. bit.ly/zXkTJW #CDCchat

— Dr. Tom Frieden (@DrFriedenCDC) May 21, 2012

The campaign was mandated by the healthcare law and must describe the importance of staying healthy and preventing disase. Read more...