Morning Health

INSURERS PUSH BACK: America's Health Insurance Plans is pushing back against Democratic lawmakers who want to maximize how much insurers must spend on healthcare. A legal analysis requested from O'Melveny and Myers LLP finds Democrats can't restrict the types of taxes insurers can subtract when calculating their medical loss ratio.

"Well-settled principles of statutory construction and longstanding Supreme Court precedent establish that the post-enactment interpretive opinions of several members of Congress cannot alter the meaning of an otherwise unambiguous statutory provision," the opinion states.

Read the opinion: here.

Background: At issue is what the law means when it calls for removing "federal taxes" when calculating the medical loss ratio; the law requires that insurers spend at least 80 or 85 percent of premiums (minus taxes) on care, so the more taxes are removed the higher the profits. Six committee chairmen wrote to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius last week to clarify that only "federal taxes and fees that relate specifically to revenue derived from the provisions" of the healthcare reform law should be excluded.

Read the earlier story: http://bit.ly/cwlHJB

STATE COMMISSIONERS WEIGH IN: They're leaning towards allowing insurers to exclude all federal taxes except those on investment income, according to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.

Background: The NAIC said its expected approval Tuesday of the forms insurers must fill out will give an early indication of the commissioners' thinking on the medical loss ratio. During a call with reporters Friday afternoon, the NAIC said the instructions that will accompany the forms will likely allow for the exclusion of most taxes but that the instructions can always be revisited later.

Final word? While the lawmakers' letter is seen as raising the pressure on HHS, the NAIC still expects to have the final word in setting the standards: "We feel pretty confident that what we submit [to HHS] is going to be certified," Kansas Insurance Commissioner Sandy Praeger told reporters. 

SEATTLE SHOWDOWN: Consumer advocates protest insurance company's lobbying heft at the annual NAIC meeting in Seattle. At an event organized by the Puget Sound Alliance for Retired Americans and backed by Health Care for America Now, protesters reportedly handed out "lobbyist disinfectant packs," including soap and face masks, and demanded that regulators do their job for consumers, according to Consumer Watchdog: http://bit.ly/dqVw1V

RATE REVIEW: HHS this afternoon holds a conference call to discuss how the healthcare reform law "is helping states to improve the oversight of proposed health insurance premium increases, take action against insurers seeking unreasonable rate hikes, and ensure consumers receive value for their premium dollars."

On the menu: The state recipients of $51 million in rate review grants are expected to be announced. Read earlier story: http://bit.ly/9WyOZn

HEALTH STATISTICS: The National Center for Health Statistics kicks off its three-day 2010 National Conference on Health Statistics: http://bit.ly/b7HGnZ

GLOBAL HEALTH: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton delivers remarks on the administration's Global Health Initiative: http://bit.ly/bLlNpR