A busy day

The President held his bipartisan healthcare summit at the Blair House today. The Politico reflects the general consensus as far as I can tell that there was no clear winner from the lengthy meeting. It further reports that "After a brief period of consultation following the White House health reform summit, congressional Democrats plan to begin making the case next week for a massive, Democrats-only health care plan, party strategists told POLITICO."

Business Insurance reports that Congress appears poised to enact a brief extension of the COBRA/TCC premium subsidy program (H.R. 1586) while a longer extension and expansion (to loss of coverage due to a reduction in hours) is considered and likely approved.

The Oversight and Investigation Committee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee held a hearing today on Anthem's individual insurance premium increases in California.  The Wall Street Journal reports that the hearing is part of the ongoing battle to pin blame for rising heath care costs. The insurers blame the medical profession and cost shifting from Medicare and Medicaid. The medical professional blames insurers, lack of competition among insurers, etc. Both sides likely agree on the need for medical malpractice reform but many in my profession are opposed to that idea. Based on watching this issue for almost thirty years, I think that the insurers have the strongest case.

Congress, however, is backing the medical profession. Yesterday, according to the Journal, "the House of Representatives voted to repeal a longstanding insurance-industry exemption from federal antitrust laws [H.R. 4626 by a 406-19 vote]. The bill now heads to the Senate, where its future is less certain." AHIP, the health insurance industry trade association, observed that

“In attempting to solve a problem that doesn’t exist, this legislation is the triumph of sound bites over substance. The Congressional Budget Office has said that passage of this legislation will do nothing to reduce health care costs. Moreover, according to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, anti-competitive ‘activities are not permitted under the McCarran-Ferguson Act and are not tolerated under state law.’ Real reform means containing costs to ensure that health care is affordable for working families and small businesses. It’s time to clear the political hurdles that stand in the way of real cost containment.”