via Nursing Homes in California Confront Pharmacists’ Errors – NYTimes.com.

If we knew then what we know now—that the long-term care programs added to healthcare reform to sweeten the budget numbers were unsustainable, and that so-called game changers such as disease management didn’t change the game much at all—it is almost certain that the Affordable Care Act would not have passed through Congress.

via If we knew then what we know now about healthcare reform « The Enterprise Blog.

Total premiums — the amount paid by both employers and workers combined — for family coverage rose 50 percent from 2003 to 2010, to nearly $14,000 a year, the study found. (The fund is a private foundation that researches health policy issues. The report includes an interactive map showing premium increases by state).

via Family Health Insurance Costs Doubled in 7 Years, Study Finds – NYTimes.com.

The health care reform law, which has gotten support from about 42 percent of Americans in recent polls, is Obama’s most significant domestic policy accomplishment. But it only got a fleeting mention Tuesday in his third State of the Union speech.

via State of the Union address barely mentions health care reform law – Jennifer Haberkorn – POLITICO.com.

Methods  We searched MEDLINE (1978-2009) for studies measuring US rates of overuse of procedures, tests, and medications, augmented by author tracking, reference tracking, and expert consultation. Four reviewers screened titles; 2 reviewers screened abstracts and full articles and extracted data including overuse rate, type of service, clinical area, and publication year.

Results  We identified 172 articles measuring overuse: 53 concerned therapeutic procedures; 38, diagnostic tests; and 81, medications. Eighteen unique therapeutic procedures and 24 diagnostic services were evaluated, including 10 preventive diagnostic services. The most commonly studied services were antibiotics for upper respiratory tract infections (59 studies), coronary angiography (17 studies), carotid endarterectomy (13 studies), and coronary artery bypass grafting (10 studies). Overuse of carotid endarterectomy and antibiotics for upper respiratory tract infections declined over time.

Conclusions  The robust evidence about overuse in the United States is limited to a few services. Reducing inappropriate care in the US health care system likely requires a more substantial investment in overuse research.

via Arch Intern Med — Abstract: Overuse of Health Care Services in the United States: An Understudied Problem, January 23, 2012, Korenstein et al. 172 (2): 171.

via State Progress Toward Health Reform Implementation: Slower Moving States Have Much to Gain.

But for another year or two, at least, politicians don’t have to lift a finger to block the Medicare cost-control agency from doing anything. For another year or two, it doesn’t have much to do. Or anyone to do it.

via Independent Payment Advisory Board exists in law, resides in limbo – Joanne Kenen – POLITICO.com.

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Urban Institute said Monday that 15 states have made “little or no progress” implementing a key piece of the new law — an insurance exchange where individuals and small businesses can buy private insurance.

The White House released its own report last week saying 28 states are working toward a state-based exchange. Along with states accepting grants for programs like the review of insurance rates, the figures show that “all States have taken some action to implement health reform,” the White House said.

But the Urban Institute analysis released Monday isn’t as upbeat. It says there are major discrepancies in how much progress states have made, and that the most resistant states have the most to lose.

via Report: Many states lag in implementing healthcare law – The Hill’s Healthwatch.

The Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) aims to fund research that compares medical procedures to see which are more effective.

The 2010 health law set aside $500 million in the first five years for what it called “comparative effectiveness research,” which is controversial because some worry that it could limit medical professionals’ ability to order expensive care that could be effective for specific patients but not the general population.

via Healthcare reform board seeks comment on research agenda – The Hill’s Healthwatch.

Health plans are trying to lock in business before government-sponsored health insurance exchanges go online in 2014. Several large insurers are launching private insurance exchanges to protect themselves against competition from the public exchanges.

Not since the advent of Medicare and Medicaid in the 1960s has there been such big changes looming on the horizon for health insurers. In less than two years, the federal health care law will usher in more restrictions on premium increases, tens of millions of new customers, and a way for consumers to comparison shop online for their health insurance.

via Health Plans Launch Own Exchanges Ahead Of Public Versions – Kaiser Health News.

Freedom Watch, a group led by Larry Klayman, asked the court for permission to file a brief on Kagan’s participation in the case. The court on Monday denied the request without comment, though it did note that Kagan did not participate in the discussion.

via Supreme Court says no to debate over Elena Kagan health care role – Jennifer Haberkorn – POLITICO.com.

The climb has been steady since Gallup began tracking whether adults have health insurance in 2008. Four years ago, only 14.8 percent of adults lacked health insurance.

via Survey: Uninsured rose in 2011 – Tim Mak – POLITICO.com.

via Health Reform, Health Insurance, and Selection: Estimating Selection into Health Insurance Using the Massachusetts Health Reform.

via Demand and Reimbursement Effects of Healthcare Reform: Health Care Utilization and Infant Mortality in Thailand.

That is, states must now accept a comprehensive reorganization of Medicaid or forfeit all federal Medicaid funding—even though the spending power is circumscribed to preserve a distinction between what is local and what is national. If Congress is allowed to attach conditions to spending that the states cannot refuse in order to achieve an objective it could not outright mandate, the local/national distinction that is so central to federalism will be erased.

via Obamacare’s Medicaid Expansion Violates Federalism | Cato @ Liberty.

Wisconsin never should have accepted that money. Its purpose was to rope state officials into implementing a law that Walker himself described as “unprecedented,” “unconstitutional,” and jeopardizing “the foundational principle, enshrined in our Constitution, that the federal government is one of limited and enumerated powers.” Yet Walker accepted the Early Innovator Grant after Wisconsin joined the Florida v. HHS lawsuit, and after a federal district court declared the entire law unconstitutional and void.

via Wisconsin Stiff-Arms ObamaCare | Cato @ Liberty.

HHS says they will be ready. But they have been awfully secret over just how they are going to have lots of exchanges ready to go in 20 months. It is hard to see how that $94 million contract is more than just a down payment…

via ‘Will the Feds Be Ready With the Fallback Insurance Exchanges by October 2013?’ | Cato @ Liberty.

via How Sebelius Plans to Save Obamacare: Creating Dependence | Cato @ Liberty.

via Commandeering the People to Avoid Taxation: A Reply to Barnett and Kerr | Cato @ Liberty.

The arguments are scheduled for March 26 to 28, and the court will likely make its decision in June. The decisions will be momentous, both legally and politically. While many analysts and commentators have predicted the court’s direction, this article, by contrast, is more conjectural.

If the Supreme Court strikes down the individual mandate but finds it is severable from the rest of the PPACA — as did the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals — would the PPACA remain viable economically? Or is the individual mandate essential for reforms to function successfully? This article reviews the architecture of the new law, summarizes three economic studies that examine these questions empirically and gives some “outside-the-model” considerations of this pivotal issue.

via The Economic Significance of the Individual Mandate in the Health Care Reform Law – Towers Watson.