2012 November Health Care News

The November issue of Health Care News reports Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick has signed legislation creating a statewide global cap on public and private health care spending. The law specifies a target based on the growth rate of the state’s economy. Devon Herrick of the National Center for Policy Analysis warns health care rationing will be the inevitable result.

Also in this issue:

• The Internal Revenue Service is hiring thousands of agents as it prepares to become the primary enforcement mechanism for Obamacare.

• A judge rejected an attempt to hamper Missouri’s ballot issue with a confusing description, opening the path for voters to decide on exchange implementation.

• Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels has appealed to his potential successors for guidance on the state’s health insurance exchange and Medicaid expansion decisions.

• The Internal Revenue Service is proceeding as if President Barack Obama’s health care law contains language it does not. Will Congress block the agency’s latest ruling?

• Bart Stupak, a former congressman from Michigan who at the time was instrumental in passing Obama’s health care law, disagrees with the administration’s policies on contraception and abortifacients.

• Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval parts with his fellow Republican governors in pushing forward with implementation of a health insurance exchange.

• The decision to expand Medicaid, although enticing in the short term, could create millions in new costs for the state of Oklahoma. The governor and legislature are waiting until after the election to make the decision.