The June issue of Health Care News offers insights into several provisions of the recently passed federal health care overhaul, highlighting on page 1 the major changes America’s businesses are facing in their health insurance programs, both for the currently employed and for retirees.
Also in this issue:
* As quickly — but much more quietly — as he called it, Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA), the powerful chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, cancelled a hearing demanding several prominent U.S. CEOs appear in defense of their companies’ announcements the legislation could hurt their bottom line.
* Benefits of the new health care overhaul don’t go into effect for several years, but some negative effects could hit consumers this year.
* The highly popular Healthy Indiana plan may not pass muster with federal regulators under the new requirements.
* Obamacare is expected to hasten the demise of doctor-owned medical practices and force increased unionization of doctors.
* Fraud in Pennsylvania’s Medicaid program may have cost taxpayers more than $1 billion over the past four years—more than three times what the state had previously reported.
* President Barack Obama is using the purse strings to achieve social policy change—an effort the Left may regret if the GOP returns to federal power.
* Evidence from Massachusetts shows Americans will game the new individual insurance mandates and drive the budget deficit even higher.
