Following the President's historic congressional address (DM10157) on health care reform, and Senate Finance Committee Chair Max Baucus' release of his Chairman's Mark-up bill, both the Finance Committee and the White House were busy continuing working on divergent agendas for reform.

On the Senate side, Senator Baucus (D-MT) announced that several modifications were made to the original mark-up. The changes thus far, submitted by various senators, include the following: increasing the Health Care Affordability Tax Credits for premiums; lowering the amount by which insurance companies could vary premiums based on age; reducing the maximum penalty for individuals who do not purchase health insurance from $3,800 per family to $1,900 per family; creating small business wellness programs; and establishing a three-year, $75 million demonstration project that would allow Medicaid funding to be directed to non-publicly owned and operated psychiatric hospitals for some Medicaid beneficiaries.

Device, Laboratory Focus

There were also new additions that exempted retail products from the Annual Fee on Manufacturers and Importers of Medical Devices; exempted sales of Class II devices that are sold at retail for up to $100 per unit, in addition to exempting all sales of Class I devices from the calculation of the fee; removal of a provision requiring states to cover prescription drugs for all Medicaid beneficiaries; and eliminating the Clinical Laboratories fee and replacing it with a temporary reduction in the Medicare clinical laboratory test fee schedule.

On the White House side, Vice President Biden spoke to a group of state insurance commissioners Tuesday, discussing a new White House analysis of the burden of health insurance premium increases on families. "The State Insurance Commissioners understand firsthand the health care crisis -- and are fighting every day to combat it and reduce unjustified premium increases," Vice President Biden said. "But these numbers are just one more piece of evidence that the need for nationwide reform is urgent."

The White House analysis covers national, regional and state trends in health insurance premium increases, from a report by the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) released earlier this month. The data in that report found the average annual family premium for employer-sponsored health insurance rose to $13,375 in 2009, an increase of 5.5 percent increase in the past year.

The analysis notes that state insurance commissioners have helped reduce unjustified premium growth through regulation, especially in individual and small group markets. These measures involve ensuring companies are not unfairly or excessively increasing premiums. The analysis concludes that health insurance reform should include, among other aspects, no discrimination against pre-existing conditions; non-exorbitant out of pocket expenses, deductibles and co-pays; no cost-sharing for preventive care; no dropping of coverage for those seriously ill; no gender discrimination; and no annual or lifetime caps on coverage.

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