The process of implementing the health care reform law is shifting into high gear at the Department of Health and Human Services. On Tuesday, Secretary Kathleen Sebelius continued the administration's campaign with a speech entitled "Health Reform and You: How the New Law Will Increase Your Health Security," held at the National Press Club.

In Sebelius' speech, she warned that scam artists have already attempted to take advantage of consumer confusion regarding the new law, through setting up 1-800 numbers and going door to door trying to sell fraudulent insurance policies. Sebelius has already sent letters to State Insurance commissioners and attorneys general requesting that they investigate the scams and prosecute those trying to fraudulently capitalize on the uncertainty regarding the changes in the health care system.

Sebelius also explained that in order to avoid overwhelming the system, changes would be made "quickly, but not all at once," so as to work with the states to design the new health marketplace. The new rule ending lifetime caps on benefits, the rule preventing dropping coverage if the individual gets sick, and the rule prohibiting refusal of coverage for pre-existing conditions takes effect this year.
She also said that the HHS, as "America's Help Desk" on reform, would be reaching out to citizens nationwide to ensure people are aware of how to take advantage of reform. Currently the agency is educating seniors about prescription drug assistance. Soon, she says, there will be information for employers on a new reinsurance program that will help them provide coverage for early retirees, as well as new guidance to Medicare Advantage plans.

Another major point for Sebelius was transparency. She announced that HHS will be releasing a "Medicare dashboard" online tool to help search and sort aggregate Medicare data. The dashboard will have full protections on patient privacy.

The White House has already implemented a page on small business tax credits (See DM 12178) and Sebelius has already contacted states to see if they want to opt in to a high-risk pool program (See DM 12186). White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs also explained in a Tuesday briefing that the effort to garner public support for the reform law would be a long-term effort as the law is implemented over the next few years.

Meanwhile, state attorneys general who support reform and are not joining the Florida-led challenge to the reform law are speaking out. (See, DM 12182.) Oregon Attorney General John Kroger is inviting attorneys general in other states to work on developing a successful legal strategy to support the reform law. According to Minnesota's Minneapolis-St. Paul Star-Tribune, AG Lori Swanson has not only declined to join the challenge to reform, she plans to file a friend-of-the-court brief to defend the law. Ohio AG Richard Cordray and Iowa AG Tom Miller have penned an op-ed for Politico in which they compare the health care insurance mandate for individuals to mandates for selective services registration, income tax, and auto insurance. "Nobody can seriously argue that the health care industry operates only in "intrastate commerce," the AGs say, "and that the mandate provisions in this bill cannot be effectively disentangled from the comprehensive economic approach that Congress adopted to fix the deep flaws in our current health insurance system."

On the reform-challenging side, Nevada Governor Jim Gibbons has taken action in spite of AG Catherine Cortez Masto's refusal to join the Florida suit. Gibbons announced Tuesday he had signed an Executive Order naming a Las Vegas private attorney as Special Legal Counsel to the Governor to handle joining the suit in progress.

Read more:

Sebelius' remarks can be accessed at: http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2010pres/04/20100406b.html

Secretary Gibbs' remarks: http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/briefing-white-house-press-secretary-robert-gibbs-4610

AG Kroger's remarks: http://www.doj.state.or.us/releases/2010/rel033110.shtml

The Star-Tribune article: http://www.startribune.com/politics/state/89945372.html?elr=KArksLckD8EQDUoaEyqyP4O:DW3ckUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUnciaec8O7EyUsl

Cordray and Miller's op ed: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0410/35335_Page2.html

Governor Gibbons' statement: http://gov.state.nv.us/PressReleases/2010/2010-04-06_Healthcare_Lawsuits.htm

More Focus on Reform

More Industry Headlines