The AP
(5/8, Babington) reported that President Obama said in
his weekly address that the
new healthcare law "already is helping millions of people
through tax breaks for small businesses and assistance for
families with young adults." While acknowledging "that many
provisions will not take effect for years," the President "said
others are doing some families good now. Some 4 million
small-business owners and organizations have been told of a
possible health care tax cut this year, Obama said," and next
month, "some older people with high prescription drug costs will
receive $250 to help fill a gap in Medicare's pharmaceutical
benefits." The President said, "Already, we are seeing how
reform is improving the lives of millions of Americans. This is
what change looks like."
Bloomberg News (5/8, Johnston) reported that the
President said his Administration will this week "announce the
new rule that for children remaining on their parents' policies.
Though the rule won't take effect until September, Obama said
insurance companies are being asked to comply immediately and
many have." Obama said, "These changes mean that starting this
spring, when young adults graduate from college, many who do not
have health-care coverage will be able to stay on their parents'
insurance for a few more years."
The Hill (5/8, Heflin) reported that the President "also
vowed in the address to end the practice of health insurance
companies increasing premiums for unexplained reasons or cutting
patients loose with little or no warning."
The
New York Daily News (5/9, Martinez) reported that the
President "said his signature project is already paying
dividends." Politico (5/8,
Gerstein) said that the "most critical and controversial parts
of the recently passed health care reform bill won't take effect
for more than three and half years."
On the front page of its Business Day
section, the New York Times
(5/8, B1, Lieber) reported that "the health care bill that
President Obama signed in March requires insurance companies
that already provide dependent coverage for children to allow
unmarried offspring to stay insured on their parents' plans
until they turn 26." But, "this part of the bill doesn't go into
effect until Sept. 23, and there's still a lot of uncertainty
about exactly who will benefit before or after that date as
companies and insurers wait for more clarity from regulators on
how to put the new rules into place."
On its front page, the
San Francisco Chronicle
(5/10, A1, Colliver) reports that while "insurers said they
would offer coverage right away or by June 1," some young adults
"will be left off their parents' coverage until as late as Jan.
1, health experts say." The availability of coverage may depend
"on the parents' employer policies -- the type of plan, the
contracts the employer has with insurers, and the employer's
renewal or 'open enrollment' dates."
Some Parents Concerned Cost May Still Be Obstacle To Coverage
Under Healthcare Law.
The AP (5/10,
Alonso-Zaldivar) reports, "Starting later this year, President
Barack Obama's health care law requires insurers to accept all
children regardless of medical history. But the law doesn't
limit what the companies can charge," and some parents "fear
that could leave them in the same predicament: still no
insurance for...children because it costs too much." The AP
adds, "Forbidding denials and exclusions because of medical
conditions is one of the major reforms of the new law. The
problem mainly affects people who buy coverage directly, and
workers in small businesses." Notably, since Obama signed the
law, "there's been confusion over the children's benefit that
takes effect this year." HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius "had to
intervene with the industry to clarify that the law forbids
denial of coverage, not just exclusion of particular
conditions."
