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Federal Update            Prevention and Public Health Fund   The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recently announced the release of more than $200 million from the Prevention and Public Health Fund to improve ... local and territorial efforts to provide services such as tobacco cessation and increasing the public health workforce to deliver preventive care to more communities. Additional information on the recent grant announcements can be found at:   ...

... voted on an amendment introduced by Senator Roy Blunt (R-MO) called the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act that would allow any health insurance plan or employer, with a religious affiliation or not, to exclude any service required by the Affordable Care Act if they object based on undefined "religious beliefs or moral convictions." The implications of this provision could result in coverage ...   State Update A new fact sheet from the Kaiser Family Foundation explains how the Medical Loss Ratio provision under the ACA will affect health insurers and consumers. The provision requires most insurance companies that cover individuals and small businesses to spend at least 80 ...

Federal Update   Essential Benefits   The Institute of Medicine (IOM) is expected to release its final report on essential health benefits on Friday. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), however, is unlikely to release a final rule until May 2012.  The Affordable Care Act required the IOM to provide HHS with principles to guide the development of the essential health benefits health most plans will be ...

Below is this week’s update on the Affordable Care Act. As always, thank you for all you do every day to support laws and policies that help cancer patients and their families.   Vote to ... Care Act in its entirety. A separate vote will be held on a resolution that vaguely instructs the three House Committees with jurisdiction for health care to report out legislation (no timeframe is specified) that would replace the existing law. The bill will likely pass the House, but has ... provisions and programs established in the law that Republicans find egregious. In addition, Administration officials such as Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius will be called to the Hill for questioning on implementation. On the other side of the Capitol, the ...