News in brief - Nov. 7, 2011

High court could soon decide whether to review health reform law

The U.S. Supreme Court could decide as early as Nov. 10 whether to review pending lawsuits against the Obama administration over the health system reform law.

Justices will review petitions pertaining to challenges to the law during a conference that day. On Sept. 28, the Justice Dept. asked the high court to evaluate a 26-state challenge to the law. A panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals had ruled that a requirement for individuals to obtain health coverage was unconstitutional but concluded that the rest of the law remained in force.

The administration had the option of requesting another review by the full appeals court but petitioned the high court to resolve the dispute, likely meaning a final decision before the 2012 elections if justices decide to hear the issue. Several opponents of the law also have petitioned the high court for a review. Judges will decide which challenges to examine and could consolidate more than one case.

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More than half have low opinion of health reform law

Just more than half of all Americans hold an unfavorable view of the health system reform law, according to an October poll by the Kaiser Family Foundation.

Fifty-one percent said they have an unfavorable view of the statute, 34% said they had a favorable view and 15% did not know or declined to give an opinion. The foundation's tracking poll showed October as the first month since the reform law was enacted in 2010 that a majority of Americans had an unfavorable view of the law.

The poll was conducted while candidates for the Republican presidential nomination lobbed strong criticisms at the reform law, the foundation said. The poll found 63% of Republicans holding a "very unfavorable" view of the law, while only 11% of Republicans said they had a favorable opinion of the law. Nearly one-quarter of Republicans had a positive view in August.

But enthusiasm among Democrats also has faded, the poll said. Since August, support from Democrats has decreased to 52% from 60%.

Just one-third of independents hold a favorable view of the law.

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CMS launches $42 million primary care center demo

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has selected 500 federally qualified health centers to receive $42 million for a three-year advanced primary care practice demonstration project.

The project is expected to help 200,000 Medicare patients receive higher-quality, coordinated care. Participating centers will receive monthly care management fees of $6 for each eligible Medicare patient, CMS said. The fees are directed to defray the cost of transforming the centers to patient-centered, coordinated and seamless primary care practices. Facilities also will expand hours, increase the availability of same-day appointments and accommodate urgent care needs.

"The goal of this demonstration is to help patients get the care they need in a primary care setting rather than in an emergency department," CMS Administrator Donald M. Berwick, MD, said. "When patients are able to use a health center as their primary source of care, it helps primary care doctors, nurses and specialists coordinate care."

The project was created by the health system reform law. A list of the 500 centers has been posted on the CMS Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation website (innovations.cms.gov/areas-of-focus/seamless-and-coordinated-care-models/fqhc/).

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