Senate Takes Up The Freedom Act Verses Renewing the Patriot Act.

Today in Washington, D.C. - June 2, 2015
The House reconvened at 10 AM today and then recessed until Noon when it reconvened. Unlike the Senate, the House continues to make headway on taking actions on appropriation bills.

Bill that may be considered today:
H.R. 2577 - "Making appropriations for the Departments of Transportation, and Housing and Urban Development, and related agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2016, and for other purposes."
H.R. 2578 - "Making appropriations for the Departments of Commerce and Justice, Science, and Related Agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2016, and for other purposes."

Yesterday the House passed
H.R. 1168 (voice Vote) — "To amend the Indian Child Protection and Family Violence Prevention Act to require background checks before foster care placements are ordered in tribal court proceedings, and for other purposes."
H.R. 1335 (Voice Vote) — "To amend the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act to provide flexibility for fishery managers and stability for fishermen, and for other purposes."
H.R. 1493(Voice Vote) — "To protect and preserve international cultural property at risk due to political instability, armed conflict, or natural or other disasters, and for other purposes."
S. 802 (Voice Vote)— "To authorize the Secretary of State and the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development to provide assistance to support the rights of women and girls in developing countries, and for other purposes."
And several Voice voted administrative bills not being detailed herein.

The Senate reconvened at 9:30 AM today and resumed consideration of H.R. 2048, The Freedom Act, the House-passed bill making reforms to anti-terror surveillance programs.

At 10:30, the Senate voted 83-14 to invoke cloture on H.R. 2048. At 2:40, the Senate will begin voting on amendments to H.R. 2048.

Obamacare Consequences: Insurers Seeking Large Premium Increases Again, Some As High As 85%
As health insurers prepare for another year of Obamacare, they’re announcing their anticipated premiums for 2016, and once again Americans are looking at massive increases in the price they pay for health insurance, once more directly contradicting President Obama’s pledge that his unpopular law would lower premiums.

The New York Times reports, “In a sign of the tumult in the health insurance industry under the Affordable Care Act, companies are seeking wildly differing rate increases in premiums for 2016, with some as high as 85 percent, according to information released on Monday by the federal government for the 37 states using HealthCare.gov as their exchange.”

The AP writes, “Dozens of health insurers say higher-than-expected care costs and other expenses blindsided them this year, and they're going to have to hike premiums for individual policies well-beyond 10 percent for 2016. The proposed double-digit hikes would apply to plans sold on the health insurance exchanges created under President Barack Obama's law, as well as individual coverage sold through brokers and agents.”

“Insurers point to costs from customers they gained under the health care overhaul's coverage expansion and the rising expense of prescription drugs among other reasons for their planned increases, according to preliminary rate information released Monday on the federal government's HealthCare.gov website.”

Reports tally insurers seeking double-digit increases in North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Georgia, Maryland, Illinois, New Mexico, New Jersey, Tennessee, Connecticut, and Florida.

According to the AP, “Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina is seeking a roughly 26 percent premium increase, while plans in Illinois and Florida, among other states, are asking for hikes of 20 percent or more.”

The Wall Street Journal reports, “In Pennsylvania, Highmark Health Insurance Co. is asking for 30%, according to proposals submitted by insurers for the year ahead. Around the country, some of the main market leaders are looking for double digit increases.

The Times writes, “In Delaware, the state’s insurance regulator said on Monday that two insurers asked for much higher rates in 2016: Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield sought a 25 percent increase, while Aetna wanted an increase of 16 percent. ‘Large rate increase requests like these are occurring in several states across the country,’ said Karen Weldin Stewart, the Delaware insurance commissioner, who said she planned to try to reduce those rate requests.

“In Georgia, Alliant Health Plans is seeking increases as high as 85 percent for some plans, with an average increase of 38 percent, according to the filing listed on the federal website, ratereview.healthcare.gov. The insurer declined to comment on the filing.

“But there are wide variations in some states. In Maryland, for example, while CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield is seeking a 30-percent increase for some of its plans, others including Cigna, Kaiser Permanente and UnitedHealthcare are proposing to lower premiums for some plans.”

And according to the Chicago Tribune, “Health insurance premiums could rise more than 30 percent next year for some people in Illinois who have bought individual plans, a hefty increase that insurers say is driven by the costs of members' medical bills. The largest average rate increases in the state were proposed for certain plans offered by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois, Coventry Health Care and Assurant Health, according to a list of proposed increases exceeding 10 percent that was posted Monday on the healthcare.gov website. Humana and downstate insurer Health Alliance also requested increases averaging above that threshold for some plans.

“‘The rates that we are filing simply reflect the costs of health care including the cost of services, the amount of services people will receive and an increase in pharmaceutical costs,’ Coventry spokesman Rohan Hutchings said in an emailed statement.

“Last year, plans sold through the online marketplace established under the federal Affordable Care Act increased an average of 5.4 percent, according to PwC Health Research Institute. . . .

“Insurers' requests in Illinois appear to follow a trend of higher-than-expected increases across the country, as companies adjust to the population they've signed up under the Affordable Care Act, often called Obamacare.

“A set of Blue Cross preferred provider plans in New Mexico would increase 65 percent if approved, and the insurer requested a 36 percent increase for a set of plans in Tennessee. Aetna requested a 30 percent increase in New Jersey. . . .

“According to the information posted Monday by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, a set of narrow-network, low-premium ‘Blue Choice’ plans from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois would increase in price by an average 38 percent. The insurer also has proposed increasing one HMO plan by an average of 29 percent. Between the two plans, about 329,000 people would be affected, according to Blue Cross. . . .

“A group of preferred provider network plans from Coventry would rise an average 34 percent. Other plans are also increasing in price, and the changes would affect 9,000 policyholders in all, according to the insurer's rate filing information.

Far too many stories to summarize.
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