Health care reform news this week

Individual mandate gets axed. The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals struck down the "individual mandate provision" of the health care law last Friday, ruling that the federal government "can't make 'em buy broccoli."  Forbes' blogger Avik Roy called the 207-page majority opinion penned by Clinton and George H.W. Bush appointees to be "the most rigorous and complete repudiation of the mandate ever written." While campaigning this week, Obama remained undeterred, expressing his confidence that the Supreme Court will uphold the law, though that didn't seem to dampen the Republicans' celebration of the appellate court's ruling. Even Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.) had a good week, claiming that his "You lie!" outburst during a 2009 Obama address to a joint session of Congress was right on the money. Wilson claims that a recent grant of $28.8 million to community health care centers around the country will indeed aid illegal immigrants. Politco reporter Matt DoBias asks, "What if the mandate goes?" and outlines several scenarios for what would happen if the Supreme Court upholds the appellate court ruling.

On cereal boxes and health plan summaries. HHS proposed new rules on Wednesday that will require insurers to offer 'clear and consistent' summaries of health plan costs and benefits. Bloomberg says the new regs will make the often dizzying process of comparing health plans not unlike shopping for cereal. America's Health Insurance Plans spokeman Robert Zirkelbach complained that the requirements would be burdensome for insurers, which "could be required to create tens of thousands of different versions of this new document." The new summary reporting requirements are set to take effect on March 23, 2012.

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Retirement news this week

Rollercoaster ride continues. Investors were faced with ominous signs this week, while economists warned of another global recession. This, despite the announcement Tuesday by Fitch that the U.S. will retain its AAA rating. (How do you like that S&P!) Investors yanked more than $40 billion out of mutual funds in a single week, the most since the recession peaked in 2008. Meanwhile, advisors are scrambling to calm panicky clients, and some argue that investors who stick it out with their equity allocations will be fine.

Middle-income boomers feel neglected. Boomers with an income between $30,000 and $74,000 feel ill prepared for retirement and largely ignored by financial professionals, according to a new study by the Insured Retirement Institute. The IRI suggests that the guarantees offered by annuity products may have broad appeal to middle-income boomers.

HR / Benefits news this week

Super Committees to the rescue. From the Fortress of Solitude, some Super Committee members turned their attention to job creation as key to reigning in U.S. debt. House Democratic Caucus Chairman John Larson (Conn.) – apparently either caught up in the Super Committee fan frenzy or anxious to sport his own cape – introduced the idea of creating a separate Super Committee on jobs. Not surprisingly, lobbyists spent the week scrambling to gain influence over Super Committee members.

Employers get tough on wellness. The Chicago Sun times reports that some employers are penalizing their cheeseburger-pounding, camel-smoking employees. E is for Erisa blog suggests that employee inactivity may be "the next wellness frontier." Researchers are experimenting with activity-monitoring technology to help keep sedentary employees healthier.

The news that isn't news. According to a survey by the National Business Group on Health, 53 percent of large employers plan to increase employee-paid health premiums next year. In response to the findings, one reader said it best: "This story could have been copied and pasted from one year to the next over the past 9 years and it would have been just as accurate as it is today."

This week's must-read stories from around the web:

The Borzi Savings Bomb (Wall Street Journal)

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