New guidance, regulations and announcements were recently released by the Department of Health and Human Resources (HHS) on consumer health insurance web portals, high-risk pools and other issues.

On July 1, HHS announced the launch of www.HealthCare.gov, a new Web site that provides consumers with various information, including new consumer rights and benefits under the Affordable Care Act, a timeline of when new programs under the new law will come online between now and 2014 and a new insurance finder intended to allow individuals to shop for both private and public health insurance products. The administration suggest that by October 2010 HealthCare.gov will also include prices of health care products.

Also included on the Web site is the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS) “Hospital Compare” – otherwise called “Compare Care Quality” on HealthCare.gov – which provides new information about the quality of care available in outpatient and emergency departments, including how well hospitals care for patients with heart attacks and protect outpatients from surgical infections.   

In other news, participating states began July 1 taking applications for the federally subsidized temporary high-risk pools. The federal government will oversee a similar program in states that opted out of offering the program. All the programs will expire by 2014 when insurers will no longer be allowed to deny coverage based on a preexisting condition. Eligible individuals must have not had health insurance coverage for the previous six months and demonstrate that they have been denied coverage.

Meanwhile, HHS and the administration have been busy with other health care related issues, including the controversial recess appointment of Donald Berwick to be the Administrator of CMS. Berwick is the first permanent CMS administrator since Mark McClellan stepped down in 2006. He will be responsible for implementing a large chunk of the new health care law, including many of the provisions expanding Medicaid and controlling Medicare costs.

Stay tuned to more news and announcements on the new health care law by visiting NSBA’s Health Reform Today and Tomorrow Web site.