NU Online News Service, Feb. 23, 10:23 a.m.EST

Funding for implementing the medical loss ratio provision of thehealth care reform law would be eliminated for the remainder ofthis fiscal year under the budget passed by the House lastSaturday.

Congress is off this week, and the current appropriations billextending operations of the government under the 2010 budget runsout March 4.

Moreover, various other amendments to the appropriations billwould bar the Obama administration from implementing any otherportion of the health care law, the Patient Protection andAffordable Care Act.

House Democrats also said the proposed budget would cut theSocial Security Administration's budget by 9.3 percent for the restof the fiscal year, likely resulting in major furloughs. Democratssaid the cuts could result in furloughs of up to four weeks forsome agency employees.

Specifically, an amendment offered by Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa,strips funding for any provision of the health care law.

Another amendment by Rep. Denny Rehberg, R-Mont., prohibitsfederal funding from being used to pay any employee, officer orcontractor to implement the provisions of President Obama's healthcare law.

The National Association of Health Underwriters lauded anamendment by Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga., a physician, which prohibitsthe use of federal funds from being used to carry out the medicalloss ratio restrictions in the president's health carelaw. 

Janet Trautwein, executive vice president and CEO of NAHU, saidthe MLR provision is having "a devastating financial impact on thecountry's approximately half-million licensed professional healthinsurance agents and brokers and their employees and clients—themillions of employers and individual Americans who purchase privatehealth insurance coverage each year."

She said agents are seeing as much as a 50 percent reduction inbusiness income. "This means that fewer agents and brokers will beable to afford to stay in business, and many will have to beginreducing services to their clients and cutting jobs at the verytime our economy is the weakest and health insurance purchasersneed help the most."

Charles Symington, senior vice president of government affairsfor the Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of America, said,"We appreciate the House's attempts to find a solution to an issuein the health care reform law that is already costing jobs inAmerica, and we look forward to working with the House and Senateon addressing this serious issue."

In a statement, Senate majority leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.,tapped his chief of staff, David Krone, to begin discussions withthe office of House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, on a long-termfunding bill.

Sen. Reid also said he will introduce this week a measure thatwould extend the current operations of the government for 30 daysbeyond March 4. He said the measure would reflect $41 billion incuts from President Obama's fiscal year 2011 budget request, notingthat such a funding level was agreed to by Senate Republicans andDemocrats in December but never passed.