> New legislation would require Medigap insurance plans to match the medical-loss ratio requirements set forth in the health reform law. Instead of the current requirement to spend 75 percent of premiums on medical care in the group market and 65 percent in the individual market, Medigap plans will have to spend at least 85 percent of every premium dollar on medical care in the group market and 80 percent in the individual market by 2014, reports Modern Healthcare. Article
> More than 80 House Democrats urged the Department of Health & Human Services to adopt the Institute of Medicine's recommendation to make health insurers cover birth control without a co-pay, The Hill's Healthwatch reports. Article
> Highmark wants to increase premiums about 10 percent for some of its individual healthcare programs, including a $12 or $13 increase per month for its low-income Special Care program, the Associated Press reports. Article
> A lawsuit against Providence Health Plans challenging whether an intensive chemotherapy treatment for brain cancer is experimental has reached the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, according to the Lund Report. Article
And Finally... Pun intended: It's good for your brain. Article