Federal health reform has led to more than 1 million Medicare beneficiaries receiving prescription drug cost relief, according to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.

Having touted its early success in implementing some parts of new federal health reform law, officials now say a $250 rebate check to seniors who fall into the Medicare “doughnut hole” will be in the mail in the next two weeks.

The head of national health insurer WellPoint said she is “disappointed” that President Barack Obama, in his weekly address to the nation, cited a Reuters report alleging that the company specifically targets women with breast cancer for the practice of rescission.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the new reconciliation package she wants the full House of Representatives to pass in a few days includes greater insurance reforms and warned that insurance companies will be “poisoning the well” with “misrepresentations” and “misinterpretations” designed to kill the bill.

In a plan the White House says “bridges the gap” between House and Senate health reform bills, President Barack Obama laid out a comprehensive proposal he feels will make coverage more affordable and accessible, while calling for greater accountability by stakeholders in the market.

As the House and Senate begin work to merge their respective health reform bills into one comprehensive piece of legislation, one early victim of compromise may be a government-run health insurance program.

Marylanders continue to spend more on prescription drugs compared to their national counterparts, despite the state’s lower overall health care spending, according to an analysis of state and national health care expenditure data.

While the Senate continues to muster support for an alternative to a government-run insurance program, it has won the backing by the AARP for another component of its proposed health reform legislation.

Citing its efforts to protect and strengthen Medicare, provide affordable coverage options and provide long-term care support and services, the AARP announced its support for the House’s efforts to reform the nation’s health care system.

U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced a new health care reform bill, backed by most House Democrats, that she said will boost competition by including a public option.