NewsBits…

■ As we’ve blogged before, Association Health Plans may look good on paper, but they’re hardly without blemish. While we hate to “pile on,” the latest group to join the Bash-An-AHP-Today bandwagon are the Attorneys General of 80% of the Union:

“Forty-one Attorneys General1 conveyed their opposition to S.1955, the Health Insurance Marketplace Modernization and Affordability Act of 2006, which would erode state oversight of health insurance plans, eliminate consumer protections in the areas of mandated benefits and internal grievance procedures, and substitute weak federal oversight for strong state protections.”

While that’s not necessarily the same as an indictment, it does give one pause.

■ Not everyone’s impressed with Massachusetts’ efforts to insure everyone: California health care experts, for instance, say the Massachusetts plan just won't work in the Golden State. According to the California HealthCare Foundation, "(w)ith health coverage, it always comes back to money," says group President and CEO Mark D. Smith. "Where will the funds come from? And will it be affordable for those people it intends to serve?"