Morning CheckUp: April 12, 2012

Romney’s health care law gets awkward birthday party: “Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick marked the state’s landmark health care reform law Wednesday with a ceremony at Faneuil Hall — the same place where Mitt Romney signed the bill almost six years ago, long before the state’s reform became the model for the federal reform reviled by conservatives.” [Politico]

Growth in health costs is slowing: “Healthcare costs aren’t growing quite as rapidly as they have in the past, according to new research from Buck Consultants. The study predicts that health insurance costs will rise this year by less than 10 percent — the first time growth has been that low in more than a decade. The findings could undermine Republicans’ argument that President Obama’s healthcare law is driving costs higher.” [Healthwatch]

Lawmakers ask about HHS funds going to IRS: “Concerned that the Internal Revenue Service may be receiving additional funding from HHS to implement the healthcare reform law, two House lawmakers have asked the federal agency to answer a series of questions by the month’s end.” [Modern Healthcare]

Sebelius makes pitch for Affordable Care Act in Wisconsin: “Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius was in Milwaukee on Wednesday to draw attention to provisions in health care reform that benefit a key constituency: The 49 million people, including 650,000 in Wisconsin, covered by Medicare.” [Journal Sentinel]

Democrat governors craft duals proposal: “Democratic governors had pitched to lawmakers a plan that would allow states to move beneficiaries dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid into managed care and said the proposal would generate $164 billion in federal savings over 10 years, according to documents obtained by Inside Health Policy.” [Inside Health Policy]