On March 30, 2010, President Obama signed into law H.R. 4872, the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010, completing a year-long effort to enact health insurance reforms and Medicare, Medicaid, and other health policy changes. The Reconciliation Act incorporates a series of amendments to the broader Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) enacted on March 23, 2010. In a March 30, 2010 listserve message, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) noted that it is “working hard to expeditiously implement the new law,” with its first priority being those Medicare provisions with the earliest effective dates. Reed Smith’s Benefit Group has released a summary of provisions of the legislation affecting health plans, and our more detailed analysis of the legislation’s impact on health care providers and drug and device manufacturers is expected to be released within the next week. In the meantime, please visit our previous postings on the health reform legislation.