In the week leading up to the State of the Union, questions were raised as to whether President Obama should address healthcare. With many reforms of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act set to take effect in 2012, should Obama have been expected to make specific reference to this issue during his remarks?

It's interesting that with a few exceptions, healthcare was not to be found in the President’s speech last night. He briefly cited passage of the healthcare law when discussing President Lincoln’s quote about government doing for the people only what they cannot do for themselves.  A passing negative remark on health insurance companies and a plea to keep medical research funded as part of his focus on innovation rounded out the healthcare focus.

But that doesn't mean that healthcare will not remain a focus at the federal and state level and on the minds of patients, companies and politicians throughout the year.  We will continue to see efforts to implement components of healthcare reform as well as continued rebuff from the states. An unprecedented focus by the Supreme Court on the Medicaid portion of healthcare reform could give more power to the states.  Congress will continue to attempt to pick apart healthcare laws, focus on Medicare physician payment, PDUFA and MDUFA, drug importation, Medicare and Medicaid fixes as well as FDA oversight issues. So, there will be no lack of focus on healthcare this year and with election year politics, who knows what will bubble to the surface.