From SAMHSA's Weekly Financing News Pulse: National Edition - May 20, 2011: In April, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) approved 221 additional waivers exempting health plans from the national health care reform law’s minimum annual benefit requirement.  Designed to serve as a stopgap measure until health insurance exchanges become operational in 2014, HHS has approved a total of 1,772 such waivers to date.  HHS also granted waivers to Nevada and New Hampshire exempting them from health reform’s medical loss ratio (MLR) requirement.  Maine has also received an MLR requirement waiver.  In other health reform news, on May 18, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a brief with the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in the 26-state lawsuit challenging the national health care reform law.  The brief argues that the law’s individual insurance mandate is a constitutional exercise of power to ensure all consumers can pay for necessary care.  A lower court originally ruled that the mandate is an unconstitutional exercise of Congressional power.  The appellate court will hear oral arguments on June 8.