Over the past several days, the second open enrollment period through the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA’s) health insurance exchanges began; Republican lawmakers, now with majorities in both the House and the Senate, explored...more
Secretary Burwell continues to settle in to her new position as the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), this week making a number of management changes at the department; CMS released the long awaited proposed rule...more
6/30/2014
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Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
GAO ,
Health Insurance Exchanges ,
Healthcare ,
Home Health Care ,
Hospitals ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Ratings ,
Secretary of HHS
Affordable Care Act (ACA) action on Capitol Hill this past week centered on investigations into improper ACA subsidy payments, a potential constitutional amendment proposal, and support for an appeal of the ACA in favor of a...more
Congress held several hearings last week ranging from Sylvia Burwell’s nomination for Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), to Medicare payment oversight, to post-acute care in Medicare. The Centers...more
5/28/2014
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American Hospital Association ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
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EHR ,
Health Insurance Exchanges ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Hospitals ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Legislative Committees ,
Medical Devices ,
Medicare ,
Physician Medicare Reimbursements ,
Qualified Health Plans ,
Secretary of HHS
This week, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that in May Jonathan Blum would be leaving his post as Deputy Administrator for CMS and Danielle Moon who leads CMS’ Medicare Advantage division would...more
In a high-stake but relatively uneventful series of negotiations, the House and Senate passed a continuing resolution to fund the government through September, averting another government shutdown. Also over the past week,...more
The deadline to enroll in coverage for January 1 was officially extended by a week, but the new December 23 deadline is fast approaching, and premium payments are required to be paid by the last day of 2013 for January 2014...more
12/20/2013
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Federal Budget ,
Health Insurance Exchanges ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
MedPAC ,
Mental Illness ,
Physician SGR Formula ,
Premiums
Criticism of the Affordable Care Act’s exchange rollout continued this past week. The main line of attack has moved from the malfunctioning website to canceled plans despite President Obama’s repeated promise that those who...more
Repair work to Healthcare.gov is underway, and White House advisors are now pledging that it will be functioning smoothly by the end of November. However, the system was met with new problems over the weekend when the...more
After 16 days of government shutdown, Congress voted to reopen the government and avert default without defundingthe Affordable Care Act, delaying the individual mandate, stripping the medical device tax from the law or...more
With a week until a potential government shutdown and a week until open enrollment begins, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is in the limelight. On September 20, the House voted for a continuing resolution that funds the...more
9/26/2013
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Continuing Resolution ,
Contraceptive Coverage Mandate ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Federal Budget ,
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Government Shutdown ,
Health Insurance Exchanges ,
Healthcare ,
Open Enrollment ,
Premiums
In response to security concerns about personal information in the health insurance exchanges, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released a new security agreement for the data hubs where this information...more
With only two weeks before Congress’ August recess and just a little more than two months before October open enrollment begins, Washington is busy sorting through, implementing and, in some cases, fighting the Affordable...more
Capitol Hill and the agencies went back and forth last week on the impact and consideration involved in delaying the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) employer mandate; votes in the House are expected this week on it, as well as a...more
7/17/2013
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) ,
Delays ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Employer Mandates ,
Health Insurance Exchanges ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare
The countdown is on now. Less than 100 days until the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) main provisions go into effect, and Organizing for Action and Enroll America kicked outreach efforts to the uninsured into high gear last week....more
6/28/2013
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Deadlines ,
Health Insurance Exchanges ,
Healthcare ,
Hospitals ,
Medicaid ,
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Reverse Payment Settlement Agreements ,
SCOTUS
Last week the House Committee on Ways & Means Health Subcommittee held a hearing on Medicare overhaul proposals affecting post-acute care; the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) wrote to House Budget Committee Chairman Paul...more
Marilyn Tavenner received bipartisan support from members of the Senate Committee on Finance in her confirmation hearing to lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) though a full Senate vote is being held up,...more
4/26/2013
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CCIIO ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Charitable Donations ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
EHR ,
Fraud Abuse and Waste ,
Health Insurance Exchanges ,
Medicaid ,
Safe Harbors ,
Tax Credits
As Washington and the rest of the country brace for cuts from the sequester to kick in on March 1, Florida Gov. Rick Scott surprised many and confirmed others' predictions by announcing his state will expand its Medical...more
Last week another marketplace deadline came and went, Illinois became the 21st state approved to operate a health insurance marketplace, and U.S. senators pressed the HHS official responsible for the bulk of exchange...more
In the past week, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released an updated federal budget to account for new regulations from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS),...more
2/13/2013
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Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Congressional Budget Office ,
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IRS ,
Medicaid ,
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Medicare ,
Notice Requirements ,
OMB
In the past week, the health insurance exchanges were rebranded as “health insurance marketplaces;” HHS extended the deadline for states to opt into administering their own marketplaces and announced $1.5 billion in new...more
The Obama administration gave eight more states conditional approval to operate health insurance exchanges, bringing the total number of fully or partially approved exchanges to 20; HHS approved 106 new accountable care...more
The extended deadline for states to submit plans to run their own insurance exchanges is now behind us. A total of 18 states submitted blueprints to run their own exchanges. The 32 remaining states have until February 15,...more
HHS is quickly moving to implement the Affordable Care Act. Rules are out in the past two weeks that charge insurance companies to participate in federal exchanges, prohibit discrimination based on pre-existing conditions,...more