In this special weekend edition, Michael Schmidt hosts a roundtable discussion with 6 of his Cozen O'Connor colleagues to discuss frequently asked questions on the following issues: (1) labor and employment considerations;...more
4/4/2020
/ CARES Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Healthcare ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
Paid Leave ,
Presidential Elections ,
Primary Elections ,
SBA ,
Sick Leave ,
Small Business ,
U.S. Treasury
In the past week, CMS has released several advisories including updates to the rating system for nursing homes, premium and deductible information for Medicare Part B and Part D for 2015, Pioneer ACO results, payment dispute...more
As summer rolls to a close, the agencies continue to make announcements and roll out additional regulations. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) introduced the new CEO of Healthcare.gov, awarded grants to 147...more
August recess has begun on Capitol Hill. Congressmen and women and senators are home in their districts and states, and Capitol Hill staffers are catching up on piled up work. Nonetheless, last week Congressman Kevin Brady...more
Last week the Senate debated a bill to reverse the Supreme Court’s contraception mandate decision, a group of House Republicans introduced a bill to replace Affordable Care Act (ACA) cuts to the Medicare home health benefit...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
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
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
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) received a great deal of attention this past week in Washington. The House held numerous hearings on implementation issues, including oversight of access to care for ACA enrollees and improper...more
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
/ Affordable Care Act ,
American Hospital Association ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
EHR ,
Health Insurance Exchanges ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Hospitals ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Legislative Committees ,
Medical Devices ,
Medicare ,
Physician Medicare Reimbursements ,
Qualified Health Plans ,
Secretary of HHS
Congress returned from its Spring recess and got right to work on a number of Affordable Care Act (ACA) related issues including a bipartisan bill regarding health insurance for Americans living abroad, Medicare oversight,...more
Last Thursday Kathleen Sebelius resigned from her post as Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS). On Friday President Obama nominated Sylvia Matthews Burwell, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director. As...more
On Sunday, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) turned four. Unsurprisingly, Democrats celebrated the law’s birthday by touting its many successes and Republicans used it to highlight the problems the law has faced, as well as...more
This week President Obama released his Fiscal Year 2015 Budget Proposal, which provides useful information on his priorities for the year but, as is normally the case, is not likely to gain much traction; the administration...more
This week the Obama administration announced that it would delay the employer mandate, which requires that businesses with more than 50 full-time employees provide full-time employees with health insurance or pay a penalty,...more
This week the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) provided new scores for the three sustainable growth rate (SGR) repeal proposals from the Senate Finance, House Ways and Means, and Energy and Commerce Committees; a list of...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 new year kicked off this week with all eyes watching not only Winter Storm Hercules, but also how the new Affordable Care Act (ACA) coverage will work. According to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS),...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
The Obama administration announced that it met the November 30 deadline for fixing HealthCare.gov’s problems; however, there are some concerns that information submitted by consumers is not properly transmitting to insurers,...more
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
It is now the second week the exchanges have been open and the second week the government has been partially closed. The exchanges still have glitches, and Congress still has not agreed on a way to fund the government,...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
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Continuing Resolution ,
Contraceptive Coverage Mandate ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Federal Budget ,
Fraud ,
Government Shutdown ,
Health Insurance Exchanges ,
Healthcare ,
Open Enrollment ,
Premiums
After spending the past month in their home districts listening to constituents, this week House and Senate members are back in Washington and Congress is back in session. Though the attention of many has turned to...more
There is only one week left of Congress’ summer recess. While the members have been in their home districts, the agencies in Washington have been finalizing Affordable Care Act (ACA) regulations on everything from the...more