On March 11, 2021, President Biden signed into law the American Rescue Plan Act, a $1.9 trillion package to provide relief related to the COVID-19 public health emergency. The final legislation, which passed with support from...more
3/22/2021
/ American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 ,
Biden Administration ,
CARES Act ,
Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) ,
COBRA ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Grants ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
Mental Health ,
Public Health ,
Relief Measures ,
Rural Health Care Providers ,
Skilled Nursing Facility ,
Vaccinations
Over the last few weeks, President Trump and lawmakers in both the House and Senate have taken several steps to protect patients from surprise medical bills, the latest signs of bipartisan momentum to address the issue this...more
5/29/2019
/ Bipartisan Agreement ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Medical Expenses ,
Medicare ,
Out of Network Provider ,
Patient Rights ,
Physicians ,
Surprise Medical Bills ,
Trump Administration
On December 14, Texas U.S. District Judge Reed O'Connor issued a broad federal court ruling in Texas v. Azar to overturn the entire Affordable Care Act (ACA) on the basis that the individual mandate penalty, which Congress...more
On October 10, 2018, Senate Democrats pushed for a largely symbolic vote to overrule the Trump Administration's expansion of short-term health plans that failed to advance in the Senate on a 50-50 tie vote....more
On Tuesday, July 24, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a final rule intended to clarify the program methodology and reinstate payments under the Affordable Care Act's (ACA) permanent risk adjustment...more
On April 9, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released the long-anticipated final Notice of Benefits and Payment Parameters (NBPP) for plan year 2019, providing standards for health insurers and the health...more
With ongoing uncertainty and turmoil in the individual health insurance market, Congress has spent weeks debating whether to include a bipartisan Affordable Care Act (ACA) stabilization measure as part of the "must pass"...more
On February 20, 2018, the Departments of Treasury, Labor, and Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a proposed rule to expand the availability of Short-Term, Limited Duration Insurance (STLDI). Building on President Trump's...more
After a brief federal government shutdown overnight, Congress passed and the President signed into law the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 on February 9, 2018. The Senate voted 71-28 and the House voted 240-186 to approve the...more
2/12/2018
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Bipartisan Budget Act ,
Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance ,
Medicare ,
Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization (MACRA) ,
Medicare Part B ,
Medicare Part D ,
Opioid
After repeated attempts to repeal failed in 2017, overarching federal reform of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) appears unlikely in 2018. However, ongoing uncertainty and turmoil in the individual insurance market will ensure...more
On December 21, Congress passed a bill to continue funding the government through January 19, 2018, averting a potential government shutdown ahead of the December 22, 2017, deadline for the previous funding measure. The House...more
12/26/2017
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) ,
Disaster Aid ,
Federal Budget ,
Government Shutdown ,
Health Insurance ,
Hurricane Harvey ,
Hurricane Irma ,
Hurricane Maria ,
Natural Disasters ,
Puerto Rico ,
Trump Administration ,
Wildfires
Reauthorization of federal funding for the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) has stalled in Congress due to partisan disagreements over fiscal offsets. The delay in the extension of federal funding has put...more
After dominating the agenda for most of 2017, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) seemed to take a backseat at first as Republicans shifted their focus to enacting tax legislation. The initial momentum behind the bipartisan...more
11/20/2017
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Congressional Budget Office ,
Cost-Sharing ,
Health Insurance ,
Health Savings Accounts ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Individual Mandate ,
Open Enrollment ,
Repeal ,
Trump Administration
On October 17, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Chair Lamar Alexander (R-TN) and Ranking Member Patty Murray (D-WA) announced they had agreed on a proposal for a narrow, short-term individual market...more
Federal funding for the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) – which covers nearly nine million children nationwide at a total cost of approximately $14 billion per year – expired on September 30 as congressional action...more
President Trump is expected to issue an executive order in the coming days that would direct federal agencies to expand access to association health plans (AHPs), which would be exempt from the ACA's coverage requirements and...more
Following defections from Senators Rand Paul (R-KY), John McCain (R-AZ), and Susan Collins (R-ME), Senate Republican leaders announced on September 26 that they did not have the votes for the Graham-Cassidy plan – the last...more
Federal funding for the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) – which covers approximately 9 million children nationwide at a cost of approximately $15 billion per year – expires September 30. Thus far, congressional...more
After a late-night defeat, it appears that Senate Republicans' years-long push to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA) has stalled following deep divisions between moderate and conservative members over the goals and various...more
On Monday evening, July 17, Senators Mike Lee (R-UT) and Jerry Moran (R-KS) issued joint statements in opposition to the Better Care Reconciliation Act (BCRA), the Senate Republicans' companion bill to the House-passed...more
On June 22, Senate Republicans released a discussion draft of the Better Care Reconciliation Act (BCRA), their companion bill to the House-passed American Health Care Act (AHCA). The legislation, which reforms the Affordable...more
On May 4, 2017, the House of Representatives succeeded in passing legislation to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The American Health Care Act (AHCA) now moves to the Senate where its passage is far from...more
All of Washington was watching as House Republicans failed to meet a self-imposed deadline to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The House Republican replacement proposal, the American Health Care Act (AHCA), which had...more
On March 24, the AHCA, the House Republican plan to repeal and replace the ACA, was pulled from consideration at the last minute after Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) reportedly told President Trump the measure did not have the...more
The American Health Care Act (AHCA), the House Republican plan to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA), was pulled from consideration at the last minute after Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) reportedly told President...more