The fifth Open Enrollment period under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) started on November 1st, and will continue for a scant 45 days ending on December 15, 2017. This year, not only has the Open Enrollment been cut in half,...more
CBO says the House repeal and replace bill could destabilize the individual insurance market in some states; Indiana posts a work requirement amendment to its Medicaid expansion waiver application; and states allow insurers...more
Governors pen bipartisan letter to Congress urging five-year extension of funding for the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP); new analyses find Medicaid funding cuts under the AHCA would disproportionately affect...more
The National Association of Medicaid Directors offers policy considerations and recommendations to the incoming Administration; HealthCare.gov has its largest single day of enrollment ever; and new publications prepared by...more
CMS releases a wave of new regulations and guidance for Medicaid and CHIP; Michigan receives CMS approval for a lead abatement initiative; and Utah continues to push for its limited expansion of Medicaid coverage....more
STATE STAFFING UPDATES: Nevada: New Insurance Commissioner Appointed - The Director of Nevada's Department and Industry announced Barbara Richardson as the Commissioner of the Division of Insurance. Richardson...more
CMS details requirements for Kentucky's transition to HealthCare.gov; a new special enrollment period is established for subsidy-eligible individuals who failed to file their 2014 taxes; and President Obama sends his final...more
Virginia submits a $1 billion DSRIP application; Michigan's Governor will request authority to extend Medicaid coverage to Flint residents aged 21 and under; and Hawaii reinstates small business tax credits in its updated...more
Louisiana's Governor pushes ahead on Medicaid expansion, while expansion is blocked by Wyoming's Legislature; Massachusetts plans to submit a 1332 waiver application to preserve its merged markets; and CBO lowers its 2016...more
Iowa's largest insurer joins the State's Marketplace for coverage year 2017; carrier changes are announced for Marketplaces in Kentucky, Oklahoma and Wyoming; and South Dakota's Governor convenes the Health Care Solutions...more
Congress passes a bill to give states greater flexibility in defining “small businesses”; South Dakota seeks to offset Medicaid expansion costs in part with increased use of the fully federally-funded Indian Health Service;...more
The GAO reports an increase in choice of plans both on and off Marketplaces; Hawaii submits the first 1332 waiver application, with a focus on substituting the employer mandate and SHOP provisions with pre-existing State...more
CMS offers a special enrollment period for HealthCare.gov enrollees whose incomes were miscalculated due to system error; California Marketplace announces two new insurers; and Connecticut’s budget reduces eligibility levels...more
Lessons From the Frontlines: Strategies for Supporting Informed Consumer Decision-Making in the Health Insurance Marketplace - Editor's Note: As marketplaces prepare for the third open enrollment period, consumers are...more
CMS releases new redetermination regulations and links uncompensated care funds to expanding Medicaid, and New York becomes the second state to launch the Basic Health Program. ...more
This week, leadership changes at CMS continue, Montana’s Governor introduces Medicaid expansion legislation, and the California Marketplace allows new health plan entrants into the individual and SHOP Marketplaces for the...more
Enrollment and coverage expansion tops the new this week. Federal officials announced 6.5 million people have enrolled through the Federally-facilitated Marketplace and released the first in a monthly series of detailed...more
With the 2015 Open Enrollment Period (OEP) officially launched as of November 15, this week’s news highlights Marketplaces’ preparation for and tracking of outreach and enrollment – including 100,000 applications submitted on...more
On Nov. 7, 2014, the U.S. Supreme Court announced that it will hear the case of King v. Burwell, one of multiple challenges to the validity of the premium tax credits provided under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) to...more
In This Issue: - HealthCare.gov Hacking Breach - Implementation of the Affordable Care Act - Other Federal Regulatory Initiatives - Other Congressional and State Initiatives - Other Health...more
Congress begins its summer recess this week, but last week legislators were busy holding hearings on management issues regarding HealthCare.gov, introducing legislation to increase payments to primary care doctors under...more
From the monumental failure of the initial government website for the federal health insurance marketplace (healthcare.gov) to the looming employer mandate, the Affordable Care Act has garnered its fair share of criticism....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
Bob Dylan's quote from 1964 -- "The Times They Are A-Changin" -- could equally apply to the healthcare industry in 2013. This was the year that the Affordable Care Act ("ACA") came into full public view with the start of the...more