Preparing Employers and Employees for 2021 Benefit Plans Decisions
Uncertainty and pressures continue to mount for healthcare providers, creating a new operating environment – Uncertainty around Medicaid and other programs, the shift to value-based care, margin pressures, the need to search...more
Late last week, two major proposals arose that will have a significant impact on the health care industry. First, the Trump Administration’s Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under new HHS Secretary Tom Price...more
HealthCare.gov enrollment is down, while State-based Marketplace enrollment is up at the end of 2017 open enrollment; Hawaii, Massachusetts and Oregon introduce legislation to codify ACA reforms in state law in case of...more
HealthCare.gov consumers begin previewing 2017 coverage options as HHS projects a 9% enrollment increase over last year and an average 22% benchmark premium increase; Oregon study finds increased primary care spending in...more
HealthCare.gov plans an open enrollment pilot that will let consumers compare provider network breadth; new Medicaid enrollees reduce out-of-pocket spending on prescription drugs by nearly 60%; and Kansas’s Governor announces...more
California's Marketplace revises its QHP contract to improve care quality and value, and announces its support for a 1332 waiver to allow undocumented immigrants to purchase Marketplace plans; Wisconsin proposes transitioning...more
Montana receives approval to expand Medicaid beginning 2016; California’s $6.2 billion Medicaid waiver receives pre-approval; and HHS proposes broadening circumstances under which states receive enhanced federal matching...more
Bicameral Bill Introduced to Provide HHS Authority to Reject Proposed Insurance Rates - Before Congress left for its Columbus Day recess, Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) and Sen. Diane Feinstein (D-CA) introduced the Health...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
This Week: FDA Begins Device User Fee Talks with Patients and Consumers Sept. 15... CMS Extends Partial Enforcement Delay of Two-Midnight Policy Through 2015... Alaska Legislature Sues Governor Over Medicaid Expansion....more
Reductions in uninsured rates are greatest in states with Medicaid expansions and State-based or State Partnership Marketplaces; Kentucky finds increased use of preventive healthcare following Medicaid expansion; and,...more
Increased plan choice on HealthCare.gov is linked to lower premium growth; Arizona seeks changes to Medicaid expansion; and California and New York release detailed Marketplace and Medicaid enrollment reports....more
The President’s budget reveals the healthcare agenda for his Administration’s penultimate year. Medicaid expansion proposals advance in Arkansas and Wyoming; California’s Marketplace reports 9 out of every 10 enrollees remain...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
Since President Obama signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) in March 2010, various provisions of the law have taken effect. However, its core pieces become effective this year....more
In This Issue: - Top News ..Judge Orders $237.4 Million Penalty Against Tuomey for Stark Law and False Claims Act Violations ..Glitches and Demand Lead to Marketplace Frustration ..HHS Delays Small...more