While the policy and politics of health care have dominated the last several election cycles, never have they been so prominent as they are today. As the country continues to battle COVID-19, there are now health care...more
10/29/2020
/ Donald Trump ,
Drug Pricing ,
Health Insurance ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Joe Biden ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
Policy Drafting ,
Policy Statement ,
Political Campaigns ,
Presidential Elections ,
Surprise Medical Bills ,
Trump Administration
Blake Rutherford, Mark Alderman, and Howard Schweitzer, of Cozen O'Connor Public Strategies, discuss the recent developments in politics and policy in Washington, D.C.
Blake: Thank you very much and welcome to our ongoing...more
Blake Rutherford, Mark Alderman, and Howard Schweitzer, of Cozen O'Connor Public Strategies, discuss the recent developments in politics and policy in Washington, D.C.
Blake: ... another edition of The Beltway Briefing....more
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
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) began sending reminders last week that open enrollment begins on November 15; CMS’s Marketplace CEO, Kevin Counihan, said that end-to-end testing of HealthCare.gov was...more
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
Congress is in recess and therefore much of the action surrounding the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is at the agency level. However, Congressman Darrel Issa (R-CA) did subpoena the U.S. Department of Treasury for their records...more
Congress is back in session, and work on a Continuing Resolution is underway. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) is back center stage with House Republicans attaching a medical device tax repeal provision to a jobs package set for...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
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) made announcements this week regarding the Open Payments system and the availability of Affordable Care Act (ACA) Consumer Assistance Program grant funds, issued a request...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
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
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
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
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
Though Congress was in recess this past week, congressional staff was hard at work continuing to consider ways to prevent a cut to Medicare providers’ payment rates that will be triggered by the sustainable growth rate...more
2/27/2014
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Contraceptive Coverage Mandate ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Durable Medical Equipment ,
Eligibility ,
Final Rules ,
Health and Welfare Plans ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
Medicare Advantage ,
Medicare Part D ,
Notre Dame ,
Physician Medicare Reimbursements ,
U.S. Treasury ,
Waiting Periods
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