Below are key health care reform developments from the week of May 15th: ACA Repeal Efforts. Efforts to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA) continue despite slowing down as the House of Representatives’...more
On October 23, 2015, the U.S. Departments of Labor (DOL), Health and Human Services (HHS), and Treasury issued frequently asked questions (FAQs) on the implementation of preventive care and wellness provisions of the...more
This is the ninety-fourth issue in our series of alerts for employers on selected topics in health care reform. This series of Health Care Reform Management Alerts is designed to provide an in-depth analysis of certain...more
On September 25, 2015, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released a proposed rule entitled “Medicare Program: Medicare Clinical Diagnostic Laboratory Tests Payment System”. This proposed rule would...more
Editor's Overview - It has been a little more than one year since the U.S. Supreme Court altered the legal landscape for litigating ERISA breach of fiduciary duty claims relating to the investment in employer stock...more
Despite guidance from the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”), the Department of Labor (“DOL”) and the Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) indicating the prohibition of the practice under the Affordable Care Act...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
In This Issue: - Smoother Open Enrollment Sets Stage for Shift in Congressional Focus - Implementation of the Affordable Care Act - Other Federal Regulatory Initiatives - Congressional Initiatives ...more
Before departing for the 2013 Thanksgiving holiday, the Obama administration released several new regulatory announcements and guidance relating to the implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The new guidance delays...more
Executive Summary: Earlier this year, the Obama Administration delayed implementation of the employer mandate, a major provision of the 2010 health care reform law (the Affordable Care Act or "ACA"). The delay of the...more
Over the years we have seen some employers, particularly small employers, choose to provide health coverage to their employees by paying all or part of the premium for individual insurance policies that the employees have...more
Health insurance exchanges (commonly called the MarketPlace or the Exchanges) are a complex and highly debated part of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). With the looming January 1, 2014, deadline to open the marketplace for...more
Final regulations required for October 1, 2013 open enrollment are largely unchanged from the proposed rule. On August 30, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) of the Department of Health and Human...more
On June 14, 2013, HHS released a proposed rule containing many provisions aimed at oversight of federally-facilitated exchanges (FFEs), state health insurance exchanges (State Exchanges), qualified health plan (QHP) issuers,...more
New marketing integrity and oversight provisions warrant review and comment. On June 14, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) published its...more
While Congress was in recess, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) surprised many when it changed course on Medicare Advantage payment rates – switching from a 2.3 percent reduction to a 3.3 percent increase,...more
The Department of Health and Human Services ("HHS") recently announced that full implementation of the SHOP component of the state-based health insurance exchanges created by the Affordable Care Act (the "ACA") run in full or...more
On March 11, 2013, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) published a proposed rule that would amend an earlier final rule related to health insurance exchanges and, more specifically, the Small Business Health...more
On March 1, 2013, CMS released a proposed rule, an interim final rule and a final rule—set for publication in the Federal Register on March 11, 2013—that implement the risk adjustment, reinsurance and risk corridor programs...more