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
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
On June 30, in one of the most highly anticipated cases affecting the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the Supreme Court ruled that closely held companies could assert a “religious objection” to the ACA contraceptive coverage...more
7/11/2014
/ ACOs ,
Affordable Care Act ,
Burwell v Hobby Lobby ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Contraceptive Coverage Mandate ,
Contraceptives ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Hobby Lobby ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Medicare Advantage ,
Medicare Part D ,
OPPS ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Religious Exemption ,
Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) ,
SCOTUS ,
Tax Credits
Secretary Burwell continues to settle in to her new position as the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), this week making a number of management changes at the department; CMS released the long awaited proposed rule...more
6/30/2014
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
GAO ,
Health Insurance Exchanges ,
Healthcare ,
Home Health Care ,
Hospitals ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Ratings ,
Secretary of HHS
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
Affordable Care Act (ACA) action on Capitol Hill this past week centered on investigations into improper ACA subsidy payments, a potential constitutional amendment proposal, and support for an appeal of the ACA in favor of a...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
On April 14, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) and the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) reported their findings that show a smaller rise in insurance premium costs under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) than previously...more
4/22/2014
/ Affordable Care Act ,
CBO Report ,
Census Bureau ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Health Insurance ,
Legislative Agendas ,
MACPAC ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
Obama Administration ,
Physician SGR Formula ,
Premiums
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
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
Last week the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released a report on the Affordable Care Act (ACA), in which it projected a decline in the number of full-time-equivalent hours worked; the Senate Finance, House Ways and Means,...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 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
Repair work to Healthcare.gov is underway, and White House advisors are now pledging that it will be functioning smoothly by the end of November. However, the system was met with new problems over the weekend when the...more
It is now the second week the exchanges have been open and the second week the government has been partially closed. The exchanges still have glitches, and Congress still has not agreed on a way to fund the government,...more
With a week until a potential government shutdown and a week until open enrollment begins, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is in the limelight. On September 20, the House voted for a continuing resolution that funds the...more
9/26/2013
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Continuing Resolution ,
Contraceptive Coverage Mandate ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Federal Budget ,
Fraud ,
Government Shutdown ,
Health Insurance Exchanges ,
Healthcare ,
Open Enrollment ,
Premiums
There is only one week left of Congress’ summer recess. While the members have been in their home districts, the agencies in Washington have been finalizing Affordable Care Act (ACA) regulations on everything from the...more
With less than 50 days until open enrollment begins, tensions in Washington and around the country are high among health care stakeholders. ...more
8/20/2013
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Deadlines ,
Delays ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Open Enrollment ,
Pay or Play ,
Shared Responsibility Rule
Capitol Hill and the agencies went back and forth last week on the impact and consideration involved in delaying the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) employer mandate; votes in the House are expected this week on it, as well as a...more
7/17/2013
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) ,
Delays ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Employer Mandates ,
Health Insurance Exchanges ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare
The Obama administration announced yesterday it was delaying the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) Employer Mandate, which requires employers with 50 or more full-time workers to provide affordable health insurance to its employees...more
7/5/2013
/ ACOs ,
Affordable Care Act ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Contraceptive Coverage Mandate ,
Contraceptives ,
Deadlines ,
Delays ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Employer Mandates ,
Healthcare ,
Hobby Lobby ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
Pay or Play ,
Physician SGR Formula ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Religious Institutions ,
Shared Responsibility Rule