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
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
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
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
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
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
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
The Obama administration announced that it met the November 30 deadline for fixing HealthCare.gov’s problems; however, there are some concerns that information submitted by consumers is not properly transmitting to insurers,...more