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In late June, two Members of Congress requested that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) expedite the implementation of a Medicare home care demonstration project.  In other CMS news, the agency issued a proposed outpatient hospital rule in early July, and during Congress’ July 4th recess, President Obama made the decision to officially appoint his CMS Administrator. …
Read More Healthcare News from Capitol Hill and the Department of Health and Human Services – July 12, 2010

On July 1, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services unveiled a new website, HealthCare.gov , to provide consumers with information on their rights and benefits under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.  The site offers data on U.S. insurance carriers and the products they offer and includes a timeline of when new programs under the new law will begin between now and 2014. …
Read More New Government Healthcare Website Unveiled

In advance of a June 18 deadline for comments, top hospital groups expressed strong opposition to proposed payment cuts issued by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).  The following week, President Obama announced a set of regulations that will implement various provisions of the recently-enacted healthcare reform law (Public Law 111-148) relating to pre-existing conditions, lifetime coverage limits and other patient protections. …
Read More Healthcare News from Capitol Hill and the Department of Health and Human Services – June 28, 2010

Effective August 31, 2010, the Rhode Island Office of the Health Insurance Commissioner (“OHIC”) will impose a readability requirement for all health insurance policies to be readable at the eighth grade level measured by the Flesch-Kincade formula.  The readability requirement comes in response to Rhode Island’s low adult literacy rate, and is designed to protect consumers by making health insurance policies, which are often complicated, easy to understand. …
Read More Rhode Island Imposes Readability Standards for Health Insurance Policies

In July 2010, some of the first money allocated by the new health care reform law will start flowing to states that have elected to participate in the federal temporary high-risk insurance pool program. …
Read More Federal funding for Temporary High-Risk Insurance Pool Program to Begin Summer 2010

In late May, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released a supplemental proposed rule that would result in Medicare payment reductions to hospitals.  Meanwhile, questions have begun to arise over the future of the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC), given the upcoming inception of the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB) that was created by the new healthcare overhaul law (Public Law 111-148 and 111-152). …
Read More Healthcare News from Capitol Hill and the Department of Health and Human Services – June 1, 2010

On April 26, 2010, the New York Insurance Department (the “NYID”) proposed a circular letter to provide additional guidance to insurers on the impact of the federal Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 (the “Act”).  This proposed circular letter is a supplement to Circular Letter No. 20 (2009), and addresses interim final rules issued subsequent to Circular Letter No. 20 (2009) by the United States Department of the Treasury, Department of Labor and Department of Health and Human Services. 

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Read More New York Insurance Department’s Proposed Circular Letter Re: the Federal Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008

The past two weeks brought several notable healthcare developments, as the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) continued preparations for implementation of the new healthcare reform law – Public Law (PL) 111-148. …
Read More Healthcare News From Capitol Hill and the Department of Health and Human Services – May 3, 2010

The Health Care and Reconciliation Act (the “Act”), signed into law on March 30, 2010, imposes a tax on annuity income to help pay for the multi-billion dollar reform package set forth in both the Act and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, signed into law on March 23, 2010.  Specifically, the Act imposes a 3.8% Medicare contribution tax on individuals who earn more than $200,000 a year, and couples who earn more than $250,000 a year. 

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Read More Health Care Legislation Imposes Tax on Annuity Income

The New York Insurance Department has issued a proposed regulation that would prohibit life and health insurers from issuing policies that contain discretionary clauses (the “Proposed Regulation”). …
Read More New York Seeks Comments on Draft Regulation Prohibiting Use of Discretionary Clauses in Life and Health Insurance Policies