As the two-year anniversary of the enactment of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) approaches, the federal government seems to be accelerating its efforts to provide long-promised guidance to implement the health reform law. …
Read More Healthcare Update: HHS Issues Final Rules for Insurance Exchanges, Medicaid Eligibility, Insurance Plan Coverage and Student Health Insurance Plans

In a 51-48 vote on March 1, the Senate rejected a controversial amendment that would have allowed health plans to decline to cover health services to which the plan or its sponsor has a moral or religious objection. The amendment would have reversed a rule that was created pursuant to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). …
Read More Healthcare Update: Senate Rejects Anti-Contraception Amendment; State Budget Shortfalls Put Medicaid and Other Programs at Risk; NJ Postpones Long-Term Care Overhaul

CONGRESS PASSES “DOC FIX”
The payroll tax cut deal approved by the House and Senate on February 17 includes $21 billion in healthcare spending, much of which comes from blocking the physician pay rate drop of 27.4% that would have taken effect on March 1. Medicare Fee Schedule payment rates will now be frozen at their current levels through December 31. …
Read More Healthcare Update: Congress Passes “Doc Fix”; North Carolina Granted MLR Waiver; Wisconsin’s Request Denied

WHITE HOUSE BRIEF SAYS PPACA CAN SURVIVE WITHOUT INDIVIDUAL MANDATE
In a brief filed on January 27, the Obama administration told the U.S. Supreme Court that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) could survive even if the individual mandate provision were declared unconstitutional. The mandate, set to take effect on January 1, 2014, would require most U.S. citizens to obtain health insurance or pay a penalty. …
Read More Healthcare Update: White House Brief Says PPACA Can Survive Without Individual Mandate; Texas Denied MLR Waiver

WHITE HOUSE ISSUES HEALTH REFORM PROGRESS REPORT

In a January 18, 2012 report, the White House stated that all states have “taken some action to implement health reform,” and that 28 states and the District of Columbia are “on their way toward establishing their own Affordable Insurance Exchange.” …
Read More Healthcare Update: White House Issues Health Reform Progress Report; New York Limits Provider Spending for Executive Compensation and Administrative Costs; HHS and Contractor Lag in Development of PPACA Quality Measures

CMS ISSUES ADDITIONAL HEALTH PLAN WAIVERS
On January 6, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that it had granted waivers to 1,231 employer-sponsored health insurance plans that will allow them to continue despite their non-compliance with certain requirements of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). …
Read More Healthcare Update: CMS Issues Additional Health Plan Waivers; HHS Rejects Two More States’ MLR Waiver Requests; Connecticut Abandons Medicaid Managed Care Model