Obama Administration Proposes 1.9% Cut In Medicare Advantage Payments
Insurers claim the cuts are deeper and are campaigning to stop them, saying they will hurt seniors.
Bipartisan Group Of Senators Concerned About Medicare Advantage Cuts
Some Democrats have now joined their Republican counterparts in asking the Obama administration to moderate scheduled Medicare Advantage payment cuts for 2015. In a letter to Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Marilyn Tavenner, a bipartisan coalition of 40 senators urged the administration “to maintain payment levels that will allow [Medicare Advantage] beneficiaries to […]
Questions And Answers On The Latest ACA Delay
The administration pressed the pause button on part of the health law again. Here’s what the new timeline for the employer mandate means for businesses, workers — and for politicians.
Hill Plan Would Reward Medicare Doctors For Quality
But finding a way to finance the SGR replacement may be even more difficult.
The Health Law’s ‘3 Rs’ For Insurers: A Bailout Or Necessary Safeguards?
The provisions in the law are designed to help insurance companies adjust to the new markets, but Republicans warn that the program could turn out to be costly for taxpayers.
CBO Reports That Health Law Provision Called ‘Bailout’ By GOP Will Raise $8B
New findings from the Congressional Budget Office may make it harder for Republicans to portray a provision in the health law designed to limit insurers’ losses and gains as a “bailout” for the industry. The House Oversight and Government Reform panel is scheduled to have a hearing Wednesday examining the law’s “risk corridors,” which limit […]
Rep. Waxman, Passionate Advocate For Medicaid And Public Health Issues, Announces His Retirement
Former Energy and Commerce Committee chairman, known for his aggressive investigations, has been one of his party’s central figures in health care.
GOP Senators’ New Health Overhaul Plan Would Tax Some Workers’ Benefits
A health care overhaul plan released Monday by three Senate Republicans may reveal how the party will handle the issue for the 2014 elections and beyond. Sens. Orrin Hatch of Utah, Tom Coburn of Oklahoma and Richard Burr of North Carolina unveiled a legislative framework that would scrap much of the 2010 health law, replacing those provisions […]
Wyden Plan May Be Vision For Future Medicare Reforms
Key members of both parties and both chambers of Congress stand before the podium to introduce their bipartisan Medicare proposal. Insurers and health care providers welcome it. Seniors’ groups are on board, too. If Congress is ever going to overhaul Medicare, it will almost certainly have to happen this way. Sen. Ron Wyden, the Oregon Democrat widely […]
Congress Is Poised To Change Medicare Payment Policy. What Does That Mean For Patients And Doctors?
Capitol Hill committees appear close to replacing the controversial physician payment system that rewards doctors for volume with one that offers incentives for quality and coordination of care.
Oregon To Feds: Give Tax Credits To Shoppers Who Bypassed Troubled Exchange
Two officials from the Oregon governor’s office were on a mission in D.C. Tuesday — trying to get a federal go-ahead to compensate individuals who purchased insurance on their own because of the breakdown of the state’s health care exchange. Sean Kolmer, the governor’s health policy adviser, and Dan Carol, director of multi-state and strategic […]
HHS Extends Coverage For Patients In Federal High-Risk Pools
The insurance plan, which serves thousands of people with medical problems who could not get coverage elsewhere, had been slated to end at the end of the month.
Medicare Beneficiaries Have Good Access To Doctors, Study Finds
As key congressional committees consider legislation to repeal Medicare’s physician payment formula, a new study shows that the program’s beneficiaries have generally good access to doctors. The report, prepared by the Kaiser Family Foundation, found that 96 percent of beneficiaries report having access to a doctor’s office or clinic, and about 90 percent of beneficiaries […]
Obamacare Deadline For Jan. 1 Coverage Extended One Week
Consumers will have an extra week — until Dec. 23 — to enroll in health insurance coverage that begins Jan. 1, Obama administration officials said Friday. Millions of consumers have been frustrated by their inability to sign up for coverage through healthcare.gov, the federal website for residents of 36 states, which went public Oct. 1. While […]
FAQ: How The Health Law Impacts Federal Employees’ Health Benefits
Congressional staffers are among those most likely to experience changes in their coverage options as a result of the Affordable Care Act.
17 Million People Eligible For Premium Subsidies, Study Finds
Seventeen million people who are now uninsured or who buy their own health insurance will be eligible for tax credits next year to help purchase coverage on the health law’s online marketplaces or exchanges, according to an analysis released Tuesday. More than a third of those people live in just three states: California with nearly […]
Key Senate, House Committee Chairmen Offer Plan To Fix Medicare Doctor Payments
The proposal would keep physician pay at current levels but offer them incentives for quality improvements.
The health law gives consumers until March 31 to sign up for health insurance, but it may be weeks before coverage begins. So the administration says it will not penalize anyone who signs up by that date.
Tough Medicare Decisions Await Bipartisan Budget Panel
Lawmakers have until Dec. 13 to reach agreement under legislation ending the shutdown of the government and raising the debt ceiling.
FAQ: What Is The ACA’s ‘Reinsurance Tax’?
This little-known provision of the health law has been –at times — in the Senate negotiations on the budget.
