Healthcare reform

The countdown is on for the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision on the Affordable Care Act and the legality of subsidies – with a decision that could have looming political implications leading into a heated primary election cycle.

House Republicans yesterday introduced a plan to repeal the ACA and replace key pieces of it with high-risk health pools and tax credits that benefit industry experts oppose, saying it would undermine the employer-sponsored health care system in place today.

Chiropractors and other ancillary health care providers are breathing a sigh of relief following an about-face by federal regulators with respect to Affordable Care Act’s coverage of their services.

Commentary: Employers should be vigilant when developing strategies which can run afoul of new rules. The penalties are severe.

CMS says agent fees and commission cannot be excluded from issuer MLR reporting requirements — unless these very specific criteria are met.

The clock is ticking for various state legislatures that are pondering a change in the way their residents enroll in public health insurance exchanges ahead of the widely anticipated June ruling in King v. Burwell on whether federal subsidies will be scrapped in 34 states that rely on Healthcare.gov for signups.

The proposals for Healthcare.gov plans are subject to a review process before the final rates are published by Nov. 1.

Commentary: Recent guidance issued jointly by the U.S. Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services and the Treasury clarifies how the Affordable Care Act's requirement to provide cost-free coverage for preventive care applies to several types of products and services.

The federal government has erased any residual doubt about how out-of-pocket limits set by the Affordable Care Act will govern family members covered under a group plan.

Questions from industry stakeholders have prompted the Obama administration to clarify annual limits on cost sharing under the ACA and how they apply to individuals, families, and self-funded and large group health plans.

The ACA’s mandated expansion of the definition of the small group market would limit employers’ health plan options and lead to premium increases, according to employer groups that are urging the repeal of the mandate before it takes effect in 2016.

The Affordable Care Act is here to stay until at least the next presidential inauguration, but there are some fixes that can be made to make the law work better today, the former head of the Massachusetts Health Connector, often called the template for the ACA, says.

Although the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2014 ruling in the Burwell v Hobby Lobby Stores case addressed in broad terms how exceptions to the Affordable Care Act’s mandate for contraceptive benefits coverage can be granted in the private sector, it left some unresolved questions both in the for-profit and in the nonprofit world.

A win for King would have economic benefits for both individuals and employers, according to one think tank.

Commentary: The midpoint of the tax year is almost upon us, and many still have work to do to prepare for the new IRS 1094-C and 1095-C filings.

For 22 years, she has ‘worked tirelessly on our behalf with acumen that is unmatched.’

Brokers need to change the conversations they are having with clients away from the Affordable Care Act and toward other topics, including voluntary, since little will change with the law until the next presidential inauguration, a carrier rep says.

Health care consumers in some parts of the U.S. may face higher premiums next year if some insurers struggle to cover their costs and Congress continues to require that the risk-corridors program established under the ACA be self-sustaining.

Commentary: Expatriate health plans are — here are key definitions and relief as well as the recent IRS guidance on calculations for the 2014 and 2015 fee years.

Brokers not only need to determine which clients might be subjected to the tax, but should also engage with various levels of government if they wish to have an impact on its future.