Law and regulation

Over the last year, “skinny plans” have gained some acceptance among employers under the employer shared responsibility provisions of the Affordable Care Act. And while a skinny plan might be limited to preventative services only, the skinny plans appearing in the marketplace generally include a handful of other features.

Wellness programs have long been subject to myriad federal and state laws. Primary among these are laws involving discrimination rules. Wellness programs are required to satisfy certain criteria in order to be considered non-discriminatory under the Affordable Care Act.

House Republicans’ attempts to stay the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate continued yesterday as they argued for a contentious bill that would delay implementation of penalties for failing to comply with the health insurance mandate.

The federal government recovered a record $4.3 billion during the past fiscal year from people and companies that attempted to defraud health care programs, according to two U.S. agencies.

Commentary: Arkansas failed on Feb. 19 to renew the state's expansion of Medicaid and blogger Cyndy Nayer says this will lead to a series of problems for the state.

Being arrested in Chicago for, say, drug possession or assault gets you sent to the Cook County Jail to be fingerprinted, photographed and X-rayed. You’ll also get help applying for health insurance.

The Internal Revenue Service recently drafted ACA regulations that offer some insight into what will be the associated monetary penalties for individuals who do not take up health care coverage. IRS officials laid out guidelines for what will be deemed as “minimum essential coverage” under the ACA. Officials also offered a breakdown of fines.

To hear it from Vice President Joe Biden, the fight over the Affordable Care Act may be far from over – but he’s certainly interested in recognizing the troops who helped build support for the landmark legislation.

A perspective from bswift's employees on this possible new trend.

Former Microsoft Corp. executive Kurt DelBene was named to replace Jeffrey Zients as the manager of the U.S. health insurance enrollment system, as Zients prepares to take over as White House chief economic adviser.

Emails obtained by the Republican majority of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce reveal that the Obama administration knew this summer that the federal SHOP exchange would likely not be ready for launch on Oct. 1.

At the crux of the issue are two constitutional distinctions: whether the “corporations are people” rights of for-profit companies extend to religious rights for the corporation, as opposed to just their owners, and what kind of accommodations for different views are required.

After struggling for two months to fix the federal online insurance exchange at the core of the law, Obama Tuesday began what aides say will be a three-week campaign to use his bully pulpit to regain momentum for his signature domestic initiative.

The Notre Dame case is among 86 lawsuits attacking ACA on religious grounds, sources say, and the Supreme Court has agreed to hear challenges.

Republicans said they primarily want to know at a hearing today about the lack of transparency ahead of the rocky Oct. 1 debut of the insurance exchange, which is supposed to let people compare and buy health plans.

The U.S. government stands poised for its first partial shutdown in 17 years at midnight tonight, after a weekend with no signs of negotiations or compromise from either the House or Senate to avert it.

The ruling sets up a split between federal appeals courts that makes it more likely the U.S. Supreme Court will eventually consider the dispute over the ACA requirement for for-profit firms.

If he were an employer, John Boehner would be sitting on his hands — and wallet — waiting for the picture to clear about the Affordable Care Act, said the speaker of the House Wednesday while speaking at a policy forum in Washington.

In Thursday’s U.S. Senate HELP Committee hearing, Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) and Chairman Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) found something to agree upon during a normally polarizing debate surrounding the ACA: their insurance careers.

While there is much anticipation of the impending Supreme Court ruling on the constitutionality of PPACA, good plan sponsors already should be preparing for how they will respond to the health care reform decision. Here are some road-maps to prepare for the possible outcomes.