Before we get to the special legislative update, patients need your help! HHS is seeking input on the Administration’s blueprint for lowering prescription drug costs and the deadline is July 16. Comments can be submitted at:https://www.regulations.gov/comment?D=CMS-2018-0075-0001 Here’s a suggestion you can copy, paste, and modify as desired: There are many reasons why prescription drugs are […]
In this edition of Health Policy News Roundup, Dr. Jane Orient dives into the implications of increased flexibility for Association Health Plans and Short Term Limited Duration Insurance. Association Health Plans The Labor Department just released rules for association health plans (AHPs). “Many of our laws make healthcare coverage more expensive for small businesses than […]
In this special edition of Legislative Update, Marilyn Singleton, MD, JD breaks down the surge of opiate-related legislation under consideration on Capitol Hill. In response to the opiate abuse epidemic, Congress has put forth almost 60 bills, many of which are receiving votes by the full House this week (the week of June 11th). In […]
This week’s health policy news roundup curated by Jane M. Orient, MD: One of the fundamental design flaws (or is it a feature?) of the [Un]Affordable Care Act (ACA or ObamaCare) is the tax on the healthy. Those who have to buy coverage on the individual market or are uninsured—but in good health—must pay more, […]
Marilyn Singleton, MD, JD reviews the latest health policy news and proposals from Capitol Hill. Twenty States Sue Federal Government to Repeal the ACA On February 26, 2018, a coalition of 20 U.S. states sued the federal government arguing that the Affordable Care Act was no longer constitutional after the repeal last year of its […]
Marilyn Singleton, MD, JD wraps up Congress’ 2017—and looks at what’s ahead for early-2018—in her last legislative update of the year. All eyes over the last several weeks have been on tax reform. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act is now signed into law and will take effect on January 1, 2018. Nevertheless, some specifically […]
This week’s health policy roundup, curated by Dr. Jane M. Orient. President Trump claims it did, and its opponents say it has destroyed the “centerpiece”—the individual mandate. In 2019, the IRS can no longer penalize people for not having an ObamaCare-compliant health plan. Repealing this provision is estimated to “give” Republicans $338 billion over a […]
The individual mandate in the Affordable Care Act (ACA or ObamaCare) mandate “represented a grand bargain between the government and the insurance industry,” writes Doug Badger. “Insurers agreed not to base premiums on applicants’ medical conditions, and in exchange, the government agreed to subsidize premiums and penalize the uninsured. In theory, the threat of tax […]
This week’s ObamaCare news roundup, curated by Jane M. Orient, M.D. Premiums for a benchmark plan (the second-lowest cost silver plan) for a 27-year-old are doubling from $2,616 in the first year of the Affordable Care Act (ACA or “ObamaCare”) to $4,932, for the plan year 2018. The average premium increase for this plan is […]
The latest health care legislation on Capitol Hill, reviewed by Marilyn Singelton, MD, JD. Two Temporary Health Care Measures On October 18, 2017, Senators Lamar Alexander (R-TN) and Patty Murray (D-WA) release their draft of the Health Care Stabilization Act of 2017. The bill’s purpose is to stabilize individual market premiums for the 2018 and 2019 […]