Small Group Annual Special Open Enrollment Window: Nov. 15 – Dec. 15

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) requires medical health insurers to offer a one-month Special Open Enrollment Window (SOEW), when eligible Small Group employers can enroll in medical coverage without having to meet standard employer-contribution and/or employee-participation ratios.

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U.S. COVID Public Health Emergency To Stay In Place

The United States will keep in place the public health emergency status of the COVID-19 pandemic, allowing millions of Americans to still receive free tests, vaccines and treatments, two Biden administration officials said on Friday.

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California Voters Approve Ban On Sale Of Flavored Tobacco Products

California voters passed a ballot measure to uphold a 2020 law that banned the sale of most flavored tobacco products, giving anti-tobacco advocates an expected victory in a multiyear fight against the industry to mitigate a youth vaping crisis.

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Medicare Plan Finder Likely Won’t Note New $35 Cap on Out-of-Pocket Insulin Costs

Congress approved in August a $35 cap on what seniors will pay for insulin as part of the Inflation Reduction Act, along with free vaccines and other Medicare improvements. But the change came too late to add to the Medicare plan finder, the online tool that helps beneficiaries sort through dozens of drug and medical plans for the best bargain.

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Hospital Groups Tell Lawmakers Looming Medicare Cuts 'Not Sustainable' As Officials Come Back

As Congress returns this week from a nearly monthlong recess, a collection of hospital groups is making sure resolution of a looming 4% cut to Medicare payments doesn’t slip through the cracks. The groups, led by the American Hospital Association and the Federation of American Hospitals, wrote to congressional leadership Monday calling for a waiver ...

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California Stockpiles Penalties From Uninsured Residents Instead of Lowering Care Costs

Nearly three years after California started fining residents who don’t have health insurance, the state has not distributed any of the revenue it has collected, KHN has learned — money that was intended to help Californians struggling to pay for coverage. And so far, the majority of Californians paying the tax penalty for not having insurance are ...

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California Expected To Partner With Nonprofit Civica Rx To Produce Its Own Low-Cost Insulin, Sources Say

California plans to partner with Civica Rx, a nonprofit generic drug company, in the state’s effort to produce its own low-cost insulin, according to two people familiar with the matter. Gov. Gavin Newsom announced in July that he had approved a budget that would allocate $100 million to allow the state to begin making its own insulin. ...

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CMS Looking At Quality Metrics To Get ACA Exchange Plans Into Value-Based Care

Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplace officials are hoping to get more plans into value-based care arrangements as regulators hope to not just build on getting people covered, according to federal officials. Officials with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) spoke Thursday at the Health Care Payment Learning and Action Network Summit on value-based ...

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More People Will Be Eligible For Health Insurance Through Covered California

Hundreds of thousands of Californians previously shut out of Covered California — the state program that offers discounted health insurance — soon can participate because the eligibility requirements are changing. Prior to the new rules, individuals who had access to an employer-based health insurance plan through a family member were not eligible for Covered California. Employer plans ...

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Californians Reject Measure To Alter Dialysis Clinic Rules

For the third time in three straight elections, California voters rejected a ballot measure that would have mandated major changes to the operations of dialysis clinics that provide life-saving care to 80,000 people with kidney failure. Proposition 29 failed after nearly 70% of Californians voted “no” in returns late Tuesday. The measure would have required ...

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