Compliance

The forms that employers must use to fulfill annual information reporting requirements under the Affordable Care Act were released Sept. 17 by the Internal Revenue Service. Employers have to file the forms in the first quarter of 2016 to provide a month-by-month breakdown of health-care coverage offered during tax year 2015, and to list out ...

Roughly 17.7 million seniors and disabled Americans are enrolled in Medicare Advantage, and many more are expected to sign up for the private Medicare health plans when the annual enrollment period begins next month. The total Advantage population as of September 2015 is up 7.3% from the almost 16.5 million people who had Advantage coverage ...

Repealing ObamaCare’s individual mandate would save about $300 billion over the next decade while driving the nation’s uninsured rate back up to 2013 levels, according to new federal budget estimates. Government health departments would save about $311 billion over 10 years if Republicans successfully repealed the mandate, which requires nearly all adults to purchase healthcare ...

The Obama administration said Tuesday that 9.9 million people have ObamaCare coverage, a slight drop from the previous count of 10.2 million. The new data are for people who have paid their premiums as of June 30, marking a drop-off from the number enrolled through March 31. Both figures are down from the 11.7 million ...

The CMS is sticking to its guns on the maximum out-of-pocket limits for medical care, stating Tuesday that members within families shouldn’t have to pay more than individual consumers. The Affordable Care Act limits how much people have to pay out of pocket for deductibles, coinsurance and copayments. The maximum yearly amount is $6,850 for ...

Late last month, the Nevada Health Co-op became the third casualty among 23 insurance start-ups created under the federal health care law to inject competition for coverage in certain parts of the country. Set up as nonprofits with consumer-led boards, the co-ops were designed to provide affordable insurance coverage to individuals and small businesses. They ...

The Silver State Health Insurance Exchange will not operate brick-and-mortar enrollment stores during this year’s sign-up period for government-subsidized health insurance. “It wasn’t fiscally prudent to walk in that direction,” Bruce Gilbert, executive director of the exchange, told board members at a meeting Thursday. Last year, the exchange opened two enrollment stores — one in ...

Two proposed mergers involving four of the nation’s biggest health insurers could reduce competition in an important industry. That’s why federal and state regulators need to closely study these deals and, if necessary, force the companies to sell some parts of their businesses. Earlier this summer, Anthem agreed to acquire Cigna for $48 billion, and Aetna ...

During this fall’s open enrollment period, workers who get health insurance through their employers may not see huge premium increases or significant hikes to deductibles or other out-of-pocket costs. But there may be less obvious changes that could make a notable difference in coverage or costs, benefits consultants say. Employers again are sharply focused on ...

Why did hospitals binge-buy doctor practices in recent years? To improve care coordination, lower costs and upgrade patient experiences, say hospitals. To raise costs, gain pricing power and steer patient referrals, say skeptics. Researchers at Stanford University tested those opposing arguments by comparing referral patterns between independent doctors and those working for hospitals. Ownership by ...