Compliance
This section focuses on health care compliance and regulations – both national and state – including the ACA. It includes changes in health care law, regulation, and court decisions and their impact on health insurance professionals, employers, and individuals.
Nearly three in four Americans say the costs of prescription drugs are “unreasonable” — and most blame drugmakers for those prices, according to a poll released Tuesday. The survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation found 74 percent of those taking prescription drugs find the costs unreasonable, as do 72 percent of those not taking such drugs. ...
The two biggest health insurers by revenue, UnitedHealth Group Inc. and Anthem Inc., are seeking to buy smaller rivals in a merger scramble aimed at cutting costs as the companies cope with the federal health-care overhaul. UnitedHealth made a preliminary takeover approach to Aetna Inc. in the last few days, people familiar with the matter ...
Republican lawmakers have floated a number of contingency plans in case the Supreme Court strikes down the Affordable Care Act’s financial subsidies for qualified individuals buying health insurance through the federal exchanges operating in 34 states. The high court is expected to rule later this month in the case of King v. Burwell. While the ...
President Obama and his top aides are increasingly portraying this month’s Supreme Court ruling on Obamacare subsidies as the final showdown for the health care law, saying that if the justices rule in their favor it should be the signal for Republicans to give up their attacks and move on to other fights. Mr. Obama ...
Judy Naillon called her insurer several months ago to find out why she was being charged $35 every month for birth control pills. Her friends said they were getting their pills for free under the federal health law. Why wasn’t she getting the same deal? The insurance rep explained that was because the plan Naillon and her ...
The Department of Health and Human Services is currently in the initial review period for health care plans to be sold on exchanges for the 2016 open enrollment period. They’re making sure plans comply with the complex regulations in the Affordable Care Act, or ACA. But this time around, some groups are objecting to minute details ...
Millions of people will be able to see a doctor on their smartphones or laptops for everyday ailments once the nation’s largest drugstore chain and two major insurers expand a budding push into virtual health care. Walgreens said Wednesday that it will offer a smartphone application that links doctor and patients virtually in 25 states ...
The growth in private sector U.S. healthcare spending is expected to slow next year, but continues to rise at a rate above the rest of the economy, according to a new report. The report from PricewaterhouseCoopers projects that private sector healthcare spending will grow by 6.5 percent in 2016. That is a slight reduction from ...
A Supreme Court decision in favor of the petitioner in King v. Burwell could trigger the end of the employer mandate, legal experts say, but it’s far from certain how the court will decide. The highly anticipated case, heard before the Supreme Court on March 4, challenges the legality of subsidies for individuals who bought ...
It will be up to state officials and Congress to help consumers who can’t afford health insurance if the Supreme Court strikes down health law subsidies for millions of Americans, Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell said Wednesday. “The critical decisions will sit with the Congress and states and governors to determine if those ...