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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.

Health Insurance is Helping Cool Inflation. But ‘It’s Not a Very Good Reflection’ of What People Pay, Cautions Economist

In an environment of high inflation, health insurance costs are doing the opposite: They’ve begun to deflate, and are poised to continue dropping each month until fall 2023, economists predict. Health insurance prices fell by 4% in October and 4.3% in November, according to the consumer price index, a key measure of inflation. By comparison, the ...

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Annual Employer Compliance Responsibilities

Each year brings annual compliance responsibilities to employers regarding their health plans, federal Affordable Care Act (ACA) compliance, and COBRA responsibilities. It’s important for employers to be aware of – and adhere to – these responsibilities, supported by their health insurance brokers.

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Employers Estimate Health Benefits Costs Will Rise 5.4% Next Year

Analysts at Mercer polled more than 2,000 employers representing 124 million full-time and part-time employees and found that they expect benefits costs to increase by 5.4% next year. And they're expecting faster cost growth to continue in the near future, according to the survey.

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The System Feds Rely On to Stop Repeat Health Fraud Is Broken

The federal system meant to stop health care business owners and executives from repeatedly bilking government health programs fails to do so, a KHN investigation has found.

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CMS Proposes Cap On Nonstandard ACA Plans, Network Adequacy Standard Changes For 2024

The Biden administration wants to limit to two the number of nonstandardized Affordable Care Act (ACA) exchange plans an insurer can offer on HealthCare.gov in 2024 as part of an effort to make it easier for consumers to pick a plan. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released Monday the proposed Notice of ...

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Amazon Ends Support For Third-Party HIPAA-Compliant Alexa Skills

Amazon is ending support for a program that allowed patients to share HIPAA-protected health information with healthcare organizations through Alexa. The news was first reported by Voicebot.ai. The invite-only program, which first launched in 2019, allowed select developers to create and launch HIPAA-compliant healthcare skills for Alexa (skills are the third-party voice apps that run on Alexa ...

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New Bipartisan Retirement Savings Bill Introduced (While Awaiting SECURE 2.0)

The Retirement Savings for Americans Act would establish a new program that gives workers access to portable, tax-advantaged retirement savings accounts with federal matching contributions for low- and middle-income workers.

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Many Americans View The Economy As A Major Healthcare Concern: Oscar Health Survey

Ongoing economic challenges are a top health-related concern for many people, according to a new survey from Oscar Health. Oscar teamed with Morning Consult to poll 1,000 people from across the U.S. and found 44% consider the economy the largest challenge facing their health, 19% more than the next-highest concern mentioned in the survey, the COVID-19 pandemic. ...

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Lasik Eye Surgery More Dangerous Than Previously Thought?

Lasik eye surgery has been known in the common vernacular as a surgery that is both beneficial and low-risk for quite some time now. And while that is generally true, there are reportedly risks that some doctors neglect to tell their patients about. According to an investigation done by the Food And Drug Administration (FDA), these risks include a ...

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Word & Brown Hosts Post-Election Conversation With NAHU CEO

Paul Roberts, Word & Brown’s Senior Director of Education and Market Development, hosted a conversation this month with Janet Trautwein, CEO of the National Association of Health Underwriters (NAHU), concerning the results of the November 2022 election.

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