Medicare Medicaid Category

Medicare & Medicaid

News articles in this section include actions by federal regulators like the CMS and HHS, as well as information on Medicare and state Medicaid coverage and benefits.

Biden Calls For Efforts To Lower Drug Prices As Part Of Executive Order To Foster Competition

President Biden is calling on federal health officials to intensify efforts to drive down prescription drug prices as part of an executive order he signed Friday to spur federal agencies to promote economic competition.

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Plugging Obamacare’s Biggest Hole Poses Dilemma For Democrats

Democratic lawmakers are grappling with how to extend health insurance to millions of poor Americans in states that have refused Obamacare’s Medicaid expansion, believing their upcoming party-line “human infrastructure” package represents the best chance to plug the health law’s biggest gap.

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Telehealth Use Falls 37% From Pandemic Highs, While Demand For Healthcare Services Projected To Flatten: Report

Future demand for healthcare services will be relatively flat to declining, with little to no effect from the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new forecast report.

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Employers Fear Costs as States Adopt Public Option Health Plans

Businesses are worried that public option health plans taking shape in some states may end up costing them more than the high premiums they already pay.

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No Surprises Act Regs Leave Out Broker Comp Disclosure Regs

Federal agencies have rolled out 411 pages of No Surprises Act regulations — without giving health insurance agents and brokers anything but one small hint about how they’ll implement the producer compensation disclosure section.

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COVID-19 Continues To Impact Premium Rates

As the health insurance rate-setting season approaches, the big question on everyone’s mind is, “how will COVID-19 impact health premium rates in 2022?” While the full financial impact of COVID-19 is not yet known, it is expected that the ramifications of the pandemic will be experienced for years to come. Based on this, there are ...

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Hospital Prices Must Now Be Transparent. For Many Consumers, They’re Still Anyone’s Guess.

A colonoscopy might cost you or your insurer a few hundred dollars — or several thousand, depending on which hospital or insurer you use. Long hidden, such price variations are supposed to be available in stark black and white under a Trump administration price transparency rule that took effect at the start of this year. It requires ...

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Trump-Era Law On Surprise Medical Bills Advances Under Biden

The Biden administration on Thursday began putting in place consumer protections against “surprise” medical bills enacted in bipartisan legislation signed last year by former President Donald Trump. Regulations jointly issued by four federal agencies spell out protections for insured patients against surprise billing in medical emergencies, and unexpected charges from out-of-network doctors at an in-network ...

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Biden Administration Aims To Further Rebuild ACA With Proposed Rule

It would lengthen the annual open enrollment period, expand the role of navigators and nix Trump-era guidelines for waivers that were criticized for allowing states to skirt coverage requirements.

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ARPA & COBRA Obligations: We Have Only Just Begun

Benefits brokers who consult with plan administrators of employer-sponsored group health plans, will need to ready clients for the multiple phases that will follow receipt of qualified beneficiaries’ American Rescue Plan Act (“ARPA”) subsidy elections, which will start rolling in during the next month.

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