Policy and Legislation
Pennsylvania Insurance Commissioner Teresa Miller was the latest state official to propose protections for healthcare consumers against surprise balance bills, when she announced new measures on Tuesday.
A bill that would have levied new taxes, called "community contribution fees", on nonprofit hospitals in New Jersey died by pocket veto on Governor Chris Christie's desk on Tuesday, according to bill co-sponsor state Sen. Robert Singer.
Men are getting more screening colonoscopies since the health law reduced how much Medicare beneficiaries pay out of pocket for the preventive tests, a recent study found. The change, however, didn't affect women's rates.
The Patient Access and Medicare Protection Act, which was recently passed, will hold Medicare reimbursement rates steady for freestanding radiation oncology centers. Additionally, two providers listed as B3 stable, 21st Century Oncology and Vantage Oncology, will see their 2016 rates hold steady for 2017-18, according to a report from Moody's Investor Service.
Despite advice to shop around before selecting a plan, consumers may find that getting answers about drug coverage can be an exercise in frustration, despite a federal health law requirement that insurers provide lists of the prescription medications included in their plans.
A blanket hardship exception from 2015's meaningful use reimbursement penalties passed both the House and Senate last week as part of the Patient Access and Medicare Protection Act, offering providers wider latitude for securing exemptions from possible fines.
The group ColoradoCareYES gathered enough signatures -- more than 100,000 -- to put a single-payer health system on the ballot next fall.
Rates not touched since economic downturn in 2008.
Since just a few insurers, or sometimes just one, dominate the market for individuals and small businesses in some states, the law sought to increase competition in those areas by calling for "multi-state" health plans that would be offered by some insurers. The law required that at least two multi-state plans be available to consumers in 31 states by 2014 and in all states by 2017, but it doesn't require insurers to offer the plans and most so far have opted not to. Federal officials and insurance experts say it is unlikely that the 2017 goal will be met.
The U.S. House of Representatives has proposed a two-year suspension of the medical device tax and another two-year delay of the Cadillac tax on high-cost employer health plans.