Starting In 2013, Flexible Spending Account Contributions Will Be Limited
As consumer-directed healthcare becomes more popular, more and more employers are shifting from traditional health insurance plans to options like high-deductible health plans (HDHPs) and health...
View ArticleAn Unexpected Result of Divorce: Losing Health Coverage
During the recent election, much attention has been paid to women’s health issues such as abortion rights and health insurance coverage for contraception. This week, researchers at the University of...
View Article“Defined-contribution plans” fuel demand for private exchanges
With or without government mandates calling for state and federal exchanges to launch in 2014, health insurance exchanges are likely to become an increasingly popular way for Americans to purchase...
View ArticleThe Role of the IRS in Implementing Health Reform
It’s easy to imagine that certain government agencies – the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, and state insurance regulators, for example –...
View ArticleResources for Health Insurance Exchange News
We recently came across a couple of great resources for learning about the latest health insurance exchange developments around the country. They are: Healthcare Payer News, which publishes a weekly...
View ArticleNewlyweds Challenge Law Preventing Same-Sex Spouses from Receiving Health...
The Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) was enacted by Congress and President Bill Clinton in 1996. The law defines marriage as between one man and one woman, when used for legal purposes in a national...
View ArticleHealth Exchanges Present New Opportunity for Tech Field
Between now and December 14, states will have to decide whether to develop and manage their own health insurance exchanges – online marketplaces for comparing and enrolling in health plans – or join...
View ArticleWho Will Pay the Costs of Running a Health Insurance Exchange?
In less than two weeks, states will have to formally decide whether to create and run their own health insurance exchanges – online marketplaces for health coverage slated to debut in 2014, along with...
View ArticleEmployer-provided health insurance tax break: On the table?
One of the least-discussed – and most valuable – tax breaks is receiving closer scrutiny lately, as the federal government looks for ways to reduce the deficit and reform health insurance policy....
View ArticleStates Face Tough Choice in Whether to Develop Their Own Exchanges – and New...
One week from now, states will have to decide whether to open up and run their own health insurance exchanges or join the federal one in 2014. And as the deadline approaches, more and more states are...
View ArticleHHS Approves First Six State Health Insurance Exchanges
By tomorrow, states will have to decide whether to create and run their own online health insurance exchanges or join the federal exchange. So far, 14 states have chosen to develop their own exchanges,...
View Article2012 in Health Insurance and Policy: A Roundup
The 2010 Affordable Healthcare Act (ACA), often referred to as health reform, will be taking full effect in January 2014, but 2012 was an important year in the development and planning of how exactly...
View ArticleThe Year Ahead: Health Insurance Changes to Expect in 2013
Happy New Year, readers! We’d like to take a moment to thank you for your continued reading and thoughtful comments on our blog, and wish you all the best for 2013. As health reform continues to take...
View ArticleImpact of the ‘Fiscal Cliff’ Bill on Healthcare
Late last night – as many of us were recovering from the holidays and reluctantly getting ready to return to business as usual – the House of Representatives passed a deal on sequestration, also known...
View ArticleHHS Issues Guidance for State-Federal Hybrid Exchanges
Last month, states made their final decisions on whether to join the federal health insurance exchange or develop a state-based one. After submitting their initial exchange plans, a slew of states have...
View ArticleHealth Insurance Coverage as an Emerging Hurdle for Drug Companies
Biotech and pharmaceutical companies have long seen approval from the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as a major hurdle in getting promising new drugs to market. But in 2012, according to an...
View Article106 Accountable Care Organizations Receive Federal Approval
Yesterday, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) gave its approval to 106 new accountable care organizations (ACOs), a new type of health provider group that was created as part of the 2010...
View ArticleHHS Launches New Resource on Exchanges for Consumers
This morning, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) relaunched Healthcare.gov, the department’s website on all things health reform, to include information for consumers on the federal...
View ArticleSenators Introduce Bill to Eliminate Individual Mandate
On January 22, Republican Senators Orrin Hatch (Utah) and Lamar Alexander (Tennessee) introduced bill S. 40, which would eliminate the individual health insurance mandate, a key provision of health...
View ArticleWhat’s in a Name? From Exchanges to Marketplaces
Health insurance exchanges, a central part of the 2010 health reform law, are federal- or state-based, online systems that allow consumers to compare and enroll in health insurance plans. Private...
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